Length of stay: 1 day
Visited: May 2025
A glowworm is not actually a worm, but rather the larvae of a fungus gnat. They are commonly found throughout New Zealand, often in caves, forests and other sheltered, damp areas. They produce blue-green bioluminescences and beautiful silk threads to help capture prey. Waitomo Glowworm Caves is known for its extensive cave system and is reputed to be one of the best places in the country to view glowworms and to see some really beautiful cave formations.
We woke up to another typical day of overcast and rain, which seemed to be the norm these past few days. But today the weather doesn’t matter so much as we’d be underground. We were only in Hamilton for one night, so we packed up in the morning and headed out. After living in a suitcase for the past five weeks, we’ve gotten into a really good system of packing.
Waitomo Glowworm Caves offers a number of different tours and activities, including blackwater rafting, glowworm boat tours and tours of underground caves. We signed up for a combo tour to visit the Ruakuri Cave and Aranui Cave, and booked our time slots well in advance. Both are reputed to contain beautiful limestone formations. And the Ruakuri Cave would provide a chance to see glowworms up-close.
Starting with the Ruakuri Cave, we signed up for the first tour of the day at 10am. We checked in at the small visitor centre and were joined by five other people. Our guide was another fellow Canadian from out west and it was nice to reminisce about home. The tour is an hour and a half in duration and involves a short walk to get to the entrance of the cave. As the original entrance is considered sacred, this long spiral ramp was constructed to help visitors get down underground into the cave.
The path is paved and contains lighting throughout. We probably could have brought the stroller, but our little M loves being in her front-facing baby carrier to see all the action. Once inside, our guide took us through the different passageways and cambers and explained more about the history of the cave and the evolution of cave tours. We passed several impressive cave formations.
The cave also contains a small collection of glowworms, known scientifically as Arachnocampa Luminosa. These glowworms are commonly found in New Zealand and Australia and are carnivorous. They catch their prey by hanging silk sticky threads in the hopes of entrapping an insect. A glowworm has a super short lifespan. With four stages within its life cycle, it takes about 10 to 11 months to complete. But once they reach adulthood, a female glowworm will live up to 76 hours and a male glowworm up to 96 hours – just long enough to mate and for the female to lay about 100 eggs.
M wasn’t a fan of the dark, which is the best way to view the glowworms. Perhaps she thought we were putting her down for a nap. We were all thankful when the lights turned back on. We passed through a few more chambers with even more beautiful limestone formations. There were also some pretty big fossils in the rocks too. After climbing up the spiral ramp, we were back above ground.
We had an hour and a half to kill before the start of our next tour of Aranui Cave. Baby M was due for a nap so we just drove around. We then made our way to the Ruakuri Scenic Reserve, which was across the road from where we were earlier. There was no else there. Perfect, maybe we’d get a private tour. The clock strikes 1pm, which is when our cave tour was supposed to begin. But there was no tour guide. And by 1:10pm there was still no one else that showed up.
So we return to the Ruakuri visitor centre. It turns out that the cave is closed today. Cool. But why didn’t they tell us when we checked in? And why did they still give us a ticket for the 1pm tour!? They gave us two options – we could get a partial refund or go on the Waitomo Glowworm Cave tour. We figured we’re already here and we planned to see two caves today, so we opted for the other cave tour. Except the earliest tour they could get us in on was for 2:20pm. Not ideal. We went to the Waitomo Homestead for a meat and veggie pie for a proper lunch.
The Waitomo Glowworm Cave is the most popular of the cave tours. It’s also the shortest and is 45 minutes in duration. While there are some cave formations, its main draw is its large concentration of glowworms, which are accessible by boat only. Our guide herded us through the passageways and split us up into two groups. We then piled on our boats and floated down the river. At this point in the tour there was no photography permitted. But once on the boat, we were free to take as many pictures as we like. Except the idiots in our boat thought it would be great to keep their flash on, which meant none of my pictures turned out. I did manage to get a picture of the entrance of the cave though since we were seated at the front of the boat.
Perhaps we were a bit salty from our experience earlier or pissed off from the dumb-dumbs in our boat who ruined our pictures, but we found this particular tour very underwhelming. From there we had a two and a half hour drive to get to Thames where we’d be checking into our final accommodations of the trip.
L
It’s amazing that there were sea shells down there, the cave is beautiful yet rather creepy too! I’m sorry that people messed up your photo ops, some folks are just inconsiderate.
It was really neat to come across those fossils in the cave. I know what you mean about how the formations are beautiful but also a tad spooky with all those shadows. The first cave tour we went on was excellent. The second one not so much. Perhaps we were in a bad mood already because the tour we initially booked was cancelled and the we ended up wasting a bunch of time because they didn’t tell us in advance. But yah, I was less than impressed at the people we were sharing a boat with.
I’m sorry the second cave was a bore. I’d love to see those caves!
Funny how that second tour is actually the most popular of the cave tours. We found the first one to be so much better organized and we got to see a bunch of interesting cave formations in addition to the glowworms. Who knew being underground could be so beautiful?!
Different folks, different perceptions. That’s better than being six foot under. 🤭
Ha, very true!
The spiral ramp looks so interesting, but I’m thinking of baby M how she dislikes the dark. The path down there is inviting to see, and the glowworm is one of a kind. At least you captured these lovely photos, Linda. Hugs to adorable baby M.
Thanks Hazel! Baby M’s nap time was approaching towards the end of the tour, which made her dislike the darkness even more. We thoroughly enjoyed our first tour and seeing the beautiful cave formations and glowworms.
My pleasure, Linda. Enjoy your Sunday!
You as well!
I always find it difficult to photograph caves, but here the result is well done.
Thanks for your lovely comment. I know what you mean about how the lack of lighting can make it challenging to photograph. I didn’t get many pictures of the glowworms, but they were pretty neat to see in person.
Inconsiderate tourists are an absolute pain! I would love to see the glow worm caves – that must have been an amazing experience. Your last photo is beautiful, Linda.
Thanks Lynette! People are the worst. Nothing about our second cave tour impressed us. The cave formations were meh, the tour guide seemed bored, and the people on our boat made it impossible to enjoy the experience of seeing (and photographing) the glowworms. In retrospect we should have just taken that partial refund. At least the first cave tour was amazing so not all was lost.
It has changed quite a bit since I was there, way back in 1993.
I imagine so. It’s always interesting to revisit a place and see how much has stayed the same and how much has changed. Who knows, maybe we’ll make it back to NZ someday.
I hope so. It is a very beautiful country.
If it wasn’t so far from family, we would totally try to move there. The scenery is stunning, there are lots of hiking opportunities, and the people are so incredibly friendly. I felt completely at home there.
I totally agree and yes it is actually far away from everywhere 😁.
Which is both a good thing and a bad thing! But who knows, maybe someday we’ll be back!
Let’s hope so. 🤞
We thought the same thing in 1982 when we were there.
About moving there.
Great minds think alike!
Love the spiral ramp pic! Shame you later had a poor experience at Waitomo. My visit there some years ago was magical … https://paulcoletravels.com/2021/01/14/carnivorous-critters-light-up-an-alien-world-underground/
Thanks for sharing. Your pictures look magical. Crazy that we went on the same tour but had a totally different experience. The first tour we went on of the Ruakuri Cave was excellent though.
Oh my gosh! What wonders!
Also, it’s great knowing there are idiots everywhere. What is wrong with people?
Ha, no kidding!! I bet none of their own pictures turned out either. Such dumb-dumbs. And they do it to themselves!
I’m sure their pictures are terrible. At least, I very spitefully hope so! Ha!
Me too! That gives me some comfort and joy!
Spite can get us through many tough times. 🤣
Oh yes! That and karma!
The tour we took (years ago) of the glowworm caves involved floating through them on inner tubes dressed in wet suits. We definitely got to see the worms glowing but, alas, I don’t have any pictures because we didn’t have a waterproof camera along. Still, a truly fascinating bit of biology! 💡🪱
Sounds like a neat and adventurous way to see the glowworms! Bummer that you didn’t get any pictures, but at lest you have the memories. It was fascinating to hear about the life cycle of the glowworms and to see them up-close. I especially liked their silky strands.
My apologies if this is a duplicate comment – WordPress isn’t being cooperative today. Our glowworm tour (years ago) involved floating through the cave on an inner tube dressed in a wet suit. But we didn’t get any photos then either since we didn’t know we’d need a waterproof camera.
I can totally relate to WP being finicky! For some reason it marks certain comments as “pending” and I can’t quite figure out how to make it automatically approve it for regular readers/commenters. It’s very annoying.
The glowworms look quite interesting, but like John mentioned, the cave is a bit creepy. You have some wonderful photos, but it’s unfortunate about the others. Crossing paths with inconsiderate people is always so annoying. Great post!
Thanks! The glowworms were fascinating to see. Our first cave tour was excellent and we got to see some beautiful cave formations as well. The second cave tour was a bit disappointing. The idiots in our group definitely took away from the whole experience. At least it was the shorter of the two tours!
Such a huge disappointment when a travel plan does not work out or something is closed. In 2002, with our 2 sons, we went to Waitomo Glow worm caves on the first day we arrived in NZ and overnighted in Hamilton. As you can agree, staying awake that long is tough after such a long flight and our one young son fell asleep in his supper plate. We enjoyed the Waitomo tour and a walk nearby, but did not do the other caves. I strongly dislike those who do not know their flash is not the answer to every photographic situation. How disappointing to have your shots not turn out. Happy Friday Linda. Allan
Bold move to drive all the way to Waitomo Glowworm Caves on your first day in NZ! Hopefully your tour was better than ours. I think part of the issue was that our first tour of Ruakuri Cave was fantastic and set the bar pretty high. We were also not impressed that our second tour of Aranui Cave was cancelled and yet no one failed to inform us. So it just felt like we wasted a lot of time. Those losers who kept their flash on just put things over the top. We got a few laughs from it afterwards, but in the moment is was very frustrating.
Interesting visit even if it didn’t go as planned. Some people really don’t think about others. My favourite picture is your last one. The reflection of the tree in the water is wonderful. (Suzanne)
Thanks Suzanne! You win some, you lose some. At least our first cave tour was exceptional and if anything, set the pretty bar pretty high.
How annoying and what a waste of your valuable time to be waiting for the tour and already checked in when it wasn’t happening. The glow-,worms look impressive. I’ve also seen them but can’t think exactly where (it wasn’t in NZ).. Despite the irritating people on the boat, your photo at the cave entrance has come out well. I find caves difficult to capture as there always seems to be a pesky light causing glare to my photos.
Oh I know. We were less than impressed when we found out the cave was closed and there was no tour. Couldn’t they have told us that beforehand!? I still don’t understand why they gave us tickets for that tour then. While the second cave tour was underwhelming, our first tour more than made up for it. It was still incredible to see the glowworms.
The glow worms would be wonderful to see but not with a cranky baby 😊 And who was the disorganized person that sold you a tour for a day it is closed?! And then only offer a partial discount! And then the people with a flash in a cave. I don’t blame you for being upset. Maggie
That’s fair! And yah, I’m still so confused as to why they gave us tickets when the cave was closed for the day. What a waste of time!! At least our first tour was fantastic. I could have done without the second tour though. I get some satisfaction knowing that their pictures probably didn’t turn out well either!
I love the ending shot with the reflection off the water.
Thanks!! This was my only picture that turned out well on the second cave tour. This was where our boat tour ended.
So interesting post 🌷🙏👍🏻A magical underground world , New Zealand 👌😮 Nature’s starry Secret and Galaxy 🤩
Photos all breathtaking and shellbound caves !! So wonderful atmosphere and thank you so much for sharing my dear friend , many Blessings 🌷🙏🖖🥰🌷
Thanks for your lovely comment. It was such an interesting experience to go underground and see the glowworms and beautiful cave formations. It’s a whole different world down there!
Yes, very true , so rare to view 😮👍🏻 thank you so much and most welcome my dear friend 🌷🙏🥰🌷
For sure. Enjoy the rest of the week!
This Weekend for me very special , Divine Festival Thaipuyam celebration 🎊 🙏 thank you so much dear friend 🥰🙏🌷
Wonderful to hear! Enjoy the celebrations!
🌷🙏🥰🌷
That sounds like quite a cool experience, it’s going on the “maybe” list!
I’d highly recommend the Ruakuri Cave tour as it’s a great way to see the glowworms and beautiful cave formations. Plus the tour groups are smaller and you’re underground for longer.
That’s a long time to be living in a suitcase. We start thinking about home when we get to two weeks.
Anyway, there’s always that not so nice experience that comes our way every so often. I hope it was still worth it.
This was the longest trip we’ve ever taken. Thankfully we weren’t camping! We had two suitcases and we got into a pretty good rhythm and routine with only bringing in the things we needed for a night or two and then leaving the rest of the stuff in the car.
Most of the activities and places we visited were amazing. And the way I see it, it’s the not so fun experiences that make the really amazing ones even more special.
So true! Cherish the good memories.
Absolutely! Thankfully we had way more good memories than bad ones on this trip!
That staircase reminds me of the show Silo. Usually the thought of a cave freaks me out, but that doesn’t look claustrophobic at all. I can see how M wouldn’t like the darkness. Those people in the boat really should’ve known better!
Haven’t seen that show before, but now I’m intrigued. These cave tours were pretty tame. There was no crawling, shimmying or squeezing through tight spaces. And the ground was paved and there was lighting throughout. The best way to view the glowworms was in complete darkness, which our little M wasn’t a fan. But thankfully she settled down once the lights came back on. And yah, too bad those people in the boat didn’t fall in (although they might have taken us down with them)!
That’s an awful experience and such a waste of valuable time. Can’t believe you weren’t informed about the closure of the cave, dear Linda, and I am sorry to hear that your photos didn’t turn out. But I can only imagine how beautiful it must have been to see those star-like displays and unique limestone formations. Thank you for your honest account of travelling struggles! It’s so easy to forget that once in a while, everyone goes through these things, especially with all those picture-perfect moments we usually see on social media. Thanks for sharing, and have a good day 🙂 Aiva xx
Oh I know. The time wasted waiting for that second tour was probably the worst of it. Makes you wonder why they even gave us tickets if that cave was closed for the day. Things don’t always go according to plan, but at least we made the most of it. And now we have a funny story to tell afterwards. And the way I see it is that our first cave tour was excellent and made our visit all worthwhile in the end. Thanks for reading Aiva. Enjoy the rest of the week.
All the good and bad experiences are normal parts of the journey, with pros often outweighing the cons. We just have to learn to accept that plans may change and allow for spontaneity to reduce unnecessary stress and disappointment. Take care xx
It looks absolutely amazing!! I have always wanted to visit, but the story of the people on your boat sounds sooo frustrating, I’d be so annoyed.
I’m glad we still got to see the glowworms. Too bad we couldn’t just shove those losers off the boat though! I get some comfort knowing they ruined their own pictures too.
Despite the setbacks this seems like an incredible place. Such an incredible trip!
Oh absolutely! Our first cave tour was phenomenal and made the visit worthwhile despite all the hiccups with our second tour. It now makes for a funny story.
I appreciate your honest review on the glowworm caves. I don’t understand why they sold the 1pm tour tickets at Ruakuri Scenic Reserve if the cave was closed. And I’m sorry that you had to be on the same boat with those really inconsiderate people. Did your guide try to tell them off?
Yah, I’m not quite sure I understand that either. If the cave was closed for the day, why did they still give us tickets for that tour?! This could have easily been avoidable. And hey, if we were on an earlier tour, we might have had a totally different experience. We were told in advance that flash photography was not allowed. Our guide wasn’t very enthusiastic to begin with so I’m not surprised they didn’t say anything. I take comfort knowing their pictures didn’t turn out either!
Caves are always fascinating. Bioluminescence is such a unique and interesting phenomena in nature. How does that even happen?
I love the honesty and realness of this post. Sometimes things go wrong on a trip, and it’s so annoying. It’s hard not tell people what kind of morons they are. And with some folks, even if you politely point out an issue; they completely ignore you, or act as if you’re the one being offensive.
You guys always handle everything so well!
Thanks, Rose! There is definitely beauty underground and in the darkness. The glowworms are such fascinating creatures. I’m glad we got the chance to see them and their bioluminescence, but I was impressed with the lack of communication around the cave closure. It felt like we wasted a bunch of time unnecessarily. I’m glad we still went though as our first cave tour made it worthwhile.
Oh my goodness, this is just amazing and magical. Nature truly is wonderful and mind boggling to think about how it’s all designed – from the use light to attract prey. Very humbling just how thought through everything is!
I often believe there’s so much of Earth still to be discovered and explored – especially in our caves and oceans – and it’s close to get a glimpse of the glowworm caves through your recap!
Glowworms are fascinating. I’ve never seen anything like them before. Makes me wish I had a better camera to capture their bioluminescence when the lights turned off. It was super interesting to learn about their life cycle. You’re right, there’s so much of the Earth we don’t understand or haven’t discovered yet.
Fascinating. I hope baby M was not too frightened by the dark. Imagine selling you tickets to a place that was closed for the day!!
Thankfully she settled once the lights came back on! She was such a trooper. At first we were all excited that no one else showed up for the second cave tour as we thought we’d be getting a private tour. But it turns out the cave was closed. Seemed a bit ridiculous that no one told us in advance!
Clear, detailed, and very useful text for anyone planning a visit to Waitomo. The explanations about the glowworms are excellent, and the account of unexpected events helps to align expectations. An honest read that complements the practical information about the tours well.🙂🙏🏻✨🏞️🌌
Thanks for your lovely comment. It was such a neat experience to see the glowworms. It’s too bad our second tour wasn’t the greatest, but it makes for a funny story afterwards.
Not me thinking they were actual glowworms! That was one of them *mind blown* moment! Arachnocampa? It sounds like they should have been spiders. And canivorous… Oh man, that is a super short lifespan. I keep on learning incredible things today *o* Oh no! I’m so sorry to hear you had an awful experience on the following caves! I do get it though, that’s a bit shxt of them… I feel like flashes shouldn’t be allowed in a cave like that…
Ha, same! I guess glowlarvae doesn’t have the same ring to it. Glowworms are so fascinating, but it’s wild how they have such a short life cycle. Flash photography isn’t actually permitted, which made us even more annoyed with the whole experience. The person clearly didn’t know how to use their camera and ended up ruining it for everyone. At least our first tour was amazing to help balance things out.
That picture at the entrance to the second cave is so amazing as are the first ones. The caves look quite cavernous and perhaps my claustrophoba wouldn’t be too bad. I am with M as I don’t think I would do well with the lights out either!
Thanks Bernie! The caves were pretty spacious and we didn’t have to duck, crawl, or squeeze our way through the passageways or chambers. The walkway was also paved, which was nice. It’s pretty normal for there to be a moment of complete darkness during a cave tour. And it this case it made sense as that was the best way to see the bioluminescence from the glowworms. But our little M wasn’t too impressed. To be fair, we were approaching nap time so general moodiness was to be expected.
I’m sorry your tour wasn’t up to expectations! That sounds annoying… I can’t stand obnoxious tourists. On another note, I was excited to read your post. I remember learning and reading about the glow worm caves in NZ when I was a kid in the Childcraft book series in the People and Places volume… I’m convinced that reading those books inspired my travel bug. I’d like to visit this place one day!
Thanks. Obnoxious tourists always have a way of ruining things! It was such a bummer that they ruined the experience (and my pictures), but at least our first cave tour was fantastic and still made it worthwhile to visit the caves. It was really fascinating to learn more about glowworms and to see them up-close. Funny how something you read as a kid has stayed with you and even provided inspiration for your travels. I hope you’re able to visit NZ someday, it’s such an amazing country.
I sympathise with little M because I’m not that fond of being underground in the dark either, though we did view some fabulous caves in Aracena, in Spain. Not much fun being a glow-worm, is it? A lot of work for not much reward xx
There’s a lot of dirt and darkness underground, but there’s also a lot of beauty as well. It was fascinating to see the glowworms and to hear about their life cycle. But yes, it doesn’t seem particularly all that fun!!
The cave formations and the collection of glowworms seems cool. But I would be livid about them using a flash and ruining others pictures. dumb. Your picture of the cave entrance though is really beautiful 🙂
Thanks! We were not impressed with those losers in our boat who didn’t know how to use their camera. They totally ruined the experience of enjoying the glowworms in what should have been darkness and quiet. Ugh. At least our first cave tour was amazing.
I’ve learned so much from reading your post, thank you! I didn’t know glowworms weren’t actually worms or that they lived for such a short time. Being a female glowworm sounds a bit rubbish. The cave formations are beautiful and your photos of the glowworms look very cool. I can’t believe they sold you a ticket for when the cave was closed though, that’s awful! I’d had have been so grumpy by the end of the day between that and the people using flash in the cave.
Thanks for your lovely comment. I didn’t know that glowworms weren’t worms either. I guess glowlarvae doesn’t have the same ring to it! I couldn’t help but laugh about how adult female glowworms don’t live as long as males and yet they still have to lay all the eggs. We weren’t too impressed about the change of plans and poor communication about that cave being closed. And then to end up on a crappy tour with those crappy tourists who didn’t know how to use their camera just put things over the top! I get some comfort knowing their pictures probably didn’t turn out either!
That’s very interesting! I have been to caves a couple of times, but it was mostly just to look at the amazing rock formations – glowworms are something I have never seen before! The strings are quite amazing (almost look like Christmas lights). It’s a shame the second part of your visit didn’t turn out exactly as you expected, but I must add that your last (and only photo on this excursion) is actually quite beautiful!
Thanks!! The caves themselves were quite impressive with all those beautiful formations. It was really neat to see the glowworms too. The silky strands looked so delicate. I like how you phrased it, almost like Christmas lights. It’s too bad our second cave tour didn’t live up to the hype. I blame the person in our boat who didn’t know how to use their camera and/or didn’t listen to the rules around no flash photography. But at least I managed to snag a good picture of the entrance of the cave since we were at the front of the boat. You win some, you lose some.
A perfect place to spend a bad weather day. Sorry about the people ruining your photos. Sometimes it’s great when you are the only ones there, like you were at the gardens.
Absolutely! And yah, we weren’t impressed with those losers on our boat who didn’t know how to use their camera or follow the rules around no flash photography. I get some satisfaction knowing that their pictures probably didn’t turn out that well either.
😄
Wow, these photos are amazing… The glowworms and caves look magical, like stepping into another world. I can almost feel the adventure and wonder through your words.
What an unforgettable experience….
God Bless You all…
Thanks for your lovely comment Willie. It was such a neat experience to see the glowworms in the dark. They’re fascinating and their bioluminescence is mesmerizing.
The cave looks so cool, very impressive limestone there!
Goes to show that there’s beauty to be found underground. The cave formations were really neat and it was a great way to see some glowworms.