Glowworms and where to find them

Imagine yourself in a dark place, surrounded by tiny little specks of light above you, or even all around you. You might confuse them with stars at first, but when you take a closer look, these lights turn out to be little animals commonly known as glowworms, one of New Zealand’s natural wonders. This specific and famous type of glowworm (Arachnocampa luminosa) is native to New Zealand only, with the highest densities found in the caves in Waitomo. The little bioluminescent wonders made this town famous. And righfully so, because walking into a cave that is completely illuminated by thousands and thousands of small blue lights is a magical experience. The dark, damp caves in this area create the perfect conditions for their prey, and therefore the perfect conditions for the glowworms themselves.

Glowworm caves around Waitomo

The caves in Waitomo are the most famous and possibly the best place to find glowworms in New Zealand. But did you know you don’t have to visit the caves to see them? The creatures are actually abundant in the region. Depending on your adventure-tolerance, and budget, check out which of the options below speaks to you the most.

A peaceful wonderland

If you came to Waitomo to marvel at glowworms in a tranquil manner, there are several options available to you. The most well-known (but not necessarily the best, just hold on!) one is aptly named Waitomo Glowworm Caves. It includes a walk and boatride underneath those magical creatures, and it is relatively accessible with proper walkways and handrails. Nevertheless, you cannot take photos on this tour, and besides it’s owned by Tourism Holdings Limited, a large company. The company operates in Ruakuri cave (wheelchair friendly, allows photography in selected areas) and Aranui cave (no glowworms, but a colony of cave Weta lives there) too.

Now, as mentioned before, I personally think the better alternative is the magical Spellbound Glowworm Cave. This is a family-owned business operating on their farm. And if supporting local businesses is not enough, the Mangawhitikau cave on their property is also said to hold the highest density of glowworms in the country! The visit includes a boatride underneath these magical lights. During the tour you cannot only take your own photos, but they will even take a photo of you with the glowworms. This will be sent to you at no extra charge, along with professional photos of the caves. If you decided to go for the slightly longer tour, you get to walk through a second cave. This Spirit cave contains the remains of the tallest known birds that ever roamed this earth: the Moa!

Adventure awaits

If you desire a more adrenaline-packed glowworm experience, Waitomo has that too offer too. Although Queenstown is widely regarded as New-Zealand’s adventure captial, there is only one other place in the world where you can do blackwater rafting under a magic ceiling of glowworms. (The other place is near Westport in the South Island, mentioned below!). Waitomo offers adventures for different levels of daredevilry. The milder ones will get you in a wetsuit to go tubing through streams in the cave, while the full-on adventures include abseiling and climbing through waterfalls.

Just like for the peaceful tours, there are several companies operating in the area offering the adventure tours too. The same commerical Tourism Holdings Limited owns the famous Blackwater Rafting Co. They seem to offer the cheapest experience, especially when booking through getyourguide. They offer the Black Labyrinth as the milder adventure, and the Black Abyss as the full-on adventure, including abseils. Group sizes are up to twelve people, and you need to pay to get your photos sent to you.

Locally owned alternatives

If you have a little bit more to spend and want to support a locally owned business, again I think these are the better alternatives. These include the most adventurous tours too! Waitomo adventures is the better known one, offering Haggas Honking Holes as the starter-pack, yet including abseils. If you are dying for more, you can upgrade to the Lost World half-day tour, or the most adventurous Lost World full-day option. The full-day tour includes a 100 m abseil, making this the most high-adrenaline black-water rafting option in the area, and quite possibly the world.

If you prefer smaller groups and a more exclusive experience on a local, carbon-positive farm: the Waitomo Experience is for you. It includes wetsuits, rock jumps, and swim-throughs, but no abseils. The maximum group size is just six people and you get to soak in a hot-tub after your experience! Both of these companies won’t allow you to take your phone or camera, but they will take pictures during the tour that are shared at no extra charge!

Glowworms for free?

If you’re looking for a glowworm experience while travelling on a budget, I have some good news. You don’t need to pay for a cave tour in order to see glowworms. The Waitomo region has plenty of places where these insects hang out on rocks and in the bush. The density might be slightly lower than in the caves, but you will get a magical experience for free. Not being on a tour has some advantages too, if you’re lucky, you have the glowworms all too yourself! That could be a blessing or a curse, because glowworms need a dark environment to work their magic. In the perpetual darkness of caves you can see them all day around, but in the wild you are going to need to wait for the night to settle in. Walking around by yourself in the dark can feel a bit eery, so make sure to come prepared: bring a torch, and maybe a friend, in order to defy the darkness together.

Mangapohue natural bridge

This is easily my favourite spot to see glowworms by myself. The massive rock arch is located about 350 metres from the car park, and is an impressive sight by daylight. The way in is an easy boardwalk following a river, with limestone rock formations rising high on either side of you. When you get here in the dark, you don’t have to walk far to see glowworms starting to fill the rocks next to you. The further in you walk, the more of these little lights seem to be covering every inside beside you. It’s like a walking along a starry night (rather than underneath it), because these stars are sideways!

When you reach the natural bridge, make sure to look up to see glowworms high up on the arch too. Honestly this spot was almost as good as the caves. Walking around by yourself makes it feel like an actual wonderland. This site is located half an hour driving from Waitomo, and can therefore feel quite remote. Even though you don’t have to walk far into the bush, it still feels like you’re alone in the dark, in the middle of nowhere. So make sure to bring some courage, and don’t freak out when you see some yellow eyes glowing in the dark. Yes, you are being watched, but it’s probably just a common brushtail possum.

Ruakuri Bush Walk

A lot closer to town you can find the Ruakuri Bush Walk: a 1.5 km loop through a stunning and diverse landscape featuring rivers, waterfalls, small caves and many other rock formations. Needless to say, I would recommend this walk during the day, as well as during the night. Don’t worry, you don’t have to do the full 1.5 km in the dark just to find glowworms. When entering the trail there is a big rock formation on your lefthand side. Once you walked about a hundred to two hundred metres in, turn off your light and let the magic enchant you.

The amount of glowworms on this trail is a bit less compared to the Mangapohue natural bridge. However, because it’s only a six-minute drive (or a 1.5 hour walk on the Waitomor Walkway) out of Waitomo, it’s less of a commitment to go. Besides you are likely to encounter a few other people on the trail. That means you may need to share the glowworms with them, but it is by no means crowded. Moreover, the presence of other people might make you feel a bit more comfortable being out in the dark.

Glowworms outside of Waitomo

If Waitomo is not on your itinerary, don’t be alarmed. Waitomo may be famous for its glowworms, but it is by no means the only area in New Zealand where you can marvel at these bioluminescent wonders. The country has many more places, where you can see them either on a cave tour or outside for free. Here I will just mention the ones that I know about, but they are probably far from all! For the ones I haven’t visited yet, I will link to the organisation web pages, or other blogs exploring the location, so that you can get all the info you need!

North Island glowworms

The best place to see glowworms on the North island is obviously Waitomo. But what if Waitomo is not part of your North Island itinerary? No panic, you can check them out in Kakahi, kayak underneath glowworms or see them for free around Lake Tikitapu (Blue Lake) in Rotorua, or visit Waipu caves in Northland. In Waipu caves, you can book a guided tour on Waipu Caves farm park, or visit the public reserve unguided and free. If you decided to go for the latter option, be prepared to get muddy and wet, and please read the safety information below!

Safety warning! Please take into account that Waipu caves options are unguided, unsupervised adventures. The risk of getting lost, flooding and hypothermia is real. There has actually been a rescue from this exact cave in 2007, because the internal river rapidly rose. Do not go into a cave when it has been raining, or when rain is predicted, never go alone, and always bring good lights and back-up lights. Do not venture beyond the third chamber in Waipu cave if you are not an experienced caver. The best place to admire the glowworms is the second chamber anyway!

South Island glowworms

Glowworms are not limited to the North island! Pretty much the whole West Coast is lined with opportunities to see the luminescent miracles. I guess the wet circumstances are to thank for this. You can even get your taste of adventure while rafting underneath glowworms in the Te Ananui cave system run by Underworld Adventures near Westport. They offer a less adventurous walking tour too. On the South West Coast, you can find another glowworm cave in Te Anau, the starting hub for Milford Sounds.

If you don’t need a cave adventure, you can check glowworms out for free at the glow worm dell just outside of Hokitika! The location is right next to the road, so you don’t have to walk a bush track at night. This makes it a rather comfortable experience to do, even if you’re alone. The glowworm density at this location is very good, so you’re going to get a full on glowworm experience. As long as everyone keeps their lights off that is. The drawback of this location is how easy it is to reach, and thus the sheer amount of other people who turn their lights on or talk loudly. When I was there, there was even a tour group, complete with guide, visiting the glowworm dell. This can potentially ruin the magic, but can be mitigated by going very late at night.

A bit further south, near the glaciers, you can get your glowworm fix at Terrace Walk in Franz Josef or Minnehaha walk in Fox glacier. Both of these require a little courage to walk into the bush, because it is pitch black at night (save for the radiance of the glowworms), but at least you’ll get a rather private experience!

Did you know…

• …that glowworms aren’t actually worms? They are the larvae of a type of fungus gnat, but I get that that sounds a bit less appealing.
• …that glowworms use their light to attract and confuse their prey? It is important for them to eat enough in the larvae phase for the following reason.
• …that adult glowworms do not have a mouth? They stay alive long enough to reproduce, and then die!
• …that bright lights and loud sounds can disturb glowworms?? Light causes them to glow less (so they also become harder for you to see). Loud sounds mimic the vibrations of prey, which makes them glow brighter. While that might seem cool, it might alter their long-term behaviour. So please stay quiet and admire them from a distance.

Hopeufully this gives you all the information you need for your very own glowworm adventure. Which one did you choose? Or did you find any good spots that aren’t mentioned in this article? I would love to hear all about it in the comments!