After sadly leaving Hobbiton, our next stop on our Great Sights tour was the Waitomo Caves. The Waitomo Caves are the famous pictures you see of people in caves in a boat and a glowing, twinkling ceiling. Those twinkling lights? Glowworms! It is definitely a touristy thing to do in New Zealand, but definitely beautiful and supports the local Maori tribe of this region. There are actually a few caves in the Waitomo/Te Anga area that you can visit. Some are a peaceful boat ride through the caves, others a long guided walk and some are an entirely dark rip-roaring adventure via black water rafting through the caves. As we bundled our trip with Hobbiton, we were scheduled for the peaceful boat ride. Let’s face it, I have never gone rafting and I wasn’t about to start in a dark cave!
Thank you https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Waitomo_Cave.jpg
The Waitomo Glowworm Caves are home to a special glowworm located only in New Zealand. They are open 365 days a year offering touring at different times throughout the year. You can certainly visit the caves on your own, especially if you are leisurely driving throughout NZ, or you can combine it with tours like I did, such as with Hobbiton on a tour of Rotarua. Keep in mind you are going to be deep underground in a cave, so it can be quite chilly and expect to have some water drip on you! Bring a jacket, I didn’t think I needed one, but I still brought one, just in case.
Thank you https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Waitomo_Cave.jpg
When you shuffle of the bus, before entering and making your way to the cave, you will get your picture taken. Unfortunately, this will be your only picture you probably will have because cameras and GoPros are forbidden in the caves. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Flashes will disturb and scare the glowworms and they are prone to not glow for 30 min to and hour after getting flashed. As that makes tourists after you not so happy, that means no photos or videos 🙁 There are also rumors that everything is copyrighted and owned which is another reason for no videos or flash-free photos. However, it does mean everything will be quiet, peaceful and you can actually enjoy what you are seeing instead of looking through your phone. (Or hearing the annoying iPhone shutter!)
Funnily enough, I heard the photographer speaking to the family in front of my in Cantonese. Since I used to live in Hong Kong, I got really excited! As he took our photo I said thank you in Cantonese and the look on his face and the sound he made!! He was SO shocked. I will never forget that expression on his face. We continued on to meet our tour guide and learn more about the caves and the Maori who run the caves. The Maori have known about the caves for a very long time, and when British surveyors came in to see them in the 1880s. After several visits and tunneling through more areas, it became a bit of a ‘tourist‘ spot. Unfortunately, the land was, of course, taken, from the Maori people but luckily was given back to the descendants in 1989. They have turned Waitomo Caves into what it is today!
After our tour ended, we headed back to Auckland to end our fun-filled day full of Hobbiton and the Waitomo Caves. We were starving so headed to La Zeppa, a trendy Mediterranean tapas restaurant with a stellar rooftop bar. It was weir because it was basically empty but still good! I had SUCH a blast on my tour with Great Sights to see Hobbiton and Waitomo Cave. I highly recommend looking into them or a similar tour if you don’t want to drive around the north island! You will not be disappointed.
Stay tuned for our next adventure in New Zealand – the Bay Islands!
