Somewhere under west Waikato, Michelle Langstone unearths some living Christmas lights
Now that the Franklin Road Christmas lights have been cancelled because of Covid-19, it's time to find festivity in other places in New Zealand this holiday season, and I suggest you start at Waitomo, and let the little lights of tiny cave dwelling creatures get you in the Christmas spirit.
It's much quieter at Waitomo than I remember, and it's a stark reminder of the effect of global pandemic on tourism. If you're not a fan of crowds and queues, however, now is the best time to be visiting our caves — there is no jostling for personal space, and the smaller sizes of tour groups means your time in the caves feels like a bespoke experience. There are tours to suit everyone, and this time I choose the Ruakuri cave expedition, because I've never been there, and the promise of getting up close and personal with some glow worms is a prospect I can't turn down.
Ruakuri is just down the hill from Waitomo cave. Our guide is Katie, originally from Bournemouth, and she's possessed with the kind of dry humour that makes her informative patter about the history of Ruakuri both amusing and interesting. She takes us down the road to the cave entrance, which is a man-made structure built to look like the rocks walls inside the cave. Through a series of electronic doors a huge spiral entranceway awaits us, curving away into the deep underground where we'll access the cave proper. It's lit by soft orange lights, and as we descend in the near dark, it feels as if we are entering the Bat Cave, or the lair of a James Bond Villain. It's thrilling to wind our way down, down, down, and to arrive at another series of doors and passageways that feel secretive, almost like you're entering an underground military intelligence base.
We leave the human structures behind, and enter the cave. Faint strips of artificial light show us the way, and we pause in front of the calcite formations, some of which look like curtains waving in a breeze. It's wonderful to see them so close, these ancient structures that carry the history of our country from before humans ever inhabited it. The further down we descend, the louder the roar of the river becomes, and we peer over the side of a walkway and see the dark Waipā river water moving beneath us. The last time I was in Waitomo I went black water rafting through this cave, dizzy with excitement, laying back in my inner tube in the freezing water and staring up at the glow worms sailing past. Walking through Ruakuri is a much more sedate experience, but it gives you time to absorb the spirit of the cave, which is strong and calm and steady.
The artificial lights go out when we reach the glow worm grotto, and we hold on to the railings to find the way, weaving through the walls of soft, insect-made lights. We are close enough to see the long strings of sticky thread the glow worms have let down to catch prey; they glisten like tiny necklaces beneath the blue-green lights of the larvae. It's truly special to see them up close, and all of our party fall silent, listening to the sound of a hidden waterfall in the cave walls, and watching the patterns of bioluminescence across the ceiling above us.
In all we are underground for 90 minutes, but when we emerge into the sunshine it feels disorientating, as if we've been gone for a night. It's a tour well worth your time, and Ruakuri also has the distinction of being the only fully wheelchair-accessible cave in the Southern Hemisphere. If you're feeling adventurous, the black water rafting is a must-do, and the Waitomo Cave tour that includes a boat ride at the end is an enduring delight. Waitomo is a wonderful place to visit at any time of year, but as Christmas approaches it's impossible not to feel a bit festive as you take in the beautiful, bioluminescent glow deep beneath the earth.
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