The caves of Waitomo and Ruakuri are magical.
Waitomo Glowworm Cave is perhaps one of the most well-known of Aotearoa New Zealand’s sights but its cousin, Ruakuri, is just as spectacular.
The glowworms that give their name to the cave are Arachnocampa luminosa, a type of fungus gnat. This rather prosaic latter name belies the beauty of the bioluminescence for which the creatures are known. In damp conditions in the native bush and in caves these small animals wait for flying prey, luring it in with a blue light, to be entangled in a sticky thread and to be eaten.
The Glowworm Cave in Waitimo is part of a system of limestone caves and caverns, etched out by water over millennia. The tourism aspect of the cave is to be taken down along a walkway, past some spectacular stalactites and stalagmites and then into a boat that is gently pulled through the darkness along a system of ropes. In the almost-pitch-black the boat is guided around and around the central cavern where glowworms illuminate the ceiling. It is rather magical and a little unnerving.
The Glowworm Cave has a rather interesting tourist history as you can read here, but the Ruakuri Cave is just as interesting. Ruakuri – the name means “den of dogs” and refers to its discovery – is accessed by a spiral staircase (with amazing acoustics) and a tunnel. A ninety minute walk along a boardwalk takes visitors past incredible limestone formations, some looking just like curtains in a staged play, and delicate stalagmites and stalactites.
Here are some photographs of the caves. It is not possible to photograph inside the glowworm cavern so these are all of Ruakuri. Amongst the pictures you can see the equipment that is used to monitor carbon dioxide and water vapour in order to protect the delicate formations, a fossilised shell from an ancient scallop, glowworms and the limestone forms that thousands of years to dripping water has created.
