Natural glow North Island style

By STEVE HART Travel editor

I once banged my head touring a disused slate mine in Wales. The memory of the blinding pain will always be with me.

Redundant miners had turned their former workplace into a tourist attraction, but it was dark, freezing cold, wet, the ground was uneven and the hard hat I was required to wear - scarred by previous users who failed to avoid low-hanging rocks - kept toppling off my head. Bending down to pick it up led to my injury.

With this in mind I reluctantly went to the glow-worm caves at Waitomo. I fully expected to be crouching around in the dark in search of glow-worms but any worries I had were dispelled quickly. My first surprise was I didn't need a hard hat, and once below the surface it was clear why.

"Glow-worms are really maggots," explained our guide at the start of the 40-minute tour. "But nobody thought anyone would pay to see a maggot cave, so it's called the glow-worm cave."

As he led us down into a place created more than 30 million years ago, I felt sure he was right.

However, I couldn't help feeling it was all a little too refined as we made our way along a passage to be met by a perfectly constructed stairway with chromed handrails on both sides.

It made me wonder why visitors are recommended by the operator to wear strong footwear - I expected to walk on a rocky surface after precariously stepping down through the cave.

Truth is, despite it being 30m beneath the surface, it is a safe place to visit, with well-lit steps and perfectly flat walking areas - there's wall-to-wall concrete tiles. It's also warm and perfectly dry - ambient temperature is about 16C.

It's so close to looking like a patio that's been covered by an artificial limestone cave, that the real feeling of being deep underground is almost lost. After my jaunt beneath Wales, this cave tour was a walk in the park.

But where were the pictures of the pioneers, examples of the equipment they used, the story of how they discovered and explored the caves in the 1800s?

Our group, made up of about 35 people (almost all from abroad), seemed to enjoy the tour - despite the feeling we were being a little rushed as other tour groups started catching us up.

The stalactites and stalagmites looked glorious, lit up by recessed spotlights - it was almost like being in the film Journey to the Centre of the Earth. But unlike the movie, for which the caves would have made a perfect set, our guide knew exactly where he was going and was full of information about the maggots, sorry - glow-worms, and the cave.

The acoustics in an area called the "cathedral" are so good, said our guide, that Dame Kiri Te Kanawa gave a performance there. It was used at Christmas for carol-singing performances and weddings had also been held there - I can see why.

After a brief look at the glow-worm feeding lines, thin trails of cotton-like cord used by the creatures to catch food, we were off to the boat and a buoyant end to our time in the land that time forgot. In all, we had walked little more than half a kilometre during the cave tour.

There were about 20 of us in the boat being pulled along by our guide using an overhead rope. We sat in almost perfect silence, so as not to disturb the glow-worms above - they looked like a million stars against the blackness of deep space. It was a sight to remember.

We travelled in almost pitch darkness. The only sounds were the dripping water and the odd whispered comment as people took pleasure in pointing out the glow-worms to each other.

Back on dry land, it was time for short walk to the cafe for tea and biscuits.

Case notes

* Getting there

Take SH1 and then SH3 to Waitomo and follow the signs. Journey time by car is just over two hours from Auckland. The Waitomo Glowworm Caves are at Waitomo Caves Rd. Ph: 0800 456 922 or 07 878 8227.

* Prices

There are two caves. The Glowworm Cave and the Aranui Cave. Each cave tour costs $24 adults, $12 for children 5-14, and free for under-fives. See both caves for $40 adults, $20 children. Concessions available.

* Opening times

Every day, 9am to 5pm and 9am to 5.30pm from the end of October to Easter Monday. Glowworm Cave tours depart every 30 minutes.

* Rating

Six out of 10 for overall value.

Disappointing that there's no museum or place where visitors can find out more of the history. However, there is a million-dollar cafe and gift shop. No photography or video filming is allowed in the caves, which may disappoint some visitors. The restriction appears to be in place partly to prevent people slowing down the progress of tour groups.

* Advisory

No wheelchair access in the caves.

* Steve Hart was a guest of Waitomo Glowworm Caves.

Waitomo