WHERE ARE THE WAITOMO CAVES?

We drove from Auckland to Rotorua and on the way we stopped at the Waitomo caves near Otorohanga on the North Island of New Zealand. The caves are about two hours south of Auckland and two hours west of Rotorua so it made a good break in our journey. I really knew nothing about these caves prior to our arrival and was expecting the typical limestone rock formations and variations on stalagmites and stalactites. When we arrived the first impression was not that welcoming as there was some sort of road work taking place and we had to enter through a wooden tunnel which was not that welcoming.

The caves were first explored in the late 1800s and were even open to tourists as early as 1889 so we are certainly not the first visitors. They are open all year round from 9.30 until around 5.30 pm daily. Prices range from $30 to about $90 depending on what you want to do and see so it is probably best to look on the website if you are interested in visiting.

http://www.waitomo.com/glowworm-caves-tour.aspx

A BIT OF GEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND:

In the Waitomo area there are about three hundred know caves below the grass covered sheep filled hills. This limestone area was formed 30 million years ago when North Island was under the sea. Limestone is a rock which is formed by millions of dead marine animals built up over many millions of years. This part of the world has also been involved in vast geological movement, earth quakes and volcanoes. Cracks in the rocks created by these great earth movements are weaknesses where flowing water begins to carve the rock away – caves and caverns are eventually formed after many years of weathering and wearing away by water.

Stalactites and stalagmites grow from water dripping down from the cave roofs and building up deposits of limestone crystal which sets hard over years. Stalactites come down from the roofs which stalagmites build upwards from the floor of the caves. Eventually they join together and form pillars or columns and sometimes they spiral round and then they are called helicti. These cave formations grow extremely slowly at the speed of one cubic cm per hundred years.

MY EXPERIENCE:

On entering the Waitomo Caves we walked all through the caves which were quite pleasant and the usual rock formations which are very beautiful with the atmosphere of cool dampness with earthy smells.

From my point of view the exciting part came when we got to see the glow worms. We saw a few on the cave roof as we were walking through but then we got into a boat and we were pulled silently through the cave looking at thousands of these little glowing creatures. The whole roof was covered in wonderful bright patches which reflected in the water too. The boat was pulled along buy high ropes which we could just see but it made it completely silent and enabled you to enjoy the spectacle in relative quiet. It was like floating in space as it was dark, pretty well silent and the glowing worms were like stars in the night. It was an almost magical experience, like nothing I have ever seen before in nature.

WHAT ARE THESE LITTLE CREATURES?

These glow worms are the larvae stage in the lifecycle of a two-winged insect. The ‘worms’ look a bit like a maggot but can grow as long as a match. The New Zealand glow worm is known as arachnocampa luminosa.
Translated this breaks down as:
'Arachno' - like a spider because of the way these glow worms catch insects.
'Campa' is larva
'luminosa' - light- producing.

These little creatures glow to attract their food and also to burn off their waste. The glow is created in the tail and is caused by a chemical reaction between something the glow worms exude mixing with oxygen. This is called bioluminescence which the glow worm can control this light by reducing or increasing oxygen to its light organ. It is an amazing thing that such a tiny creature can produce this bright light in order to attract food to it but the light also puts other creatures off eating the glow worm as well.

They have to live in dark damp places where their light can be seen. They create sticky lines a bit like a spider’s web on to which unsuspecting food gets trapped. You could clearly see these lines when the guide/boat driver shone the torch up – they looked like silken threads, or cobwebs on a frosty day, silver sparkly lines spreading amongst the little glowing worms. TheIcaves are a perfect habitat as there is not only damp and dark but there is little air movement to dry out the sticky feeding lines.

The glow worms take about nine months to grow to full size and after this they become a pupa then an insect with two wings. The insect stage lasts only a few days during which time they just mate and lay eggs and the cycle goes round again. The glow worm stage is the longest of their lifecycle and I am not sure what their purpose is in the grand scheme of things in the world but they are very beautiful in this larva stage and well worth visiting these caves in New Zealand to experience this amazing sight.

SUMMARY:

I think this was an even more magical experience as I had gone with no prior expectations. I knew there were caves and had heard something about glow worms but had not expected anything like this wonderful almost spiritual feeling that I had as we were silently floating around in the caves looking at these special little creatures. We were told that we must be very quiet so as not to upset the creatures and of course you were also not allowed to take photos so there were no flashes to spoil the atmosphere either. It really was a unique visit that I thoroughly recommend if you ever find yourself in North island of New Zealand.

We did buy some postcards so I will find some photos to put on here.

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© catsholiday