Monday, February 29, 2016

Dreaming of Glowworms at Waitomo!

On our 2nd day in Rotorua we started early for Waitomo, where the caves famous for harboring the glowing worms are located. Before seeing it i have been thinking of reasons why the worms will glow in the dark, inside the caves. I know of organisms with bio-luminiscense just like our firefly, equipped with an enzyme that glows in the dark. But for worms to exhibit that truly amaze me. I read about it, but seeing them with my own eyes is a different experience.

It was a wonderful bus ride from Rotorua to Waitomo, with the landscapes on both sides giving me the views i have been envisioning about New Zealand; undulating topography, very green grazing farms with flocks of dairy cattle and herds of sheeps! The sheep looks like small caterpillars at a distance. Oh they fed my hungry soul for nice natural landscapes.

 a typical view of dairy cattle grazing on the farms

This undulating green fields are efficiently mowed by herds of white sheep, 
which at a distance looks like either caterpillars or small rocks.

 They are newly sheared sheep because it is summer there in December

This wide trellised field of growing crops can probably be peas or whatever legumes.

After1.5 hours we reached Waitomo, and the famous Waitomo Caves. We first landed at the i-site, where brochures and guides are located. 

 A Maori shade structure with Maori art, i badly need a personal tourist photo!

We then walked about 15 min to the entrance of the cave. My sister didn't come with me inside as she has been there last year. I just joined all the tourists who were counted per group to board the boat. There are regular boat intervals to enter the cave. We walked a few minutes down to the water lever and there are stops where guides tell us about the caves and the glow worms.


(This Photo is submitted by forevergone to reddit.com  from: Huffingtonpost). We were not allowed to speak while in the boat, much more take pictures. I wonder why there are lots of glow worm pictures in the internet, if this rule is truly implemented. But it was really an amazingly incredible sight. Reading the biology and life cycle of the glow worms will further increase your enthusiasm.  

Our boat emerged from this exit of the cave. There are strings above the head level, where the boatmen guides hold on to as their guides to the path. We didn't see anything inside except the natural structures of the cave and the glow worms. This is another episode of my trip which cannot be duplicated.

The stairs from the river led us to this lovely facility, where i also took some flowers and plants photos.

A lovely structural design of the facility housing the restaurant and souvenir shops after going through the glow worm caves.

Instead of directly going to the I-site meeting place where the bus picks us up for Auckland, we first follow a trail near the road. It was a small one that leads to the parking lot, near the mainroad to the I-site. It was a ver lovely commune with nature as we passed this wooden bridge, seeing the plants we saw along the way.


 There was this tree with holes presumably done by a woodpecker or whatever animal that poked on the trunk. We laughed at the persistence of a few mushrooms growing luxuriantly on the holes. What a very resourceful mushroom!

The right photo shows my sister already at the end of the path, already on the open space.

We immediately sat on the grass upon emerging from the forest path. It was both relaxation and regurgitation of the things we have been through. It was a lovely leisurely 1-hour walk. And we ate the snacks we brought in our bags. We were laughing while eating, after which we started walking to the I-site.




30 comments:

  1. Wow! The rich green of the fields...loved it! Gloworms...I only knew of them by way of a child's toy that glowed. The toy was called a Gloworm. It is cool that there is such a thing in nature as a Gloworm. How beautiful too.

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    1. Since you are a traveler too, Linda and Bob, you should visit NZ too. Everything there is fantastic, hehe!

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  2. What a gorgeous set of pictures you have here Andrea. The gloworm experience must have been amazing! You really live in a wonderful area.

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    1. Hi Chris, good to see you again here. No i don't live in New Zealand, i have been posting about NZ for almost a year now, it shows you haven't visited my blog for that long, haha! I've just been there for 21 days on vacation.

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  3. Wow, this is incredible. How amazing this experience was.

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    1. You should not miss visiting NZ Maria. You must go there while still very strong, there's a lot to see.

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  4. Great photos of the green NZ landscape. The glow worm caves are an amazing experience. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. yes it is Mick, and thanks too for dropping by

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  5. Must have been like in a dream to see the gloworms in the caves. Also love the linen(?) overhang outside!

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    1. Oh yes it seems you are dreaming of looking at the sky with lots of stars! Thanks for dropping by.

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  6. Wonderful shots. Thank you so much for sharing with "Through My Lens"

    Mersad
    Mersad Donko Photography

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  7. Hello Andrea, what a great post. The gloworm cave is cool and I like the walk on the trail and the building is beautiful. Thanks for sharing your visit. Have a happy day and week ahead!

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    1. Hi Eileen, whenever i see unusual things like this, i thought of my blogger friends who are into nature too like you. You should visit NZ one of these days.

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  8. Cool the glo worm cave and how green and lush everything is.. Michelle

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    1. Michelle, everything i see in NZ, whatever part is amazing and beautiful. Thanks for hosting.

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  9. What a beautiful place. Those hills are so green compared to anything in my part of the world!

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    1. Oh yes Al, they are so alive, it is also very different from ours here in the tropics.

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  10. I didn't know photos were not allowed there. Seems like everybody takes photos of the place (or at least try). What I have heard is that it is very difficult to capture the glow in a photo. Not sure how true is that.

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    1. Hi Ruth for visiting my blogpost. It was very specifically told us at the beginning of the tour and while already on the boat, that photos are not allowed. Only at a portion of the cave was allowed, and that was before the boat. Of course it is very difficult to photograph, it is dark there, the boat is moving, one has to use a tripod to get a decent shot. But i am sure the worms will be affected if there will be flash used, they haven't seen light at all in their lives.

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  11. I think I would love to see the glow worms too. I have seen many photos on the internet of them, so was surprised to hear no photos were allowed. You were fortunate to see them though.

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    1. Maybe photos are allowed in the past, until they found out that it is doing some bad effects to the worms or other living organisms inside the cave that might be affected by flash. You should go there too Donna.

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  12. Those green fields in the first pictures look so inviting!

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    1. Yes Tatyana, those fields are my favorites too, and very wide fields are amazing when travelling on the bus.

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  13. I have read about this place. How marvelous to actually see it with your own eyes. I have had a great time looking at all your photos, thank you :)

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    1. Hi Denise, my sister asked me to choose among some places to visit, and i unhesitatingly chose this one than the rest. My choice was great. Thanks for dropping by.

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  14. Didn't know glow worms were real! Interesting post. Too bad they didn't allow pictures in the cave. Thanks for stopping by my blog! :)

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    1. Thanks as well Linda W for dropping by. When my sister asked me to choose among places to visit, i chose this, and that was a great decision.

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  15. Oh fantastic photos I especially love the glowworm one. Glowworms are to be seen in different places in NZ so we went there but didn't go into that cave. We went into the Aranui cave and behind that cave is also an amazing bush walk. Rotorua also has some amazing spots isn't it

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    1. I've seen in brochures that there are a few caves with Glowworms, but we chose this one because it is cheaper and nearer Rotorua where we also visited and stayed for the night. Thanks for visiting here Marja.

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  16. What an amazing experience! Thanks for sharing.

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