Glow worms at Waitomo

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After I had a slight argument with the man on the phone yesterday we booked our trip to Waitomo and the glow worm caves. It took about 3hrs to get there so was another long coach journey, having said that you do get used to it, you have to if you want to see everything.

It was all a bit rushed as we only had an hour there but we managed to fit it all in. The tour takes you into the caves where they tell you about the stalagtites and stalagmites and they show you all the parts which resemble animals and faces. Some of them did look like animals but others I didn't really see what the guide was showing us but I'm sure it was there somewhere!

After the cave we went down to the water for the boat ride to see the glow worms. Its pitch black and you have to be really quiet as the worms will stop glowing if there is too much noise or light. There were hundreds of glow worms above us, they were tiny blue dots some brighter than others but they are all really clear. The light comes from their bums and is caused by the breakdown of their waste...nice! But it does mean that they don't ever need to go to the loo! They glow to attract food, they're a bit like spiders in that they spin a sticky string of web below them about 30cm long. Flys and other insects are attracted to the light and get stuck and eaten. We weren't allowed to take photos but I don't think they would have looked as good as the real thing anyway.

We're off to the polynesian spa tonight which has pools of different temperatures, I think we need a relaxing evening after today!

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