Waitomo – The Waitomo Glowworm Caves (New Zealand)

After 2 nights in Auckland we started our self-driving tour through New Zealand today. Our first stop was the Waitomo Fireflies Cave.

Our rental car for New Zealand

As in Australia, we booked the car online via DERTOUR, because the conditions were best here.

Our rental car for New Zealand

Our travel plans for New Zealand

After we had the car, we quickly picked up our luggage at the Hotel VR Auckland City and drove south on State Highway 1 (SH 1). We have divided our itinerary in New Zealand into 9 stages.

» Stage 1: from Auckland via Waitomo Cave Village to Rarotura (Geothermal Area)
» Stage 2: from Rarotura to Wai-O-Tapu & Orakei Korako to Turangi
» Stage 3: from Turangi to Tongariro Alpine Crossing to Wellington
» Stage 4: from Wellington by ferry to Picton
» Stage 5: from Picton to Kaiteriteri (Abel Tasman National Park)
» Stage 6: from Kaiteriteri to Punakaki (Pancake Rocks)
» Stage 7: from Punakaki to Franz Josef Glacier
» Stage 8: from Franz Josef Glacier to Milford Sounds
» Stage 9: from Milford Sounds to Queenstown

Our itinerary for New Zealand

The Glowworm Caves of Waitomo

The first destination today was the Waitomo Caves, which became famous for their so-called Glowworms. The village of Waitomo Cave Village consists mainly of the various agencies that offer tours through the caves. For this reason, the 26-soul village receives half a million visitors a year. When we arrived around 11 o’clock, there was relatively little going on, so we still got tickets for the 12 o’clock tour. In the small shop you will also find many New Zealand souvenirs.

We decided on a Footwhistle Glow Worm Walking tour through a cave opened only five years ago, because you were allowed to take your own photos on this tour. On the other tours, where you sometimes sit on a boat in fifties, it is sometimes forbidden to take pictures. With a small van our guide drove us to the cave about 5 km away. A path through dense forest and a staircase finally led to the cave entrance.

At the entrance, our guide prepared us and our eyes for the darkness and little light so that we could see the fireflies well. On the way through the fireflies cave, only a few lamps were installed, which are fed by solar light. Already at the beginning of the cave, small blue dots gradually lit up on the ceiling, which looked like a small blue starry sky. These points are the so-called glowworms – not to be confused with the German fireflies or light beetles. Here, transparent worm-shaped larvae of the fungal mosquito hang on the cave ceiling, which let long sticky threads hang down. At the back of it is the bioluminescent luminous organ with which they attract other insects, which in turn become entangled in the threads and eaten by the fungal mosquito.

In the whole cave you have seen in many places dozens of these fireflies, which can only exist at very high humidity. Even if you are allowed to take pictures here yourself, it is almost impossible to capture the glow of the fireflies in complete darkness. This requires a fixed tripod and a long exposure. Therefore, at this point only a sample photo, as we could see it. At a small grotto there were many small stalactites and stalagmites to be seen. After 45 minutes, the tour ended with a cup of tea from the native ‘Kawakawa’ plant.

The Hobbiton Village

After that we got back in the car and went to Rotorua. On the way there is actually Hobbiton Village, the film set from Lord of the Rings. But after reading that a 1-hour tour costs over 50 euros, it wasn’t worth it to us. But of course it would have been nice to see the little “Hobbit Town” as here on the pictures.

Our Hotel in Rotorua

Around 7 p.m. we arrived at the hotel and are. We stayed one night at Accolade Lodge. Our room was nicely decorated and clean. The beds are very comfortable. Microwave and crockery are even available in the room. Wi-Fi was free and worked well. In the immediate vicinity are supermarkets, fast food shops and other shops. The breakfast was a bit mau (toast, cornflakes) in terms of choice, but served.

Our room at Accolade Motor Lodge

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