Mother Nature's Architecture

The Waitomo Caves are the most visited tourist attraction on the North Island. ‘Waitomo’ in the Maori language means ‘water hole,’ and it was by gradual water erosion that these limestone caves came to be formed more than 24 million years ago. Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions sometimes disrupted the path of the water, and thus, the caves bend and curve, rise and fall. Stalactites hang – the result of water dripping from the ceiling – to form long formations of calcium carbonate. Stalagmites are the deposits that come up from the ground – the result of what drips from the stalactites. An imaginative mind will see figures in Mother Nature’s sculptures.

There are three caves in Waitomo that are open to visitors. The Waitomo Glowworm Cave was discovered by the Maori people long ago and open to the public in 1889. This cave tends to be the most popular of the three, as adults and children alike are enchanted by Arachnocampa luminosa – a species of glowworm unique to New Zealand. The mosquito-like adults live only a few days, and their sole purpose is reproducing, but the larva create what seems a dome of stars on the cave ceiling, as they emit light to attract food to the sticky strands hanging from their bodies.

The Aranui Cave was only just discovered in 1910 by a young Maori who was compensated, what was then, a satisfying 35 British pounds when he turned ownership over to the government. The Aranui Cave is perhaps the most spectacular of the three in terms of its stalactite and stalagmite formations. The most stunning stalactite hangs over 6 meters and has taken more than 400,000 years to form. Also, the colors of these formations dazzle the eye.

The Ruakuri Cave is the most recently opened cave due to land disputes between the government and the Maori people. It is the longest cave and boasts not only glowworms and rock formations but also underground rivers and waterfalls.

During my visit to Waitomo, I toured the Glowworm cave and the Aranui Cave. On my tour of the Glowworm Cave, the “ahhs” of children echoed as we walked through the caverns. We sang “Happy Birthday” in the ‘Cathedral’, where the acoustics are considered suburb and where choir concerts are held during the Christmas season. We walked our way along three levels of the cave and ended at the bottom where the Waitomo River runs through. The end of our tour was a gentle boat ride along the river to view the glowworms. Before we began, our guide told us that we had to stay quite on the boat because that would make the ride “magical.” I thought that a cunning way to keep the children quite the rest of the tour, but in fact, as we boarded the boat and commenced the journey, my neck cocked toward the ceiling and my eyes taking in the planetarium of glowworms, it did feel magical.

But, of the two caves I toured, I preferred the Aranui Cave. It was amazing to behold the ancient rock formations. While I was mesmerized by the ancient, Gothic cathedrals in Spain, the cave was an ancient architecture in a league of its own. I was truly in awe.

I made the trip to the Waitomo Caves in a day, and the trip was well worth the time in the car. On the way home, I made a stop at the Hamilton Gardens, which, given the season, were a bit anticlimactic after the caves. See pictures of the caves at my Shutterfly website.