January 12

Bus to Waitomo, Glow Worm Cave

I got up at 6:30 and walked outside to see if Mt. Ruapehu was visible. Although it was clear and sunny in National Park, most of Ruapehu was still in the clouds. Some of the snowy slopes were visible. I went back to the kitchen and had breakfast. A few people who were up early to do the Tongariro Crossing were there.

I packed and checked out, and bought a bus ticket to Waitomo from the Manager. Actually, the closest the bus gets is a turnoff about 6 km from Waitomo. The manager said I could hitchhike in from there, or walk, or possibly get a ride from a shuttle. There was no actual town at this intersection. The closest town on the main road was Otorhanga, a little way further. The busses and trains all pass through National Park at mid-day, so I had to wait until 2:40.

I took a short walk around National Park, a sleepy, dull prairie town, at least in the summer. There would have been more to do in Whakapapa Village, where there is at least a visitor's center, but that is not convenient to transportation. Ruapehu was now covered heavily by clouds, although National Park was still sunny. I looked through the visitor's book in the Ski Haus, and read the entries from the time of Ruapehu's eruption. At lunch time I got a hamburger and fries to take out at the little store across the street, and brought them back to the Ski Haus kitchen.

I took another walk to the highway at the edge of town to see if Ruapehu was visible yet. It was showing through the clouds a bit more now, but the top was still hidden. I took a picture, since this was the most I was going to see of the famous volcano. Ngauruhoe and Tongariro were clear today. The people doing the crossing would have a good day.

I went back to the Ski Haus and brought my bags to the side of the road to wait for the bus. As usual when I traveled by bus, I had my pack inside my big green duffle bag. It was a heavy load. The Australian man I met on the Tongariro Circuit was going to Waitomo on the same bus. He had stayed at a different hostel last night, and had a ticket to Otorhanga. He said there was a shuttle that meets this bus, and I would be better off going there than getting off at the intersection.

The bus came at 2:40. When the driver saw my ticket, he also suggested going all the way to Otorhanga. This actually cost a dollar or two more, but he didn't say anything about it. I hoped they would have room on the shuttle. Around 4:30, we stopped in Te Kuiti for a half hour. I called the shuttle in Otorhanga to let them know I was coming, and went in the nearby cafe for an ice cream cone.

The shuttle was waiting at the bus stop when we arrived in Otorhanga. The shuttle driver talked constantly on the way to Waitomo, telling us all about the Maori history of the area, called the "Land of Kings" because this is where their kings came from. Traditionally, there was no Maori king. They got the idea from the English. There is presently a Maori queen, with no official government role.

We asked the driver why it was so complicated to get to Waitomo, with no direct bus service. He said they liked it that way, because it kept the town relatively quiet. They still get a lot of tour busses coming in during the day to see the Glow Worm Cave, but at night, the town is quiet. The driver said the best Glow Worm Cave tour is the last one of the day, at 8 PM, when all of the day-trippers are gone, and they give one more tour for the people staying overnight.

Waitomo is a tiny town amid rolling, green hills. The driver showed us around, pointing out attractions such as the Shearing Shed, where they have angora rabbit shearing demonstrations, and the Maori pa site, where there is a nature walk describing the medicinal herbs used by the Maoris. He also gave us maps, and showed us the bushwalk, which he said was worthwhile. He told us that the bushwalk was a good place to see glow-worms at night, and pointed out on the map where to go to find them, a section of the walk between Aranui Cave and a natural bridge. The driver dropped me off at the YHA, where I had reservations. It was full, so the Australian would have to stay elsewhere. Actually, I was dropped off at the entrance to the fancy Waitomo THC hotel, which once housed the queen. The YHA hostel is just out back, and shares the hotel's registration desk.

I followed the shuttle driver's advice and bought a ticket for the 8 PM Glow Worm Cave tour at the hotel desk. Then I walked down the steep hill through flowers and fern trees into town. I carried my small camera and a flashlight, since I thought I might try to find the glow worms on the bushwalk after seeing the cave tonight. The central area of town had a pub just down the hill from the hotel, and a Cave Museum and Visitor's Center down on the main road. Next to the visitor's center were a store and cafe. I went to the store, but found it didn't have much, so I just got milk and brought it back to the hostel, before returning to the cafe attached to the store for dinner.

The cafe had a Chinese menu, and was reasonably priced. I ordered the Supreme Venison Dish, a stir-fry with vegetables and five-spice, and a Waikato Bitter beer. Then I walked a short section of the bushwalk, beginning across the street from the Cave Museum. I walked up to an overlook on top of a hill in a sheep pasture. The path up passed through dense forest and fern trees, and interesting limestone formations. I continued along the path as far as the Glow Worm Cave, arriving just before 8 PM.

The ticket office was closed this late, and the ticket for the 8 PM tour must be bought at the hotel. Several of the people waiting didn't know this, and had to walk up the path to the hotel to buy their tickets. The Australian man was among them. This tour group would be small. During the day, the groups are much larger, because most people come in on afternoon tour busses, see the cave, and then leave. The last tour can take more time and visit more of the cave. The guide said she enjoys this tour most. While we waited for everyone to arrive with their tickets, she told us about the glow worms on the bushwalk, which the shuttle driver had mentioned earlier.

The Glow Worm Cave is full of stalactites and stalagmites - much more decorated than any of the South Island caves I had seen. Some glow worms were seen already at the entrance. The guide said these ones are not seen during the day. Glow worms become more active at night, when the activity in the cave decreases. They don't like noise and light.

We went down into a big central room, and then up stairs into a side passage leading to a beautifully decorated chamber. The guide said this chamber was not visited by the large day groups, because the carbon dioxide level would get too high. Carbon dioxide damages the cave formations. We walked back down into the cave to a room with a high ceiling. There was almost no echo here due to the porous limestone walls. The guide said it was a great place to sing, and that many famous people had sung here. One person in our group volunteered, and did a fine job. Some of the formations on the wall made a ringing sound when struck gently by the guide.

We walked down to the river for a close-up look at the glow worms. Thousands were here, with many long lines for catching insects. Some of the lines were as much as a foot long, maybe more. We were told the now-familiar story of the life-cycle of a glow worm. Then we walked down to the river for the boat ride. Everyone fit in one boat, so no one had to wait, and we could take our time.

The boat was pulled along an overhead wire into a grotto with a 35 foot ceiling covered with glow worms, so many you could see by them. It was the most glow worms I had seen in one place. The Te Ana-au Glow Worm Cave had nothing to compare to this. We remained silent, surrounded by the constellations of glow worms and the sound of dripping water. We went around the grotto a couple times. Then we followed a passage to the original cave entrance, the "water hole" that gave Waitomo its name. There were many worms glowing here now. The day tours wouldn't see so many. A few Japanese tourists got off at the entrance, normally the end of the tour. But the guide had to bring the boat back, so she let us come too. (The tourists who got off had puzzled expressions at this point.) We made our way slowly back to the inside dock where we had boarded. The guide used her light to point out some features of the cave, and told us some of the history of the grotto. Then we walked back up to the entrance.

The Australian and I both wanted to see the glow worms on the bushwalk, and started down the road. We had walked a kilometer when someone stopped to give us a ride. They were also going to see the glow worms. We parked at the Aranui Cave parking area. The path did have some excellent glow worms, especially just before a swinging bridge. It was not quite dark yet, but the path followed a narrow ravine, and there were plenty of glow worms on the dark walls. I used my flashlight only when necessary. It might have been possible to take a picture if I had brought my good camera.

We followed the path out to a natural bridge. The route wound through some little caves and around interesting limestone formations. We returned by the same route. A number of other people were out looking at the worms tonight also. I returned to the hostel and talked to some people in the bunk room for a while, going to bed around midnight.

Copyright Scott A. Yost, 1996. All rights reserved.