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Glowing Underground
by Trystan The Waitomo Caves are famous for a species of glowworm. Well, actually, it's a fly, and the larvae secrete excrement that glows. These larvae attach themselves to the ceilings of underground caves. In spring, while the bugs mature, the cave ceilings look like starry nights due to this maggot shit. But "glowworms" sells better! We booked ourselves into the Tumu Tumu Toobing Tour to see the caves. Several different companies offer caving trips that include everything from abseiling and rock-climbing to tubing and swimming, all at a range of prices. You can even walk through a dry cave and see glowworms, but we wanted an adventure. And boy did we get one! First, the guides drove a bus-full of us a half-hour away to a sheep pasture near the caves. In a chilly Quonset hut, we donned wet suits, rubber boots, and hard hats with lights on the forehead. Then we trekked through the pasture to the cave mouth. We climbed down a ladder through a narrow stone opening into the caves.
For about three hours, we climbed, crawled, scrambled, swam, floated, tubed, and clambered over sharp rocks and through watery caves. In a couple places, we crawled on our bellies through mud, sometimes in pitch-black dark. At times, we walked over jagged rock for what seemed like an eternity. We even floated on our backs through light rapids and waded through icy, chest-high water. The actual parts in inner tubes were rather short. But we saw glowworms in several large caves. Hundreds of blue-green pinpricks glowed above us like stars. Despite the hard work, the trip was exhilarating. This was the good kind of challenge. Physically trying, but something new and delightful and unlike anything we'd ever done before. I recommended it!
When You Go: Cameras are impractical and thus not allowed on the more adventuresome tours. But the guides may pose you in a few spots for a picture that you can purchase later. Considering the unique nature of the tour, the one photo can be worth the cost. |
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