Cavernous Sojourn

I had another cool thing planned for later – a tour through one of the glowworm caves of the vast Waitomo cave system. (‘Waitomo’ comes from the Māori words wai (water) and tomo (hole or shaft), roughly translating to ‘water passing through a hole.’) What is usually described as glowworms in the cave, isn‘t actually glowworms. Let ChatGPT tell you why:

“New Zealand’s famous glowworms, Arachnocampa luminosa, are actually the larvae of a fungus gnat, not true glowworms. These bioluminescent larvae light up the dark caves to attract prey, creating a stunning natural light show. The glowing larvae use sticky silk threads to trap small insects. Once they mature, they become non-glowing adult flies with a short lifespan, focused only on mating.“

Even though I’d seen glowworms before, I wanted another look – and the chance to get better photos this time. The tour advertised that photography is allowed, though tripods aren’t (too risky in the dark). They did mention that there would be mounts you can use… but failed to say these are only meant for smartphones. So yeah – enjoy my attempts at glowworm photography, in descending order of success. 😅

It was a shame, really. The boat ride through the glowworm-lit cave is stunning. At first, it’s pitch black with just a few glowing dots, but once your eyes adjust, it actually looks surprisingly bright – the reflections on the still water are almost surreal. Too bad I couldn’t capture it.

To make up for that little fail, here’s a photo of the ‘Bambi’ I met that evening – a 23-year-old deer from the farmland next to our hostel for the night. Czytaj więcej