Glowworm sky
Blue stars.
Michael Willison — CC BY 2.5 · Karora — Public domain · Николай Максимович — CC BY 3.0 · Bgabel — CC BY-SA 3.0
Limestone caves in the Waitomo hills and the world's best-known place to see glowworms, the larvae of an insect found only in New Zealand, hanging in their thousands from the cave ceilings and glowing in twinkling blue-green dots like a sky full of stars. The guided tour begins on foot through the cave's chambers and formations of stalactites and stalagmites, including a great hall called the Cathedral with remarkable acoustics, then visitors board a small boat that glides in total silence and darkness along an underground river beneath the glowworm ceiling. The cave was first explored systematically in 1887 by a local Māori chief and an English surveyor, and the chief's descendants still share in running it today. The area has other caves to visit and underground rafting for adventurers. Tickets are about NZ$61 per adult, per visitor guides, and photography is banned inside the cave to protect the glowworms. The tour takes about forty-five minutes.
Blue stars.
On an underground river.
Remarkable acoustics.
Waitomo, Waikato, about two hours from Rotorua and Auckland
No, photography is banned inside to protect the glowworms.