NZ Land Logs 26, Year 2: North Island—Waitomo Cave Glow Worms
Date: Friday, March 16, 2007
Weather Today: Partly Sunny
Location: Waitomo Caves, New Zealand

Our day started in New Plymouth, but as suspected, there was still no Mt. Taranaki. The low clouds completely veiled the “massive cone of Mt. Taranaki that dominates the area”. It was as if someone had taken White-Out and erased the mountain from sight. We had to drive on and count our blessings of having great weather on this trip that has allowed us to see so much everywhere else. We drove north up the coast from New Plymouth and explored the area called the Northern Taranaki on our way to Waitomo Caves. Unfortunately, it was too early in the morning to stop and taste test the organic beers at the White Cliffs Brewing Company, but we did stop to see the White Cliffs. Again, our efforts were thwarted–this time by high tide, not clouds. We saw the cliffs in the immediate area, but we could not walk out on the beach to look up the coast and see the main cliffs. We had learned in the Information Center in New Plymouth that tide was not going to be on our side today, but we made one more stop on our trip north to see the Three Sisters and Elephant Rock. We thought we might be able to somehow circumvent the high tide. We could see Elephant Rock, but the three rocks (really only two and a ‘bit’ after a storm a couple of years ago) were not visible from the car park and high tide did indeed keep us from walking out to view them. We did catch a glimpse of the ‘sisters’ once we were back on the curvy road, but there was no place to stop and take a picture. We had a wonderful time in the Taranaki region, but we don’t have many pictures to show for it.

Highway 3 turned inland and we drove through the Awakino River Gorge. This gorge was much greener than others we have seen and there were not the sheer cliffs of other gorges we have viewed. This made it not as dramatic, but the giant ponga tree ferns that filled the mountain sides were beautiful. We stopped at a pull off to take pictures of the giant ferns and were delighted to find an insect camouflaged on the fern frond we were photographing. It looked like a green Walking Stick and when we examined the frond further, we found more of these insects. Nature is amazing. From the gorge, we went over hill and dale, up and down, around and around curves, through beautiful farm country. And on the other side of the mountain, we found ourselves in the Waitomo region. We drove to Waitomo Caves and checked in at the Top 10 Holiday Park. Our cottage here was really delightful. This is a new camping park and everything is still sparkly new. It was mid-afternoon by now and time for cave explorations. We decided to just go to the Waitomo Glowworm Cave, but Alan and Helaine went for a package deal to visit both Ruakuri Cave and the Waitomo Glowworm Cave. They had a wonderful time in the Ruakuri Cave, got to see some glowworms there as well as examine the beautiful formations of stalactites and stalagmites, and they were allowed to take pictures. The Waitomo Glowworm Caves does not allow any photography. While they did this, Mark and I relaxed and did laundry and then went for a late afternoon tour of the Waitomo Glowworm Caves. Wow! Those little glowworms really do glow. We explored the cave and found deep tubes that have been formed by running water. These shafts went from the cave floor staight down to the river below and were totally fascinating. We went into a chamber called the “cathedral” which was also beautiful. The acoustics here are fantastic and many famous singers have come here from all parts of the globe to exercise their vocal chords. From the “cathedral” we walked down to a place where we could examine the glowworm threads up close. The female glowworm lays eggs and when the eggs hatch the larva builds a nest on the cave ceiling and sends down sticky threads. The purpose of the sticky threads that hang down about a foot from the cave ceiling is to catch insects. This is how the larvae feed themselves and it is during this feeding time that the tail end of the larvae glow. In about nine months, the larvae are about the size of wooden match stick and they then go into the pupa stage. This is the same as forming a cocoon. This lasts about two weeks and then the adult glowworm emerges looking much like a large mosquito. These interesting insects have no mouth and their only function in their short three to four day life is to reproduce. As I said previously, it is the larvae stage that glows, not the adult. The hungrier the larvae, the brighter the glow. And in the glowworm cave, there are hundreds of these little guys in masses that emit the most magical natural lights we have ever seen. After observing the glowworm threads up close, we walked back through the cave and went down some steps that have been built that lead to the river that runs through this cave. Glowworms need a moist environment and the river provides the level of moisture necessary to keep glowworms healthy and happy. We got in boats and truly enjoyed the ride observing the masses of glowing lights. It felt like a Disney ride, but it was just nature working its magic.

When we returned to our cottage, Alan and Helaine were back from their cave exploration and we traded stories of what we had seen. They will have to go through the glowworm cave in the morning as time ran out today. Helaine fixed a great dinner of red cod, mashed sweet potatoes, known as kumara here, and a green salad. It was delicious. Tomorrow we will drive to the next town north of here, Otorohanga, to see the Kiwi House. This is a bird sanctuary that houses kiwis and many other New Zealand birds. We have not been in areas to observe kiwis in a natural setting, so we want to take this opportunity to see them before returning to Auckland. From Otorohanga, we will drive north to Auckland. We started our adventure there three weeks ago today, but we will not end it there. At least not tomorrow. We will stay there for a day to explore the volcanic island of Rangitoto and then head to the Northland to explore that area. Hang on for more adventure.

070316 Web Pics–New Plymouth to Waitomo Caves