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New Zealand
45 Minutes
Waitomo Glowworm Caves & Black Water Rafting
4 options · from $65 AUD
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The Waitomo glowworm caves and black water rafting trips are the reason a tiny patch of North Island farmland is on every backpacker's route. Beneath the paddocks is a limestone cave system lit by thousands of native glowworms, and you can see it two ways: quietly by boat, or by tubing, climbing and abseiling through it in the dark.
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Bay of Islands Shore Excursion with Glowworm Caves
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Kawiti Glow Worm Caves
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$189 AUD
There's also an option up north in the Bay of Islands, with a different set of glowworm caves and a lot more besides.
What the Waitomo caves are actually like
Glowworms are the larvae of a native fungus gnat, Arachnocampa luminosa, and they glow blue-green to lure insects. Thousands on a cave ceiling look like a galaxy. On the walk-through tour you move through the limestone chambers, including the Cathedral, the tallest in the cave, then board a boat for the Glowworm Grotto. No engine, no talking, your guide pulls the boat along by hand, because the glowworms are sensitive to light and noise.
Black water rafting is the same underground world done the hard way. Instead of a boat you get a rubber tube and an underground river in Ruakuri Cave. You climb, wade and float through the dark, drop off a small waterfall and drift under glowworms with the water roaring around you. On the full-scale version the entrance is a 35-metre abseil, with a flying fox and waterfall climbs before you surface.
Which Waitomo cave trip is right for you
Waitomo Glowworm Caves, from $65. The 45-minute walk and silent boat ride, run by the cave's official kaitiaki (guardians). Suits every age and anyone who wants the glowworms without getting wet.
Black Labyrinth, from $149. The original black water rafting trip: three hours in Ruakuri Cave, tubing the underground river with a small waterfall jump thrown in. Ages 12 and up. The accessible adventure, and the audition for the bigger one.
Black Abyss, from $259. Waitomo's flagship: five hours underground with a 35-metre abseil in, a flying fox, black water tubing, waterfall jumps and climbs, with glowworms overhead the whole way. Ages 16 and up, abseil training included. For anyone who wants the biggest story in Waitomo that day.
Bay of Islands Shore Excursion with Glowworm Caves, from $189. A different region entirely. Five hours from Waitangi Wharf, departing 9:30am: the Kawiti Glow Worm Caves, a self-guided walk in the Puketī kauri forest, the Hundertwasser Toilets at Kawakawa, the Makana Chocolate Factory and Haruru Falls, with guide, mini-coach, entry fees and bottled water included and a café stop for lunch. Built for cruise passengers, but it suits anyone in Paihia with a day to fill.
Practical tips for Waitomo
Waitomo is roughly two and a half to three hours' drive south of Auckland, and most hop-on bus routes stop there. The caves run year-round and the glowworms don't care about the weather, so it's a good rainy-day plan. Cave water is cold in every season, so for the black water trips bring swimmers to wear underneath, a towel, and a full change of clothes with warm layers for afterwards. Leave the phone in a locker. Pair the walk-through cave with either rafting trip to do Waitomo properly in one day: quiet one first, loud one after.
Glowworm caves: your questions
What is black water rafting?
Floating an underground river on a rubber tube, by headlamp, through caves lit by glowworms. At Waitomo it's done in Ruakuri Cave. Black Labyrinth from $149 is the three-hour tubing trip for ages 12 and up; Black Abyss from $259 adds a 35-metre abseil, a flying fox and waterfall climbs over five hours for ages 16 and up.
Is the Waitomo Glowworm Caves tour worth it if I'm doing black water rafting?
Yes, they're different experiences. The walk-through tour from $65 gives you the Cathedral chamber and the silent boat ride through the Glowworm Grotto, the densest display. The rafting trips are about the river and the adrenaline, with glowworms as backdrop.
How cold is the water in the Waitomo caves?
Cold, all year. Expect to be fully wet on both black water trips and plan for warm, dry clothes afterwards. The walk-through glowworm cave is a dry boat ride.
Can I see glowworms somewhere other than Waitomo?
Yes. The Bay of Islands shore excursion from $189 visits the Kawiti Glow Worm Caves in Northland, owned and run by descendants of the Māori chieftain Kawiti, on a five-hour tour from Waitangi Wharf that also includes kauri forest, Haruru Falls and the Hundertwasser Toilets.