In this post we tell you about our experience visiting the Waitomo caves, famous for housing curious animals inside…
Before embarking on our adventure in New Zealand we had already heard about them: luminous worms that hang on the walls of a cave. Well, described like this it seems not to have too much emotion, but when you look up in the middle of the gloom of the cave and see thousands of little blue lights above you, it's truly amazing!
This show is located in the Waikato region, south of Auckland. Its name means "water entering a hole in the earth." I don't know if the explorers would know the meaning of this word, but apparently they were interested in the caves and especially these: the "Glowworm Caves" or "Waitomo Caves", or for friends ... the caves of the luminous worms, well in 1887 they were “discovered” (in quotation marks, since the local Maori had known them for a long time).
The explorers, being surrounded by these luminous worms could not help but freak out! Since then it is an attraction that captivates everyone who passes through here. Well, there we went one day to see how these worms ... First you walk to a cave not too big. Stalactites of millions of years are seen in the first rooms! And you can differentiate the paths as a maze that time and water erosion have created.
But the best thing is when you get on a little boat and suddenly you are in absolute darkness. The guide ends his explanation and leads you to the next room ... Then you hallucinate!
Probably being in the dark all your senses have sharpened, you hear the drops fall into the water as if they were inches from your ear and the lights above your head seem like millions of stars shining in a huge sky! But no! They are worms that hang from the ceiling to survive. They emit this light to attract insects that are walking through the cave and throw a kind of sticky fishing rod where these insects are stuck. Then they just have to collect and feast on their lives. When you can contemplate them with artificial light it is curious to see all these hanging threads, and almost not see the worms!
A spectacle of nature quite rarete but impressive. Back in the hostel we went to sleep so excited that we thought we saw on the roof of our room again those luminous worms, that kind of unique fireflies of New Zealand, wishing us good night, or throwing us the fishing rod, who knows ...
USEFUL INFO
How to get?
We went from Auckland with the Kiwiana agency, the same as last week took us to Hobbiton!
How much?
The half-hour tour costs about € 32. You can book it here. Alternative: if you want to take advantage of the day and also visit Hobbiton, check out this tour.
By the way: all the photos We have taken them from the caves (the interiors) from their official site, since it is forbidden to photograph inside the caves.
We hope this post with info for visit Waitomo caves it has been useful to you
