The Waitomo Caves are a top attraction in New Zealand. There are options for black water rafting, abseiling (rappelling), and other adventure activities. But Allison and I pick the popular Ruakuri tour and Gloworm cave combo ($83).

We begin in the Ruakuri cave by circling down several stories of a very dramatic cave entrance.

Our awesome tour guide Steph highlights the history of the caves, its geological features, and its cultural relevance for the Maori people.

These strings are hung by gloworms to catch insects for food.

And speaking of gloworms, here they are! We’ll see more later on the Gloworm tour, but cameras aren’t allowed there so I take advantage of this opportunity and photograph them now.

Centuries ago these caves used to be connected to the ocean; the fossils below are evidence of this:

This pipe to the surface was used years ago to pour concrete into the cave walkways. You can still see the daylight peeking through way, way up there.

Steph puts her flashlight under this rock to make it glow.

More gloworms:

This guy (or gal) is abseiling down the cave.

At some point we circle back to the Ruakuri entrance. I’m completely fascinated by this structure.

Time for the Gloworm Cave. They don’t allow cameras because an unintentional flash could ruin the experience for everyone and also because it’s not fair for us humans to disrupt the gloworms’ environment.

But due to unforeseen circumstances I am left alone for about ten minutes (the boat fills up just before I get on so I have to wait for the next one) and I’m able to get one surreptitious photo:

This picture was taken in complete darkness, save for the gloworms and that blue light from a stray flashlight during this 20 second exposure. There were a few other tourists around so I couldn’t really look at my camera to check the exposure.

Shortly thereafter our guide returns and we load into the boat for a ten minute ride in darkness as the gloworms twinkle above our heads. It’s magical.

Sidenote: gloworms are really maggots. But our guide points out that if they call it the maggot tour not many people would sign up!

Also worth noting: their life span is about one year. The first eggs to hatch are hungry and eat their unhatched brothers and sisters. Once they become full grown adults, they do not have digestive systems so they starve to death in a matter of days.

Our boat pulls to the other side of the cave and we disembark.

This was a fascinating tour combo and I highly recommend it. If you are short on time and can only pick one, I’d suggest the Ruakuri cave because you’ll get to see gloworms there too, plus it’s packed with more diverse cave features and that stunning circular entrance. If you are looking for a caving adventure activity, there are LOTS of options in the area; check out Black Water Rafting Co. or Waitomo Adventures.