Waitomo Glowworm Cave is another of our favourite attraction during this trip. The caves are known for their population of Arachnocampa Luminosa, a glowworm species found exclusively in New Zealand.
Geological and volcanic activity has created around 300 known limestone caves in the greater Karst region around Waitomo over the last 30 million years. Only 10 of these are open to general public and 5 are in Waitomo. Among these, Waitomo Glowworm Caves are the most popular among tourists. For us, it is easy to see why.
There are 3 caves we can visit, namely Aranui Cave, Ruakuri Cave and Waitomo Glowworm Cave. Due to time constraint, we took their most popular combo of Ruakuri Cave and Waitomo Glowworm Cave. For a family ticket (2 adults, 2 children), it cost NZ$210, while an individual adult ticket cost NZ$100.
Upon ticket purchase, the ticket office staff will advise the timing of your tours depending on availability. For us, the Ruakuri Cave tour started at 1.30pm while the Glowworm Cave tour commenced at 4pm. These 2 caves are around 5 minutes drive from each other so buffer in some time for the short travel.
Ruakuri Cave
The visitor center where we gathered for our guided tour of Ruakuri Cave is fully powered by renewable energy.
Ruakuri Cave is the largest cave in Waitomo area. Inside there is a dynamic environment with glowworms, limestone formations, underground rivers and hidden waterfalls. It is also the only wheelchair accessible cave in Waitomo. Maori oral history has it that the cave was discovered when two Kuri (wild Maori dogs) attacked some Maori warriors. The cave was then named Ruakuri which translates to ‘Two Dogs’ or ‘Den of Dogs’ in Maori language.
In the cave, we got to see amazing limestone formations of stalactites and stalagmites. But first, we had to descend to the bottom of a dimly lit spiral walkway that looks straight out of a sci-fi movie.
Then we had to walk through a concrete tunnel before entering the cave proper.
The breath-taking interior of Ruakuri limestone cave is another magnificent piece of work by Mother Nature over millions of years.
For the stalactites and stalagmites to grow 1cm, it takes 100 years. Thus, touching of stalactites and stalagmites is a big no-no. Touching them with human hands leaves a layer of oil which will turn them black and the structure will ‘die’ and stop growing.
They are hence really serious about conservation of these fragile structures. Deliberate vandalism of these structures will carry a NZ$10,000 fine. Note: No backpack is allowed in the cave to avoid accidental damage, so best to keep them securely in your car and bring your valuables along. The multiple pockets in our jackets turned out to be very useful in this case.
As we walk through the cave, with a little imagination, we can ‘see’ the shape of animals which our guide was pointing out to us. Interestingly, there is also a sky pipe which we can see through to the daylight outside when we were around 150m underground. This was originally a pipe used to pour concrete into the tunnel to construct modular, ‘floating’ walkways for visitors.
30 million years ago, the entire Waitomo area is submerged beneath the sea. This explains why fossils of sea creatures had been found in the cave.
There are also some glowworms in this cave. The highlight of the tour for us is the part where we had to walk in total darkness to see glow worms. Hands on the shoulders of the person in front, we inched slowly in pitch dark with our guide giving instructions from time to time. Now I confess, I did something incredibly dumb to the extent I can’t help facepalm when I think back.
Everywhere around us was totally dark. We couldn’t even see our hands even if we put them in front of our faces. I’m not nyctophobic but the encompassing darkness was intimidating. A sudden fear seemed to have struck me so much so that when our guide instructed us to turn, I made an irrational move. I made a 180 degrees turn to face DL who was behind me. The whole line was held up by me!
Presence of light will result in glowworms turning off their bioluminescence, which in turn affects their ability to attract prey. Hence low light or no light condition has to be kept at all times. In our case, our guide had no choice but to switch on her flashlight for us to rejoin the line.
The tour ended with us cleansing ourselves with spring water dripping into the cave. A couple was chosen to demonstrate the Maori tradition of cleansing followed by minutes of silence before we all climbed back up.
What makes a glowworm glow
It’s the tail of the glowworms that glows. The hungrier it is, the brighter the glow to attract prey. Each glowworm can make 20 to 30 threads, which are used to trap insects on their sticky surfaces. Those trapped will end up as food for the worms.
This is stage 2 out of 4 stages in a glowworm’s lifecycle. An adult glowworm lives only for a few days, just long enough to mate and reproduce. Each adult female lays up to 200 eggs in clusters of around 30 before it dies. The first worm that hatches eats the rest to gain energy, so out of 200 eggs, usually only 6-7 worms survives!
Waitomo Glowworm Cave
The glow worm cave tour is back where the ticket office is.
In the Glowworm Cave, the first part of the tour is an introduction of the limestone cave. The second part is the highlight, a boat ride in pitch darkness to view glow worms. We have to refrain from talking as the guides need to depend on their hearing to know if there are boats nearby to avoid collision. The experience itself is magical! Speckles of tiny blue lights dotting the cave walls in total darkness. And knowing these are from living organisms makes the experience even more amazing!
Photography is not allowed in the limstone cave and the boat tour so what we brought home are fond memories. (Note: the photo above was taken in Ruakuri Cave)
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Read about my trip itinerary and the places visited in New Zealand North Island 2019 .
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