The sky at night (only underground)

Sadly the wet weather continued this morning so we weren't able to get to Waimangu and take a look, which was a real shame as it appeared to be a very interesting place. Instead, we hopped into the van and headed west to Waitomo Caves (which, like Franz Josef Glacier is the actual name of the township). The rain followed us most of the way there - we even got a mighty hailstorm at one point which was particularly exciting. Luckily, our next stop didn't require good weather because, as the name suggests, the main attractions of Waitomo Caves are all underground.

There are three major cave networks for tourists to visit, we opted for the relatively new Ruakuri (although I think we were kind of 'persuaded' by the lady at the campsite as this was the most expensive and she wanted more commission). Anyway, this was on our 'to do' list so we weren't that bothered.

The roof of the cave suddenly lit up, as if we were outside under a beautiful starry sky.

Ruakuri means 'Two Dogs Cave' and was used by the Maori as a burial place. It was opened back in the 19th century to visitors but when human remains were accidentally excavated, the Maori refused access until a new entrance could be built. A team of engineers eventually designed 'The Drum' - a huge spiral walkway which leads down to the cave entrance. At the botoom of the walkway is a piece of the local limestone with a steady trickle of water dripping onto it to demonstrate the rate at which the rock erodes. It certainly made for an atmospheric beginning to what was to be an amazing tour.

The sense of wonder was heightened by the fact that the caves are very cleverly lit. At strategic points along the walk there are switches which operate lights further down the tunnel so the guide, Lucas, would lead us into the pitch blackness, tell us a bit about the next section of cave and then turn on the lights to much 'oohing' and 'aahing' from us punters.

There were some amazing formations to be seen, including what is known as 'curtain' or 'shall' formations which look just like petrified sheets protruding from the walls. By the time we reached here we were also aware that we had been joined on our tour by 'the man who can only see things through the lens of a camera' - every other step being accompanied by a brief flash and an annoying beep. We always seem to find them.

The best was still to come though. We'd seen about the glow worms of Waitomo on David Attenborough's Planet Earth program, and we were about to get a glimpse of these amazing creatures for ourselves. They aren't actually worms, they're a sort of maggot (Arachnus Luminosa) which hang tiny threads from the ceiling which they use to catch flying insects. They then use a light in their bum to attract any flying creatures which enter the cave and fly up towards the roof of the cave assuming they have found the night sky. When Lucas dimmed the lights (and reminded us there was to be no photography) the effect was astonishing. The roof of the cave suddenly lit up, as if we were outside under a beautiful starry sky. With the aid of a red light (which we assume doesn't confuse the worms like a camera flash does) we saw the hundreds of tiny threads which dangle from the ceiling hoping to catch the grubs some tea. Amazingly the light suddenly seemed to get brighter, but when we looked to our left we realised it was just Snappo checking his camera to see if he'd managed to get a naughty pic. There really is always one.

After seeing more amazing stalactites (which hang down) and stalagmites (which go up) and leaving Suz to take pictures of a 'rude-looking' one, we made our way back to the daylight and squinted our way back to the bus.