Black Water Rafting in Glow Worm Caves

• October 5, 2009
• Rated 4 of 5 by beckyX from Cambridge, United Kingdom

Waitomo caves is a small village a couple of hours drive south of Auckland in the Waitomo region of New Zealand that is home to a system of caves that are world famous for their glow worms.

There are many tours of the caves, with some more adventurous and energetic than others, ranging from sedate boat tours to the blackwater rafting trip we went on: I went on the Rap, Raft and Rock tour, and it was distinctly towards the more energetic end of the spectrum.

We were collected from our hostel and driven over many bumpy roads to a shack in the middle of nowhere that housed all of the gear. We put on wetsuits and helmets, some highly fashionable wet suit protectors (baggy shorts) and wellington boots with holes drilled in the bottom to let the water out.

A quick explanation of how to abseil followed, then the terrifying descent into the abyss. One at a time, we stepped nervously off backwards over a 27m gorge and were lowered down into the cave system below. Although the entrance was very small, the entrance cave was immense, eerily lit and with vegetation obscuring most of the entrance.

We were issued with rubber rings and took a trek upstream into the darkness with our way lit by our head torches. We quickly got extremely soggy and realised the merits of the holes in the wellies as our boots were soon completely filled. Some way later, we were instructed to switch our lights off and wait in the darkness for our eyes to adjust. As they did, a myriad of pin point green-white lights shimmered above us like stars - the glow worms. Gentle breezes shifted them, so they appeared to twinkle and move.

Our guide explained to us that glow worms are the larval stage of a species of gnat. They stick to the roof of the cave and lower sticky threads to catch their prey and which they lure to them with their light. Eventually, they mature and the adult flies away - usually to be caught by the threads of a neighbour!

After this spectacular view came the really fun part. We sat in the rings and floated back downstream and into the rougher waters beyond the entrance to the cave. We climbed down waterfalls, bashed our heads repeatedly on rocks, squeezed through tight holes and sat and had hot tea. More glow worms, lots of caving exploration and more rafting followed.

Wearily, we hauled our way back upstream, then one at a time rock-climbed out of the gorge. This is easier said than done when you are wearing poorly-fitting wellington boots. This marked the end of our journey. All in all, our adventures lasted several hours and we were extremely happy to have a hot shower at the end of it.

This is a fantastic experience and if you have the chance and you are fit and adventurous enough, you should definitely try it. If it is a little bit too much, try a more sedate tour because the glow worms are worth it.

With the exchange rate at the time, this cost us about 40-50 pounds, which was well worth it.

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From journal Travels in New Zealand

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Blackwater Rafting Compay's 'Black Abyss Tour' - Great!

• January 27, 2009
• Rated 4 of 5 by Sproketz from Santa Cruz, California

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Waitomo Glowworm Caves

• October 13, 2002
• Rated 4 of 5 by superpurd from Williams Lake, British Columbia

From journal Daytrip to Waitomo Caves

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Waitomo Caves

• July 26, 2002
• Rated 3 of 5 by Wouter Kloos from Eindhoven, Netherlands

It is very touristic, but for whom can cope with that it's well worth doing. For just over NZ$20 you buy a ticket for a guided walk through the Glowworm Cave. This is not a very long walk and for people who have seen caves before it's not that spectacular. However, at the end of the tour you get a boattrip into the Glowworm Cave itself. This is really amazing. It's completely dark and it's like a sky full of stars.

From journal Waitomo on the go

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