Dannevirke: Family's great start to holidays

The Perawiti family from Te Kuiti were through the doors of the Dannevirke Fantasy Cave early on Saturday morning. Sharing the Teddy Bear's picnic (from left) Kauri-Sunday, Haami, Shakahn, mum Maude, with baby Kaia and Conrad. Photo / Supplied

When it's raining on the first day of the school holidays and the kids are full of boundless energy, Dannevirke's Fantasy Cave is your first stop, one enthusiastic visitor said.

The magical cave was first on the list for Te Kuiti holidaymakers the Perawiti family on Saturday when they made their first visit to our top tourist attraction.

"We are down here to visit family and when we woke up this morning I wondered what we were going to do on a wet day, but my sister had the answer," Maude Perawiti told the Dannevirke News on Saturday.

"The kids were raring to go and the Fantasy Cave is neat. This is something different and while I remember the nursery rhymes from our day, my kids only know some of them so it's been good for them to discover old favourites."

Seven-year-old Haami had to think before he came up with his favourite part of the cave, the space exhibition. "It's cool and has lasers."

Volunteers at the cave are expecting a bumper school holiday attendance, with story-telling sessions and a teddy bears' picnic theme adding to the array of displays and interactive fun.

"Up until the end of June we'd had 2200 people through the cave, which is about the same as last year," president Ces Edwards said. "But it's the school holidays which make the difference and we could be heading for 800 or 900 visitors this month."

However, it's the sponsorship that keeps the cave's financial commitments on target, with help from NZCU Baywide, Dannevirke New World, Bill Taylor, For Homes For Farms and Grant Hurrell vital to the survival of the cave.

"In the last financial year we had a surplus of around $300 and the visitor numbers were the best for the last four years," Mr Edwards said. "We're lucky to have a dedicated committee at the helm of the cave, but it's the entire team who work to brighten up our world here."