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The Milky Way Glowworm Cave is at Waipu Caves Farm Park, a 320 acre privately owned conservation park for tourism, adventure, and outdoor education.
There is also camping, motorhome sites, rock climbing, bouldering, bush walks, and other extreme adventure activities. It has 200 acres of native bush and lots of limestone karst.
I just went to see the glowworms. It was absolutely spectacular! I've never experienced anything quite like it.
This pristine privately owned cave can only be accessed with a guide who will teach you all about the world famous glowworms. Don't forget the very impressive thousands of years old stalagmites and stalactites!
It was an amazing experience I won't forget. The worms hang in a bit of a hammock. Then, like spiders, they use a web to catch prey. But theirs hang down like a delicate spring of pearls. Each worm will have about 20 strings suspended from their hammock. In the light, it's not much to look at, but when it's dark, it's genuinely like the Milky Way lighting up. You are allowed to take photos, which is taboo in most NZ glowworm caves. In some places it's a bit of a squeeze and you have to take very good care, but it is so worth it. In the main chamber they had set up a camping chair for me. It was the most brilliant experience sitting there in the dark, the only sound coming from the running stream, and watching the glowworms. It was a cathartic experience!
It is a bit of a trek to get there from the reception building. I called in advance to advise I have some mobility issues, so they drove me part of the way, which was an incredible help. Even then it's a hike to get to the wooden bridge leading to the entrance of the cave. Then there are about 30 steps leading into the cave, 10 of which are very steep and treacherous (for me). Once inside, the entire walkway is cemented and is a fairly pleasant walk next the the river. It does slope downward, which means it's a slight uphill climb back, and then obviously the stairs. I can appreciate that building stairs into a cave and then a cemented pathway is no easy task, and they have absolutely tried to make it as easy and inclusive to all ages and body types. They are working very hard to make even greater improvements. They did a fabulous job, considering it's only their 3rd year that they are open to the public and doing tours.
It is a must see and a tick off my...
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Wow what an amazing place, we loved every second of our tour! We arrived just in time for the 11am tour and although we hadn’t booked we were welcomed by Nina. She was checking the rain forecast and wouldn’t let us pay until she was happy the tour was ok to go ahead. Thankfully the rain subsided so all was good and we made our way along the pathway to the caves. There was only us and another couple so it really did feel like a private tour. The walk to the caves is beautiful and Nina our guide was pointing out and talking about things that were of interest. We were all given a little torch at the entrance to the cave (and wow what an entrance!) and made our way in. So so beautiful, we were astounded by the formations we could see from the start. Nina was a fabulous guide, so informative and didn’t rush us at any point. So wonderful to see the stalagmites and stalactites up close and hear all about them.. there were so many of them it was amazing!
The second half of the tour was conducted in almost complete darkness, so we could see all the glow worms shining brightly like stars in the sky as we walked back (carefully) the way we had come. There were thousands of them - such an impressive sight! It really did feel very special.
Thank you Nina for a being such a brilliant guide, we learned so much on our tour yesterday. And we loved the fact that the caves and area around are still uncommercialised - it’s such a great place surrounded by stunning scenery! We’ll definitely visit again when we’re back in...
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I’m very late on this review - but what a time we had. 2 of us my wife and I had a really informative and great experience with our tour guide… I cannot remember his name, Phil or Paul… either way we showed up out of blue without a booking and shortly after began our tour.
Glow worms are so mysterious and special in their very unique way. We got up close and personal and got to experience something so magical I don’t think many get the chance to do.
The pictures provided really don’t do justice to the experience… but I’m putting them up anyway!
This is Māori soil, quite a special place to visit, there’s definitely a mystical atmosphere here when you’re in the cave. Glow worms are ABUNDANT, and they ain’t going anywhere, especially because of how well these owners look after the space.
I recommend tour groups under 10 a piece, otherwise it’ll get too crammed.
Our guide had so much information to give and it was easily digestible. I learned so much about not only Glow Worms and their life cycle, but also about cave networks and their life spans as well! So cool to learn all about this. I would highly recommend this tour as it’s such a fair price and an unforgettable experience.
plenty of parking multiple toilets easy road to navigate cool fun river trails for afterward great morning / afternoon activity Thanks...
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