Where is the firefly cave? Waitomo - firefly caves in New Zealand (23 photos). Excursions to Waitomo Cave for amateurs and extreme sports enthusiasts
In New Zealand on the North Island in 1887, the leader of the Maori tribe Tane Tinorau and the English inspector Mace opened Firefly Cave. After a thorough exploration of the Firefly Cave, the discoverers discovered the upper level, which is the main level in our time.
Tane Tinorau and Mace, under artificial light on a raft, entered the Firefly Cave, and were amazed by the majestic beauty of the Firefly Grotto and the bizarre shapes of the cave. In 1889, the Firefly Cave received its first visitors. The guide for this excursion was the Maori chief Tane Tinorau. The descendants of the leader still take an active part in the management and modernization of the tourism business.
Firefly Cave has three levels, which are united by a 16-meter vertical shaft. The tour starts from the first level, represented by the catacombs. The second level was called the Banquet Chamber, the third goes deep into the Cathedral, which is Big hall with a vault height of about 18 meters, with good acoustic properties.
The excursion route follows the Waitomo River and crosses the Firefly Grotto. Great amount insects creates the illusion of a starry night sky. Thousands of tourists from all over the world come to the Firefly Cave to see this indescribable picture. Fireflies are mosquito-sized insects called Arachnocampa luminosa. Fireflies live only in New Zealand.
On the territory of New Zealand there is a whole network of Waitomo caves, uniting the caves: Ruakuri, Aranui and the famous Firefly Cave. The formation of these caves lasted about 30 million years. The Firefly Cave consists of corals, so there is an assumption that its formation began under the ocean.
In the grottoes and halls of the cave there are a large number of stalactites and stalagmites, which were formed due to the help of water that dripped from the roof of the cave. With the help of these drops, stalactites and stalagmites are connected into columns of bizarre shapes.
New Zealand's caves are a center for speleology. These caves host speleological competitions, which are held in hard-to-reach places along routes of increased complexity that are not accessible to ordinary tourists. Travel companies have developed easily accessible, but no less interesting routes for tourists.
Firefly Cave
Two million years old - this is the age of the natural wonder of the world, one of the attractions of the evergreen and so distant New Zealand. This work of art has several authors. The main part of this work was carried out every day by the world ocean for many hundreds of years. He developed plans for intricate labyrinths, crevices, passages and caves, carved out small details of vaults and walls like a skilled jeweler, gradually washing away the limestone layer from the depths of the earth. The design of the walls of the Waitomo caves allows you to study ancient manifestations of life: the walls abound with the fossilized remains of fish and corals. The design of nature is complemented by stalactites and stalagmites growing here for many years. The magical atmosphere is complemented by pleasant music that can be heard almost from underground.
When the ocean finished designing its brainchild and withdrew its waters from Waitomo Cave, the local fauna took over. The space was filled with unique creatures - Arachnocampa Luminos, fungus gnats, most their lives existing in the form of larvae. The most important function of the larvae is to constantly obtain food. They eat small insects, which are attracted to the larvae by the glow and fall into the thinnest silk threads on which the Arachnocampa are suspended.
Some biologists have determined that the brighter the glow, the stronger the feeling of hunger of these animals. According to another version of researchers, mosquitoes feed on fungal spores, and the reason for the glow is unknown. When a person approaches or when danger is sensed, the fireflies can briefly turn off the lighting. Green and blue shades of light make the slopes of the grottoes look like the southern starry sky with unique constellations.
Excursions to Waitomo Cave for amateurs and extreme sports enthusiasts
Waitomo Caves are located on the northern island of the archipelago New Zealand, not far from the village of the same name and 12 kilometers south of settlement Te Kuiti. Organized for tourists sightseeing tours varying degrees of difficulty with mandatory visit two main caves: Glowworm and Aranui. The walks include walking through several levels and boat trips deep into the site.
The road towards the Waitomo Glowworm Cave is also interesting. Busloads of travelers traverse the grassy hills of Bombay and the expanse of the Waikato plains. This area is familiar to all fans of fantasy cinema - here director Peter Jackson filmed his famous trilogy about the adventures of the hobbit and his friends. The duration of excursions varies - from 4 to 8 hours with mandatory lunch. For extreme sports enthusiasts, we offer exciting rafting Black Water Rafting. The average cost of an excursion for an adult is $200-300.
How to get there on your own
First of all, you need to get to the city Te Kuiti. The easiest way to do this is by railway to the North Island Main Trunk station by train, which departs from the city's train stations Wellington or Auckland. In Te Kuiti you can rent a car (travel time 10 minutes) or walk. By car from Auckland the trip will take 2 hours, from Hamilton - a leisurely 1 hour drive.
The entrance to the caves is open from nine in the morning until half past five in the evening, without weekends or holidays. While in the cave, it is prohibited to take photographs or shoot videos, use a mobile phone (it must be turned off) or talk loudly. It is recommended to wear loose, light clothing and waterproof shoes, and also take a raincoat with you – there is water everywhere in the caves. Ticket prices at the attraction's box office start at $30 per person.
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Where do you think you can see such a starry sky? You'll never guess - IN A CAVE.
Waitomo Caves(Waitomo Caves) – the village of the same name and famous karst caves, which are the main attraction of the south of the Waikato Region, on the North Island of New Zealand, 12 kilometers northwest of the town of Te Kuiti.
The Waitomo community itself is small, although the village attracts many temporary workers who live there. The word "Waitomo" is formed from the Maori words "wai" - water and "tomo" - funnel; thus the entire word can be translated as "water passing through the hole."
E it is truly a masterpiece of nature, on which she has worked for many millions of years. For many centuries, the ocean ruled here, creating bizarre limestone growths and mysterious intricacies of passages. And then the water receded, forming a system of about 150 caves. The most famous of them is Glowworm Cave. It is inhabited by amazing creatures - Arachnocampa Luminosa. These are fireflies that can only be found in New Zealand. Their green-blue glow makes the cave roof look like a starry sky on a frosty night. It’s really better to see once... And also to feel and hear: it smells exceptionally pleasant here, and in the Cathedral Hall of the cave they sing a cappello on Christmas night. For lovers extreme species sports, we recommend taking part in black water rafting.
So, tourists come to Waitomo Caves to see... the starry sky. This is exactly what the ceilings of the cave look like with the larvae of fireflies Arachnocampa luminosa, which, according to scientists, glow mainly from hunger. Moreover, the more acute the hunger, the brighter the glow.
The limestone formations surrounding the Caves Area have been the center of increasingly popular tourism and caving since 1900. Initially, the Caves were mainly visited by impromptu excursions led by the local Maori population. Then Waitomo Caves were transferred to government supervision and since 1904 have become a permanent place of pilgrimage for tourists, the number of which only increased from year to year.
There's a lot today travel companies, large and small, specialize in running a variety of tours throughout the Caves, from easily accessible areas with hundreds of tourists per hour during the peak winter season, to extreme sports caving in inaccessible Caves systems that may only be seen by a few tourists per day.
A visit to the Waitomo Caves took 14th place in the survey of the most popular tourist routes “101 Kiwi must-dos”, conducted in 2007 by the Automobile Association among more than 20 thousand New Zealand motorists, and in 2004 the peak of tourist visits to the Caves was recorded: approximately 400,000 visitors.
The Waitomo Cave Complex is: Waitomo Cave, Ruakuri Cave, Aranui Cave and Gardner's Gut. They are famous throughout the world for their stunningly beautiful stalactites and stalagmites, as well as the presence of a large colonies of fireflies (species Arachnocampa luminosa) In the complete darkness of the Caves, fireflies glow brightly, like stars on a cloudless night.
The caves were first explored in 1887 by local chief Tane Tiorana and English naturalist Fred Mays. While local residents The Maori knew about the existence of caves, but the underground caves had not been explored. Tane Tiorana and Fred Mays built a raft from flax stalks, took lighting and floated into the caves. Once inside the caves, they were blinded by the light from many bright lights. Once their eyes adjusted to the darkness, they saw many lights reflecting from the water; looking up, they discovered that the ceilings were littered with a large number of insects. Returning back, they continued to further study the caves and insects found in the caves.
March 10, 2014
New Zealand tourist routes cover many unusual places. An amazing attraction - the Firefly Cave delights everyone who comes under its fabulous luminous arches.
"Starry sky" in a dark cave
In this mysterious dark kingdom, tourists can watch a magical spectacle. Fungus gnats Arachnocampa Luminosa live under the cave arches. There are millions of them here.
Colonies of these small creatures flicker in the dark with an emerald-blue color. Real natural “lighting” in the darkness of a deep cave can only be found in New Zealand.
These strange creatures more than half of their lives are in the larval stage. They weave trapping nets that hang from the roof of the cave. These long threads glow in the dark and attract gullible insects.
This one is not anomalous zone, this is a real kingdom of beauty that can absorb some spider bugs caught in the shimmering cold space. Scientists believe that the brighter the light, the more eager the firefly is to catch prey.
History of the Cave of Flickering Lights
When did this unusual glowing dungeon appear? According to researchers, one of the most amazing wonders of nature, a cave that belongs to the Waitomo system, has existed on Earth for millions of years.
In prehistoric times North Island New Zealand was part of the ocean floor. Gradually, from the skeletons of fish and marine organisms, the remains of corals and shells, a layer of limestone was formed, the thickness of which reached almost 200 meters.
Water erosion dissolved this thickness, and gradually huge cavities formed, which eventually became the Waitomo Caves system.
How the luminous landmark of New Zealand was found.
Maori leader Tane Tinorau and explorer Fred Mace from England, who studied the nature of New Zealand, discovered this incredible creation to the world in 1887. Tane Tinorau was the first guide to introduce guests on holiday to New Zealand to a cave where a mysterious light emanates from small living creatures flickers.
Labyrinths and halls of an ancient cave
The natural complex has three levels. The vertical one, which is 16 meters deep, connects mysterious grottoes and halls. They are decorated with fancy stalactites and stalagmites. Limestone formations have a wide variety of shapes and hang from the arches, like frozen streams, or rise upward, like sharp spiers of underground “rocks”.
The large hall of the third level cave called "Cathedral" welcomes guests who can enjoy enchanting music, which sounds performed by a wonderful orchestra. The illusion of a starry sky, combined with the sounds of music flowing throughout the space of a huge cave, make an excursion into the underground world simply fantastic.
Holidays in New Zealand will be bright and memorable if, in addition to visiting other interesting sights and amazing places, the wind of wandering will lead travelers to the incredible shimmering space of the Firefly Cave with its fantastic “starry sky”.
New Zealand - Firefly Cave photo
New Zealand is a beautiful country proud of its picturesque landscapes. However, its main attractions are not only on the surface - it is just as beautiful underground. Proof of this is the famous Waitomo region, which lies on one of the largest islands of the state. It is famous for its impressive limestone caves, which are amazing in themselves, but what makes them even more special are the numerous fireflies that choose these underground labyrinths as their home. Thousands of tiny insects emit phosphorescent light, creating surreal light installations.
The fireflies covering the roof of the cave have their own name - Arachnocampa luminosa. These are representatives of the genus of fungus gnats, the distribution area of which is concentrated exclusively in New Zealand. According to scientists, they emit their glow mainly from hunger, and the hungrier they are, the brighter their light - this is how they lure insects into their traps. Other researchers are convinced that fireflies are quite capable of feeding on fungal spores, quietly doing without other food.
The Waitomo Caves complex includes several caves - Waitomo, Aranui, Gardner's Gut and Ruakuri - famous for their incredible stalagmites and stalactites, and, of course, a large colony of glowing fungus gnats. A huge cluster of fireflies flashes with thousands of bright green-blue dots, illuminating the cave and creating the illusion of a starry sky right in the bowels of the New Zealand soil. Tiny creatures have one peculiarity - a loud sound or the slightest careless movement scares the insects, as a result of which the flickering disappears and complete darkness sets in.
Firefly Caves are a popular tourist spot where local guides Numerous excursions are organized daily. During the peak winter season, the natural attraction is visited by an average of about 100 tourists per hour. During the underground walk, in addition to admiring the mesmerizing illumination in the darkness, guests are told various legends and myths about the origin of the unique place and the appearance of amazing living creatures in it. Tours are carried out by boat or other water transport, since there are no accessible land areas in the Waitomo cave complex - everything here is flooded with underground water. In addition to easily accessible routes, extreme sports competitions for speleologists are also offered in the most inaccessible systems of the cave complex.
The Waitomo complex is located near the village of the same name on the North Island, 12 kilometers northwest of the small town of Te Kuiti, from where the caves can be reached in just a few minutes by car. Hiking to the main local attraction is also popular. The firefly caves are open seven days a week from 9.00 to 17.30.
