After a relaxing day at Ruakaka (roo-ah kah-kah) Beach, located approximately 1.5 hours north of Auckland, we ventured to the highly recommended but seldom publicized, Waipu (why-poo?) Cave in search of glowworms.
“value in the strength of walls…”
Once inside, we stood by a giant stalagmite to let our eyes adjust to the darkness. Slowly, the features of the cave appeared. We noticed big stalactites hanging overhead and a few teeny, tiny lights twinkling on the cavern walls, beckoning us further into the cave.
“comfort in the shade of the shadows thrown…”
We walked along a shallow stream until we found ourselves under a cathedral ceiling covered in a galaxy of glowworms. It really is something you have to see to believe – thousands of little blue lights twinkling inside a cavern of otherwise complete darkness. This was our favorite ‘room’ in the cave because the glowworms were close enough to touch; it was like a sea of shining stars dancing right before our eyes!
“lover of the light…”
It was hard to imagine something more spectacular, but, remaining true to our motto, we ventured into the cave a bit further. It took quite a bit of WOLOtude and some courage to walk knee-deep through a murky cave stream (thank goodness we didn’t see the eels until we were on our way out), and the exploration delivered! We found an even larger cavern with a Milky Way of glowworms strewn across the top and a muddy maze of tunnels to zig and zag through.
“breathe in…”
“…and breathe out.”
Waipu Cave was the perfect way to end our tour of the Northland and if we find time at the end of our travels, we just may venture there for one more look at the glowworms!
Next stop: Northcote, Auckland (“our home away from home”)
“to have and to hold…”
– Go. Change your state of mind.
WOLOtude 