You know when you see pictures online and then arrive to find that something looks completely different in real life? That is not the case at Spellbound Cave; in fact, it’s even better than the photos. When I say the ceiling is entirely covered in glow worms, I mean literally! It’s breathtaking. I suppose that’s to be expected when you find out this is the cave that David Attenborough chose to visit when he came to film at Waitomo!
We never planned on specifically writing about this tour, intending instead to write a comparison guide with the much more famous Waitomo Caves. However, after experiencing it, we knew we just had to. It is one of the most magical experiences in the whole of New Zealand and a must do when visiting the North Island.
Here’s everything you need to know about visiting Spellbound Cave, and just in case you’re wondering, we paid full price for this tour and didn’t mention we had a travel blog.
What to expect at Spellbound Cave
There are two caves you can visit on the one tour (Spirit and Spellbound), or you can simply choose to visit Spellbound Cave (the one with the glow worms).
At time of writing, the difference between seeing Spellbound alone or also visiting Spirit Cave is just $15, so it’s well worth visiting both. Even though you start by visiting Spirit Cave, we’ll cover Spellbound first as we know most people are especially interested in the glow worms.
Spirit Cave
Spellbound Cave
Spellbound glow worm cave
So this is the one that I was most excited about seeing, but nothing could have prepared me for how good it actually is. It’s a short (couple of minutes) walk down the pathway to pick up your helmet and head into the cave.
The entry way is really atmospheric, with a huge amount of water rushing into the cave, which almost sounds like a waterfall when amplified by the echo.
You’ll walk through a short easy section of dry cave and then get to an area where you can see lots of glow worm threads hanging on the ceiling just above your head.
Even if the lights are switched off here, you won’t have any idea about the true beauty of the cavern until you walk back through at the end of the tour and your eyes have fully adjusted.
After continuing along the walkway for a few minutes you’ll arrive at the boat and this is where the magic begins. You will switch off your headlights and have a full 20 minutes (or longer if you’re lucky!) to float through the magnificent cave.
We were extremely fortunate to be the only ones on our tour, and our guide kindly let us have a lot of extra time, which was a dream come true.
As you glide through the water, there is barely an inch of space not taken up by a glow worm and the effect is nothing short of jaw-dropping. I lost count of the amount of times I said ‘wow’ and ‘I can’t believe this’. It was an experience I will never forget.
The glow worms were so bright that I could see both our guide and Joe pretty well, which is crazy when you think the cave is pitch black!
Once you’ve finished the boat trip you’ll then walk back through the dry passageway and see that it too is absolutely covered in glow worms.
It was incredible just how many there were when your eyes had a chance to adjust. You really do need that time in total darkness and that’s rare to come by on tours that have high visitor numbers as you need to keep people moving through.
To say it could be the best glow worm cave in New Zealand sounds like a big statement, but it’s one of 30 spots we’ve visited over the last few months and it stands head and shoulders above them all.
If you love glow worms and are interested in other great spots to see them around the country, we have this detailed guide.
Spirit Cave (Te Ana O Te Atua)
Spirit Cave does have glow worms but only in small numbers. Let’s call it a warm up for what’s to come. The thing I was most excited to see in Spirit Cave is a partial moa skeleton.
Giant moa once roamed New Zealand’s forests, but sadly went extinct hundreds of years ago. Although I’ve seen skeletons in museums, I’ve never seen one in situ and the bones at Spirit Cave have been remarkably well preserved.
As well as viewing the moa skeleton you’ll also walk through the length of the cave on an easy concrete pathway to check out all the stalactites and stalagmites, as well as plenty of other formations. The cave is lit, but with low light, which makes it feel much more sympathetic than some other caves we’ve been to.
All in all I really enjoyed Spirit Cave, but it was the moa bones in particular that made it special. I would definitely recommend adding it on to the tour because I think the two different caves complement each other nicely.
How the tours are run
When you arrive at the little office for Spellbound you’ll see it’s pretty rustic and that’s what makes this tour even better. The numbers are capped at 12 per group, but it’s often less. This allows for much more interaction with the guide, plus it’s quieter and you’ll have less chance that people are going to be turning their lights on, or using flash photography, which ruins the glow worm experience.
On that note, photography is allowed as long as you don’t use a flash, which is fabulous, as when you see those glow worms you will want to try and capture the scene – although it’s impossible to do it justice! Our guide also offered to help with photography constantly, and shone his torch at the water which illuminated the top of the cave enough to take photos on my phone!
If you do both Spirit and Spellbound Caves you will also have a little stop in-between for tea and biccies. It reminded me of how tours in New Zealand were run on my first trip here in the early 2000’s. As more tourists began to visit, things had to become more rushed to allow for the next group and little things like this get lost. I hope the Spellbound tour never changes because it really is a very special experience.
I’ll never quite understand how it’s not the most famous glow worm cave in Waitomo, but that’s definitely to your advantage when it comes to not having to share it with everybody else!
If you’re looking for other amazing things to do in the area, we have a full Waitomo guide here.
Essential Info
Booking the tour
Tours can be booked through Spellbound’s website which is what we did, and it also shows you how many spots are left.
This means you can check and try and pick the quietest one possible! You can also call them or book at the I-site in Waitomo village.
Getting to Spellbound Caves
Spellbound Caves are located roughly 13km and a 15 minute drive from Waitomo Village. They are 11km and roughly a 12 minute drive from Te Kuiti.
