Waitomo Caves

The Waitomo Caves are world famous because they have the interesting fact that little glow worms live in ceilings of the caves! They emit a bright, firefly-type light that attracts its prey and then they pull them in by a mucous thread that the insect gets trapped in. The first exploration of the Aranui Cave Tane Tinorau did in 1887, local Maori chief Fred Mace, English surveyor. In 1888 the cave was opened to the public for Tinorau and in 2005 a fire destroyed the visitor center, which is still under reconstruction.