An Apple In The Land of Kiwis : Waitomo Caves

Second to last on my check list, Waitomo Caves. As I have traveled I have debated what to do once I got here, other than glow worms obviously. Finally I settled on a low key cave tour combo. (Trina gave me a coupon hahaha)

First I did a boat/walking tour of a glow worm cave. The glow worms are apparently unique to New Zealand, and glow from their bum to attract insects. The insects mistake the glow for light at the end of the tunnel, and get caught in sticky strings that the worm creates, like vertical spider webs. In the dark cave you can only see the glow, like a million little stars in the night sky. When the guides shine a flash light on the worms you can see the little strings hanging down. It’s easy to see why the insects would get confused. Unfortunately they don’t allow photos inside this particular cave, but it was a really great experience.

tour boat going back into the cave after letting us off

In the afternoon I went on my second cave tour, to the Aranui Cave. This cave didn’t have any glow worms but had amazing limestone stalagmites and stalactites. There were all kinds of colors and shapes, some amazing because of how large they were and others because of their delicate appearance. It was also nice because the tour group was smaller than the glow worm cave, and we were allowed to take pictures.