Te Anau Caves and the Illustrious Glowworms

After a long day of kayaking, I obviously underestimated how tired I would be, and signed up to do the Te Anau lake tour into the caves. You only live once, right? Plus I was leaving Te Anau the next day and really, really wanted to see a glowworm before leaving the South Island.

Lake Te Anau is the second largest lake in New Zealand, formed from glacial melt; unlike Lake Taupo, which was formed from volcanic activity. It was absolutely stunning at sunset with the sun peaking through the gray clouds and reflecting of the glassy water, which looked almost black in the low light. I went crazy on manual mode shooting photos as the ferry sped through the chilly evening air. [Many of the tourists on the boat looked at me as if I was insane for being outside on the boat, but what can I say, a true artíste sacrifices to get the shot!]

The Aurora Caves were named due to the light that beamed through the cave ceilings creating an “aurora-effect” inside the tunnels. The caves were formed due to the mechanical power of the river flowing through, but also through chemical decay, as the oxygen mixed with the carbon dioxide released into the ground soil to form an acid that allowed the low pH water to break down the limestone in the cave. I ducked my head and crouched as we made our way through the caves with out guide pointing out different limestone and sandstone layers as well as wildlife present. Apparently, Lake Te Anau is home to a species of eel that can grow up to 1.7m long; the one I was fortunate to see was only about a meter long, but I do not think I would like to run into him while sleeping!

We were taken into the Glowworm Grotto via boat completely silently, other than the sound of rushing water, I had to stop myself from oohing and ahhing! The ceiling was studded with glowworms releasing bioluminescence, as the enzyme luciferase meets with ATP to form a light in the tail. Glowworms created silks coating with mucus, and as bugs/insects are attracted to the light, they are caught in the silks and become the glowworms next meal! Glowworms then excrete external enzymes to digest the bugs/insects to extract nutrients. Fun fact, glowworms compete for space and often attack and eat their own kind if they encroach too much on their neighbor’s space!

Sadly we were unable to take pictures in the caves, understandable as additional light frightens the glowworms. But, at least I will always have the magical memories of seeing these caves in person! Heading off to Queenstown through Thursday, and then Christchurch where I will get to see my Mum and Nan! I could not be more thrilled!