Waipu Caves are nothing short of extraordinary; thousands upon thousands of glow worms glitter on the ceiling of three large caverns and you feel like you’ve been transported to another world. We couldn’t believe that such an incredible glow worm cave is free and able to be accessed without a tour.
We had the whole cave to ourselves, which was an unforgettable experience, one so good we went back for a second time within a week!
The cave is relatively easy to access depending on how far you want to go, we’ll go into all the nitty gritty details on exactly what to expect chamber by chamber in the notes below.
Here’s everything you need to know about visiting Waipu Caves, one of Whangarei’s most incredible experiences.
Visiting Waipu Caves: know before you go
The main glow worm sections of Waipu Caves are made up of three main chambers that are all connected by a small stream. This will guide you through the cave system, and it’s just short of 200m from the start of the cave to the third chamber.
This also means that to properly enter Waipu Caves you are going to get wet. Depending on water levels this can be anywhere between ankle and knee deep for the glow worm section of the cave (you can go much deeper but you definitely don’t have to).
Incidentally if you’re feeling adventurous and are prepared, there are an awful lot of passageways to explore. We focused on the glow worm sections but there’s a lot more to see at Waipu. If you’re going to explore beyond the major caverns you will want to bring a helmet.
For the glow worm caves you will need to wear shoes you are comfortably being fully submerged in water. If you’re visiting in cooler weather and wearing trousers you’ll want to be in something quick dry, or bring a spare pair with you so you can get changed in the car park afterwards.
Otherwise all you need is a torch, preferably a proper torch but we went in with just our phones the first time as we visited on a whim and we were fine. Make sure you have a backup if you’re going in on your own though.
Once you’re past the cave opening it’s pitch black and if you got caught without a light it’s going to be unpleasant and probably a bit scary!
What to expect at Waipu Caves
Entering the first chamber
The Waipu Caves are located opposite the car park, just a 50m flat walk across the grass. You’ll then have a few metres of dirt track with the odd rock and tree root to step over before you are standing at the entryway.
This is when it starts to get pretty muddy. Don’t be deterred because to say it’s worth it, is a vast understatement.
My advice is to succumb to the water and mud straight away, you will end up wet further along anyway so just embrace it.
You’ll walk down a short muddy slope and can then cross the stream on a series of rocks. The last couple were a little slippery and on the way back I went straight through the water as I was already wet and preferred that option.
You will then be standing on the stony bank on the other side of the stream and this is where you will see your first glow worms.
If you’re visiting in the day time the light from the cave opening will stop your eyes adjusting and you will see some - but by no means all - of the glow worms. If visiting in the day the next chambers will appear to have significantly more.
The first chamber by night
If you only visit in the day time, then you’ll miss Waipu Caves’ greatest secret. It’s at night that the true magic of this first cavern is revealed, it is absolutely covered in glow worms. In fact, some of the patches here are even better than further along in the next chambers.
If you love the idea of seeing the glow worms, but hate the idea of leaving the cave entrance too far behind, then you should visit at night.
You would only need to walk about 10 steps into the cave to be absolutely awed by what you’ll see. You will always be able to see the large cave entrance which is much lighter than inside the cave even at night time.
The dense patches of glow worms all over the ceiling look like the most incredible constellations and it’s a true wow factor experience. The best place to stand for maximum impact is just on the edge of the stony bank on the opposite side of the stream (directly facing the cave entrance).
You can even see glow worms reflected in the stream as it bends round the corner which is very special.
If you don’t even want to go that far into the cave, go to the water’s edge but don’t cross and you’ll still have a breathtaking display.
Entering the second chamber
As you make your way towards the second chamber you will move away from the light let in by the cave entrance, which means the glow worms can be seen in all their glory even in the middle of the day.
It only takes a few minutes to reach the second chamber and the best section of glow worms that can be viewed throughout the whole day (the first chamber is as good but only at night).
The walk is a little muddy and you’ll need to cross the stream again (it was around ankle level when we visited after plenty of rain in the previous few days).
It’s not a difficult walk by any means though and as long as you are prepared to get a little wet and watch out for the patches of mud you won’t have any trouble.
You’ll then reach a truly magical spot, it’s easily one of the best places to see glow worms in New Zealand.
You are completely surrounded by thousands of twinkling blue lights and the longer you stay there with all artificial light switched off, the more that you can see.
One of the cave walls slopes which makes the glow worms feel like they are just above your head and continue all the way up to the high ceilinged cavern to the left.
All you can hear are the sounds of the water dripping off the cave walls and the rushing of the stream in the distance. It’s just incredible and so good we stayed here for nearly an hour!
The only way this experience will be any less than jaw-dropping is if you are there with any people that don’t turn their torches off which will mean you will only see a fraction of the glow worms.
If this happens then you will probably find the third chamber a lot better as very few people venture further.
Entering the third chamber
The third chamber is huge, but requires a bit more investment to get to as you will get wetter. The water was just above knee level when we visited but it could be lower if there’s been a dry spell.
You will need to walk directly underneath the lower cave wall that you can see ahead of you.
You will have to bend over as you move through but it only takes a few minutes. It’s sandy at first and then there are some submerged rocks so just watch out for those. It’s not slippery but you could bump into them.
You’ll quickly see the stony bank ahead of you and will then be standing in a giant chamber. There are many many glow worms here, but as the ceiling is so high you feel further away from them.
It’s still wonderful but doesn’t feel as intimate as the second chamber. If you’ve had a great experience with no light disturbing you in the second chamber the third will feel like it has less glow worms.
But to put that in context, the third chamber is still absolutely fantastic, it’s just that the second one is even better!
If you’re reading this and think that the more difficult to access chambers sound the most fun then you should definitely head to nearby Abbey Caves. You’ll find three more glow worm caves, which are definitely on the adventurous side!
Exploring beyond the third chamber
We didn’t explore too much beyond the third chamber, primarily because Joe isn’t a major cave fan and I didn’t want to go too far alone.
However, I did a little extra and it was good fun if you’re up for getting wetter still. You can follow the stream round from chamber three and begin wading through the narrow passage.
The depth of the water varies but did go above my waist at points. It’s cold, but I found it doable. As you make your way through the passageway you’ll come to a fabulous patch of glow worms not far above your head (as the ceiling is so much lower) which was my favourite part of the exploring the winding water tunnel.
There are a few submerged logs to watch out for and then you’ll come to some large logs on the surface and lots of flood debris. This is where I turned back. I didn’t measure the length of the passage but it didn’t take long to reach the end, maybe just five minutes, although you’ll spend longer if you keep turning your torch off to check for glow worms!
You can follow the water back the way you came, or look for the route up through the rocks part way back along (it’s obvious), this takes you along a dry path back to the other side of the third chamber. Basically this cave has a multitude of options and those braver than I will no doubt be highly rewarded.
On the opposite side of the cave to the stream there are further dry passages to explore, but they get tighter more quickly and I wasn’t up for doing that on my own! If you go further I’d love to hear what else is out there!
Cave safety
Although the first few passages are easy access you’ll still want to be mindful of weather conditions. Don’t visit when it’s raining or soon after flooding or high levels of rain.
Make sure your light source is fully charged, as past the first chamber there is no natural light whatsoever. If you want to explore beyond the main chambers and head through tight squeezes and the like, you’ll want to bring a helmet.
Taking care of the glow worms
Glow worms are extremely sensitive to light so please don’t shine your torch on them or use flash photography. They will stop glowing at best and at worst can even die. Any photos of the cave where there aren’t glow worms present can be photographed with a flash but not where there are glow worms.
If you don’t turn your torch off, your eyes can’t adjust and you will only see a fraction of the glow worms that are there anyway so it spoils the experience. You can photograph the glow worms in total darkness with a tripod.
Getting to Waipu Caves
The Waipu Caves Scenic Reserve is located 30km and roughly a 35 minute drive from Whangarei. They are 135km and just under two hours drive from Auckland.
There are two roads to get to the caves, both of which are pretty well maintained gravel roads. The one coming from the south is narrower and windier than the one from the north (Springfield).
Please drive slowly on both roads but especially the narrower one. Unfortunately we encountered a driver coming round the corner at 60 kph and we both had to make emergency stops, we were inches apart and it was pretty terrifying.
If we hadn’t been driving at 30 kph it would have been a nasty head on collision and there were no crash barriers on the left so we would have likely gone off the road. I would recommend driving what feels like comically slow to compensate for the madness of some of the other drivers on the road!
On our second visit we used the alternative road and felt much happier!
Facilities at Waipu Caves
There is a pretty big car park at the caves which is free of charge, as well as two flush toilets and a free DOC campground.
There is also a 2km walking track which we had planned to check out but ran out of time. We always like to make our own minds up but it’s worth noting that people did tell us it wasn’t that great!
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