Spellbound Glowworm Cave

Te Ana o te Atua - Cave of the Spirit

Useful Information

Location:	334 Boddies Rd, Oparure Te Kuiti 3981. From Auckland follow State Highway 1 south to Hamilton, then State Highway 3 south to Waitomo. Caves are signposted. 200 km south of Auckland, 70 km from Hamilton, 16 km from Otorohanga. (-38.312619, 175.079685)
Open:	Online booking mandatory. [2024]
Fee:	Spellbound Glowworm and Cave Explorer: Adults NZD 75, Children (0-14) NZD 26. The Essential Glowworm Tour: Adults NZD 64, Children (0-14) NZD 22. Spellbound Private Tour: Group NZD 950. [2024]
Classification:	Karst Cave. Mangawhitakau/Oparure limestone. Glowworm
Light:	LED
Dimension:
Guided tours:	Spellbound Glowworm and Cave Explorer: D=145 min, Max=12. The Essential Glowworm Tour: D=85 min, Max=12. Spellbound Private Tour: D=145 min, Max=12.
Photography:	allowed, no tripods
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:	Kent Henderson (2004): Two New Show Caves At Waitomo!!, ACKMA Journal 57 December 2004. pdf
Address:	Spellbound Ltd, P.O. Box 4, Waitomo Caves, Tel: +64-800-773-552 (Toll free, NZ only). 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

1849	Spirit Cave "discovered" by Dr Thompson who was led by the Maori Ngati Kinohaku.
1952	first known movie images of a New Zealand cave recorded by the caver John Kendrick in Te Ana o te Atua.
2000	area bought by the nearby limestone quarry operator Mc Donald’s Lime.
2003	Spellbound Ltd founded by Libby and Pete Chandler.
26-DEC-2004	Te Ana o te Atua opened to the public.
JAN-2005	filming of Sir David Attenborough’s wildlife documentary Life in the Undergrowth.

Description

Spellbound Glowworm Cave is not the name of the cave, to be exact, it is the name of the tour operator. The official name of the cave is simply Glow Worm Cave, which is not very spectacular, and rather weird, as there are virtually hundreds of glow-worm caves in New Zealand. Seems to be New Zealandish understatement, like calling the dog in Wikipedia Footrot Flats simply Dog. We think it is a good idea to call it Spellbound Glowworm Cave, just to distinguish it from other glowworm caves.

The owners of this new tour operator are Libby and Pete Chandler, who invented and owned the famous Waitomo Black Water Rafting. It was the first time ever, such underground extreme sport was offered to the public, and thei company name soon become the name of the sport. After they sold this company to The Waitomo Caves Inc, they opened this new company with a different concept. The difference to other tours: the visitors have really a lot of time, at least 30 minutes of silence and darkness under one of the largest ceilings of glowworms in New Zealand. They say it was the most unhurried glowworm tour in New Zealand.

The Spellbound tour is an outdoor experience which takes 3.5 hours. It starts at the Waitomo Information Centre with a minibus ride to a typical sheep and cattle farm, a heavily karstified area with many dolines, loosing streams, springs, and caves. One or two of those caves are toured. The Spellbound Glowworm Cave has a fine entrance portal, with a river flowing into the cave, which is thus a swallow hole or sink. The entrance is followed by a huge horizontal river passage, the trail is elevated above the water, then follows a short dry side passage. The cave is equipped with paths and electric light, but the glowworm section has neither. The participants enter rafts (boats) and calmly cruise on the lake-like river. It takes 10 to 20 minutes for the eyes to adapt fully to the darkness. This glowworm cave was chosen by the BBC for filming Sir David Attenborough’s wildlife documentary Life in the Undergrowth.

After leaving the cave, a scenic gorge walk brings the participants to the impressive entrance portal of Te Ana o te Atua (Cave of the Spirit, The Spirit Cave). On the way the guides explain the development of the karst landscape and its typical features. The cave has no cave river, but fine formations and numerous remains of both Maori and early British settlers. There are bones of now extinct animals who once died in the cave. Highlight is a partial moa skeleton which is well-preserved.

The caves in this area were known to the Maori who were living here. The Spirit Cave was officially discovered in 1849 by Dr. Thompson, which means the visit was recorded and published. He was guided by the Maori Ngati Kinohaku. Dr. Thompson was in search of bones of extinct giant birds, and he was successful.

The tour guides are very well-informed, so this is definitely not one of those annoying tours were faked superlatives and the fantasy names of formations are listed. This is actually an entertaining 2.5 hour lecture in geology, speleology, biology, and history with first-hand, real examples, which is very informative. It is even recommended by cavers, who were able to learn something new. The boat ride is a spectacular breather for the legs and the head. It’s allowed to take pictures, but no flash, as flashes would disturb the glowworms and would be very distracting for the other participants due to the darkness. The glowworm section has no light, but the other parts have low but sufficient light. The fee is comparably steep, though it is not the most expensive, but the high quality makes it worth any cent. That’s an opinion which is shared by all kinds of visitors.

The caves are rather newly developed as show caves, but they have a touristic history before Spellbound. The two caves were used by ACKMA member Derek Mason for cave trekking trips, and were then known as Mason’s Mangawhitikau Glowworm Cave and Mason’s Dry Cave. He owned the surrounding farm and the participants were transported to the cave entrances in the valley below his house in "motorized hay carts".

The Mangawhitikau karst area, separated by a dry stream bed valley, developed in the Mangawhitakau or Oparure limestone.