Twinkle-twinkle little worms

Mayank, Preeti and Devansh admiring the twinkling Waitomo Caves.

Don’t blink, don’t speak and don’t sneak a photo — that’s how you got to enjoy the miraculous underground celestial display.

It was pitch-dark inside as we glided along on a silent river. There was just the sound of trickling water, echoing off the walls of the cave. As we meandered along, my fellow travellers were quiet and all I could hear was the muffled sound of astonished sighs and the soft drip-drip from the incredible stalactite formations.

In this complete darkness was a “sky of stars” twinkling and sparkling like the Milky Way, not just above our heads but all around us. Thousands upon thousands of glowworms create this celestial ceiling. Some glowed bright baby blue, while others shone more dimly. Some, which were in their growing stage, were yet to join the display.

These are the Waitomo Glowworm Caves (Glowworm Grotto, Ruakuri Cave and Aranui Cave) in Waitomo — a perfect weekend getaway to explore underground caves famous for glowworms and blackwater rafting.

These glowworms, scientifically known as Arachnocampa Luminosa, are unique to New Zealand.

Thousands of these tiny creatures hang from the cave’s ceiling, radiating their unmistakable luminescent light to attract their prey. Their luminosity is their sign of hunger, and they will shine as brightly as possible to trick flies into thinking their light is the exit from the cave, but instead, they trap these flies in their sticky and acidic hanging strands.

Waitomo River passes through the cave and provides the basis for a delicate ecosystem of darkness, moisture and nutrients.

With the help of a local Maori guide we explored the stunning underground scenery. Along the way, she explained the history of the caves, the science behind the glowworms, and the Maori history associated with it.

Most of the time the glowworms were too far from view to be distinguished as a worm, but there were moments in which I could get close enough to marvel at them individually, almost like thousands of independent vertically-hanging strands waiting for their prey.

After this adventure in another world beneath the ground, a great sense of wonder overcame us as we emerged back into the sunlight. The Glowworm Grotto left me speechless as I’d never seen anything like this before — a surreal starry subterranean wonderland.

Next to the Grotto is Ruakuri Cave. This cave also has the river running through it, again making it the perfect environment for the glowworms. The experience here was quite different and began with descending a dramatic 15 metre man-made spiral ramp into the cave.

The journey through this cave was both investigative and educational. With our expert tour guide, it felt like we had embarked on a time-travel mission going back 20 million years to learn about how the caves were formed below sea level and how the water flowing through them was caused by small cracks on the walls of the cavern.

In the Ruakuri Cave we were allowed to take pictures of the cobalt blue dots with our cameras and capture the beauty and magic of the glowworms along with impressive limestone formations, crystals and fossils — the stalactites and stalagmites — I’m sure any geographer would be marvelled to see.

The third main cave is Aranui which is different from the other two as there’s no river running through it and also it doesn’t have the glowworms. However, the beautiful high chambers decorated with limestone formations in a variety of shades make this cave all the more spectacular.

By the end of the day we were tired but it was truly amazing to see how crazy and creative nature can be.

Along with the fun at the caves, what made our trip more special was our stay at the Woodlyn Park. Tucked in the countryside, this offbeat hotel is just 2km from the Waitomo Glowworm Caves. It had a unique set up of a vintage Bristol Freighter plane where our accommodation was in the cockpit.

It was a crazy but novel experience to be on a flight that would never take off.