'Gutted' locals help to reopen vandalised caves

Ephraim Emery checks for damage yesterday. Picture / Amos Chapple

Waitomo Caves reopened yesterday after locals pitched in the previous night to clean up much of the graffiti and paint vandals splashed over NZ's most famous limestone formations.

The glow-worm caves, which attract 600,000 visitors a year, were closed on Thursday after the overnight attack that left obscene messages on walkways and splattered white paint around the caves.

The vandals also burned a plastic paint-bucket lid, causing soot damage to the caves' walls and ceiling.

The attack follows a fire on December 14 which destroyed the ticket office, cafe, accommodation and souvenir shop at the caves' entrance.

Waitomo Attractions manager Robert Tahi said yesterday that local residents were "quite gutted" by the vandalism.

"The locals are very passionate about their tourism," he said, ruling out any possibility it was the work of local children. "There is no unemployment in Waitomo. Everyone is family. Everyone knows each other."

On Thursday night, 50 or 60 locals had spent three hours cleaning up the paint, Mr Tahi said. "Opposition operators were all pitching in."

Experts at Waikato University had been consulted to find the best way to remove the paint without damaging the ecosystem, which was home to glow worms, spiders and wetas. "You can't just waltz in there and blast the hell out of it," Mr Tahi said.

Locals would clean up the remaining paint over the next few weeks. It would be difficult for tourists to spot where the caves had been vandalised.

"If you used a high-beam torch you would see areas that need a bit of work."

Mr Tahi said security guards had been hired to protect the caves overnight. Surveillance cameras had been operating for several months but much of the equipment had been destroyed in the fire, he said.

Police do not believe the latest attack was connected to the fire.

- NZPA