Ngarua Caves, Show cave in Takaka Hill, New Zealand.

Ngarua Caves is a limestone cave system in Takaka Hill with a walkway leading through its interior passages. Along the way, stalactites and stalagmites created by dripping water demonstrate how this natural process shapes stone over thousands of years.

Moa bones lie in the caves as they were left, with no evidence of human occupation or deliberate burial recorded in the sources. The caves sit near the summit of Tākaka Hill, beside State Highway 60 between Motueka and Upper Takaka, and are listed among the "101 Must-Do's for Kiwis".

The caves appear on the "101 Must-Do's for Kiwis" list, a New Zealand travel checklist. Tours leave from the car park and cafe at the entrance, and visitors walk a 300-metre walkway past Moa bones left in place in the rock.

A car is the easiest way to reach these caves since they sit on a hillside accessed via State Highway 60. The walk through the caves is not strenuous, but sturdy shoes are important because the ground is uneven and sometimes wet.

The cave entrance sits high up with views across Tasman Bay and the surrounding limestone landscape. From this vantage point, visitors can see how the entire region is shaped by the same geological forces that carved out these passages.