Te Anau Glowworm Caves

 

Before researching for this trip, the only glowworms I had ever heard about were toys.  I didn't know an animal with this name actually existed.  And they don't outside of Australia and New Zealand.  We boarded this boat and headed across Lake Te Anau. 

Our guide described the lake as a backwards E.  It's a huge lake.  From Te Anau we motored up to the opposite shoreline between the South Fjord and the Middle Fjord.

We were let out at the dock and walked a short distance to the visitor center, called the Cavern House. 

This is a long cave system, and the tour was only in the very end.

Tunnel Burn Creek as it exits the cave.  Believe me when I say it sounded like a much larger river when we were inside 

From the platform outside the cave, we could see where the path crossed as it entered the cave system.  That's where the red light is. 

Time to head down.

Last photo I took before entering the cave.  We weren't allowed to take any photos inside the cave. 

Photo I found to give you some idea of what it is like inside the cave when the lights are out.  I didn't see any areas with this many glowworms on the ceiling but there were some.  We had to duck low at the cave entrance.  We walked on a grated walkway right over the water.  The water made a lot of noise as it tumbled through the cave.  There were only a few lights.  Then we got to the area where the glowworms were, and the guide turned out the lights.  We looked around and could see the glowworms.  Then the floor vibrated and gave me the feeling that the cave was going to collapse.  Then they turned the lights back on and we could see we were on a platform and a boat full of people was docked.  The vibration was the boat bumping on the platform.  Anyway, once the boat unloaded, we loaded in a began a boat trip in the dark to areas where there were more glowworms.

After our boat trip, our guide used her flashlight to show some glowing strands hanging from the ceiling.  This is how glowworms catch bugs, they snare them in a gooey string.  They can suck these strings back into their bodies to retrieve anything caught in them. 

The only part of the cave system we entered.  In the far right you can see where the Cavern House is located and, below it in the water, the dock.