Bulmer Cavern
Encyclopedia
Bulmer Cavern is New Zealand
's longest cave
system, running for 66 km through Mount Owen
in the Tasman
region of the northwest South Island
. John Patterson discovered the cave on New Year's Day 1984, by dropping a rock down and counting the seconds until it reached the bottom.
Bulmer Cavern was the location of a major cave rescue
effort in 1998, when it took 80 cavers several days to extract another caver who had fallen and broken his jaw deep in the cavern.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
's longest cave
Cave
A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...
system, running for 66 km through Mount Owen
Mount Owen, New Zealand
Mount Owen is in the Tasman district of the South Island of New Zealand. It stands at 1875 metres above sea level and is part of the Marino Mountains....
in the Tasman
Tasman, New Zealand
The Tasman Region is both a region and a district of New Zealand. It borders with the West Coast Region, Marlborough Region and the Nelson Region. It is both a region and a unitary authority, and the District Council sits at Richmond, with Community Boards serving outlying communities in Motueka...
region of the northwest South Island
South Island
The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...
. John Patterson discovered the cave on New Year's Day 1984, by dropping a rock down and counting the seconds until it reached the bottom.
Bulmer Cavern was the location of a major cave rescue
Cave rescue
Cave rescue is a highly specialized field of wilderness rescue in which injured, trapped or lost cave explorers are medically treated and extracted from various cave environments....
effort in 1998, when it took 80 cavers several days to extract another caver who had fallen and broken his jaw deep in the cavern.