As we walked across a field wearing super thick wetsuits and crash helmets and carrying tubes, (and laughing hysterically), we wondered what on earth had possessed us to sign up to do this trip with our 11 and 13 year old sons. As soon as we entered the cave, however, and saw our first glowworms, the adventure began and we were gripped. The experience of floating along in an underground stream with a loved one's feet hooked up on your tube, and looking up and seeing thousands of beautiful blue glowworm lights is one none of us will ever forget. The slide and jump just added to the sense of adventure.
We had a really fun time and the glow worms were amazing, it was almost if you are looking at green stars at night in these caves. The staff were friendly and fun. My only criticism was it felt a bit rushed. It was not a casual stroll when we was walking through these caves and we couldn't look at everything, the only time it was chilled was when we was tubing all together through the water.Overall though, a great experience.
Picked up a deal off a New Zealand deal website (try www.bookme.co.nz for some absolute steals) and headed to Waitomo for the day from Auckland. Everything ran very smoothly, was on time, and the guides were very reassuring and informative.I have done quite a lot of caving before, so was a little disappointed by the lack of tights spaces, but the slide at the end was really fun!Would defiantly recommend to someone who has not any caving before and is a little apprehensive, it would be an excellent first experience! Great glow worms, and the guides were really funny. Thanks team!
My boyfriend and I did this on a rainy day in Waitomo. We didn't really know what to expect but the leaflet made it look like an underground water park - far from it!We were in a relatively small group. We signed waivers, pulled on our wetsuits, collected our tubes and headed to the caves. The guides were really good, reassuring, fun and trying to humour us. But the group in general were quite on edge!The caves are very dark (obviously), the water is freezing and came up to my chest! The glowworms were really cool, as was the man-made slide at the end. But the 1.2 km trek terrified me. It's not strenuous so is good for first timers like us but if your slightly claustrophobic, scared of the dark or water, then this is defo not for you!One of those things I only really enjoyed after I'd done it! You get free hot chocolate and warm showers afterwards which is a plus! The guides also take photos of you which you can buy for cheap and are available on email! The guides really were great but for me personally I struggled a bit!
Best experience ever. It was amazing. Well worth doing. I did get this at a discounted rate however, and probably wouldn't be happy to pay the full rate as it's quite expensive.
The place is truly unreal! A must do! Seriously, put it on your list! There are a couple of options to choose from when you go. You can do a walking tour, or a boat through. We chose the walking tour since the actual time in the cave on the boat was about 5 minutes and my friend and I both wanted to try and get some good pictures. (Make sure you know how to adjust your exposure time prior to going.) After a short car ride and a long walk down some beautiful stares we were in the cave. The lights were all on as out wonderful guide explained the cave and glow worms to us. As soon as he turned out those lights though, WOW! It was like staring at a sky full of stars. We were in awe! We spend probably a good 45 minutes in the cave trying to get good pictures and appreciating the beauty. The owner of the cave actually came through on a walk and stopped and talked to us and helped us try and get better shots using some tricks he had learned. Like, pointing a flashlight at the opposite wall to give just enough light for better exposure without drowning out the glowworms. Fabulous time!
The cave is so amazing and the tuberide is cool The water is cold but we had very good wetsuites.
little bit nervous,because I can't swim,but it doesn't matter,totally worth it.felt like galaxy in the cave!!
Amazing! So very insightful - never knew what glow worms actually were until we came here! You have a variety of options, from dry walking tours to black water tubing and everything in between. Great for pretty much all ages and all sizes.All of the guides and helpers were amazing, knew what they were doing and helpful and funny. If you didnt want to do something, they would change it to cater for that specific person while everyone could do what they had originally planned.If you are in this area - or even just passing by, i highly recommend this attraction!We even got a bagel and hot soup (for free!) once we got back to the main building after the black water rafting!
It was really good experience, we liked all activities we did, Even though there could be more! It was fun and would recommend to everyone! Our guide was funny and made the all tour being amazing :)