Milky Way Glow Worm Cave

Useful Information

Location:	567 Waipu Caves Rd, Waipu. (-35.93628414105276, 174.36586330977934)
Open:	All year daily 8:30-17. Closed 25-DEC. [2024]
Fee:	Adults NZD 40, Children (5-15) NZD 30, Children (0-4) free. Plus 5 % booking fee. [2024]
Classification:	Karst Cave Glowworm Karren Doline Stone Forests
Light:	Incandescent bring torch
Dimension:	T=15 °C.
Guided tours:	D=1 h, 35 min in the cave, L=900 m, 320 m in the cave, St=30.
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Waipu Caves Farm Park, 567 Waipu Caves Rd, Waipu, Tel: +64-9-430-27-22. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

FEB-2023

show cave opened to the public.

Description

The Milky Way Glow Worm Cave is located at Waipu Caves Farm Park, about 100 km north of Auckland. The show cave is the youngest show cave of New Zealand, and was opened to the public in 2023. The cave is developed with concrete trails, railings, and electric light. Of course, there is no light where the glowworms are, because then they would stop emitting light, and even if they didn't, you wouldn't be able to see them glowing in the cave light. So visitors are equipped with a lamp, or may bring their own one, for the last section where the glowworms are.

There is a large karst area along the Waipu Caves Road, with numerous caves, which are all known as Waipu Caves, although that's not their actual name. Most of this area is privately owned, like this 320-acre property which is named Waipu Caves Farm Park. The owner has recently developed the show cave, several camping grounds, climbing and bouldering routes on the limestone rocks named The Jurassic Climbs, walking trails named The Jurassic Walks, and a range for Airsoft games. Airsoft is similar to paintball, but it emphasizes on realism above all else. Airsoft guns are also known as replicas, as they are identical in appearance and use to real weapons. All these recreational sites are located along a valley with limestone towers, a small river and native bush.