Magical Glow Worm Caves

Completing our loop around the North Island in New Zealand,  our last stop is Waitomo, famous for its glowworm caves. It’s evident that New Zealand is touched by magic from the majestic Coromandel Penisula to the Hobbit Shires at Hobbiton. What better way to end our magical mystery tour than gliding on boats on waterways through caves glowing with glowworms like a celestial excursion through space.

Many people think these glowworms are lightning bugs. The truth is much less romantic. Glowworms are the larval stage of an insect called the fungus gnat which produces bioluminescence. If you look closely the glowworms produce sticky “fishing lines” to trap their insect prey.

Spellbound Glowworm and Cave Tours

Visiting the caves, you’ll need a tour and I recommend  Spellbound Cave Tours.

Like a Van Gogh’s Starry Nite, the caves were lit up like Christmas. The tour guide was charming and knowledgable. I loved learning about the geology of the caves and the glowworms’ journey to become a fungus gnat. The scenic hike around the surrounding area with the local flora and fauna was the icing on the cake.

My wonder still persists all these days and months later as I think back to a different world and reality. We returned on March 17th, just in time for the lockdown. I can’t think of a safer place than New Zealand. Next time–South Island, New Zealand!

To move, to breathe, to fly, to float, to gain all while you give, to roam the roads of lands remote, to travel is to live.

Hans Christian Andersen