Waitomo Caves is a quiet little village in the Northern King County. It’s surrounded by hillsides of green grass and native forests, all fairly typical at first glance, though anything but typical when you begin to explore more carefully.
Our region is riddled with caves, gorges and rivers that unexpectedly disappear underground. Glowworms inhabit the 200 or more caves known in the area and also forests and stream banks. Waitomo is a glowworm paradise and glowworms are the main attraction drawing visitors to our village.
In 2005, Waitomo became the focus of two BBC film crews, one for the Sir David Attenborough’s Life in the Undergrowth series and the other, for the Planet Earth – ‘Caves’ documentary. Glowworms were the subject both crews wished to capture as never before. After checking their options they requested permission to film in the Spellbound Glowworm Cave. Consequently Spellbound’s glowworm display is featured in documentaries placing it among some of the most wonderous caves in the world.
is a famous attraction because of a sizeable population of glowworms that live in the caves. Glowworms or Arachnocampa luminosa are tiny, bioluminescent creatures that produce a blue-green light and are found exclusively in New Zealand.
The Waitomo Glowworm Caves were first explored in 1887 by local Maori Chief Tane Tinorau accompanied by an English surveyor Fred Mace. Local Maori people knew of the Caves existence, but the subterranean caverns had never been extensively explored until Fred and Tane went to investigate. They built a raft of flax stems and with candles in hand, floated into the cave where the stream goes underground.
As they entered the caves, they came across the Glowworm Grotto and were amazed by the twinkling glow coming from the ceiling. As they travelled further into the cave by poling themselves towards an embankment, they were also astounded by the limestone formations.
