When conservationist David Bellamy first encountered the hidden treasures of the West Coast's Oparara Valley, he was mesmerised.
"I came to this place and I said this is the most amazing world heritage site I have ever been to, and I have been to a lot of them," the Britishnature guru told the Herald.
"It is absolutely perfect. It's a jewel of part of a very, very important slice of the evolution of this amazing country."
Yesterday, as patron of the Oparara Valley Project Trust, Professor Bellamy turned the first sod on the latest stage of a 3.1km walking track aimed at opening this natural wonderland to the world.
The valley, in the Kahurangi National Park at the top of the South Island, features spectacular plant life and naturally formed limestone arches as tall as 30m. But it is underground where the greatest treasures lie.
The Honeycomb Hill caves are a labyrinth of cathedral-like passages that are a treasure chest of the remains of extinct species.
The interior is coated with rare plant life and the caves house the bones of more than 50 bird species such as the moa. Many of the bones date back 20,000 years.
Among the caves' living residents are New Zealand's largest spider (up to 15cm long but harmless), weta, bats, and glow-worms with origins dating back 80 million years.
The caves were studied in the 1980s and sparked global scientific interest.
The trust owns the right to operate guided tours through the caves.
Trust chairwoman Rosalie Sampson said the project to turn the valley into a top visitor attraction had been under way for about three years and already about $300,000 had been spent.
Professor Bellamy spends most of his time globtrotting and consulting on restoration projects but said he did not grow weary of travelling when there was so much good work to uncover.
