Text by MOOK Travel Life Network Editorial Team, compiled and reported

 

New Zealand has two renowned glowworm caves—one in Waitomo on the North Island and the other the Te Anau Glowworm Caves on the South Island. For these ecological sites, there’s usually a pre-visit briefing, around a 10-minute video that explains what to expect. Interestingly, although the narration is in English, subtitles are provided in Chinese. Nearby, there are also models that illustrate how underground streams eroded limestone over 250,000 years ago to form these subterranean caverns. The insects living within, having adapted to perpetual darkness, have developed a unique ecosystem.

After the briefing, visitors can board a boat to enter the glowworm cave. Two boats at a time, each carrying 12 people, are guided by a guide who pulls the boat along ropes fixed to the cave walls. The cave is pitch black, and the boat periodically stops at several points so visitors can admire the sky-like expanse of tiny blue stars. These blue stars are created by the glowworms, which secrete sticky threads that hang from the cave walls. Through a chemical reaction in their bodies, they emit a cool blue light to attract insects from the underground streams. Drawn to the glow, the insects get stuck on the threads and become the glowworms’ meal. As a result, the hungrier the glowworms are, the brighter their blue glow becomes.

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