Helen and Randall on the road

Wet and soggy Waitomo (well, when we were there) is famous for its cave complexes and we had a discount deal for the ‘triple combo’ of the Waitomo Glowworm caves, the Ruakuri caves and the Aranui cave so after a night in the cosy Juno Backpackers campsite and hostel we headed to the amazing Visitors Centre:

jjl

Then into the three cave complexes:

Glow maggot strands (like webs, for catching food)

Why ‘glow maggots?’ Well they are maggots or larvae rather than worms, but obviously that doesn’t look so good on the brochures. However I am nothing if not a pedant. They are rather fabulous little creatures who spin themselves a hammock out of mucus/saliva and then dangle sticky mucus/saliva threads to catch insects which they eat until they have enough calories to do the whole chrysalis/goo/insect thing after which they live for 5 hours/5 days  (gender related).

The boat journey (about 10 minutes in complete silence as the guide uses ropes strung across the caves) is through the dark so the glowworms are like tiny constellations in a cold damp sky, and we emerge eventually through the river entrance that the early explorers of the cave went in by.

After lunch in the car park:

Proper backpackers’ cooking!

We headed off to stinky Rotorua for volcanic hot pools, geysers etc.