Magical Moments

On Wednesday after our "Big Night Out", our alarm clock went off at 8:30 am. We had to sleep in a bit, although we couldn't sleep longer because we had to check out of the Holiday Park at 10:00 am. After that, we parked in the city and strolled through a few souvenir shops. Andi went back to Peter Pans and gave our feedback on the pub tour. Complaining, of course. As an apology for the chaotic organization, we wanted to ask for a refund of the $15 per person entrance fee, but apparently, the manager there was somewhat smug and could only offer a $15 voucher for any booking. Well, we had already decided that we didn't want to book anything with Peter Pans in the future. After all, they were the ones who hyped up and sold us the Big Night Out.

At noon, we went shopping and refueling, and at 1 pm, we continued on our journey. The destination was Te Anau, a small town west of Queenstown. We had to drive there for 3 hours, and it was raining almost the entire time. At 4:30 pm, our Glowworm Tour started. The first part of the tour consisted of a 25-minute boat ride on the second-largest lake in New Zealand, as the cave with the glowworms is located at a spot on the lake's shore that cannot be reached by car. The boat ride was quite good, although it was a shame that we could hardly see anything of the surrounding shores due to the thick clouds. However, the captain drove very close to the shore at one point and told us a few things about the small islands there and general information about the area.

After arriving at our destination, we were directed to a small cottage that served as an info center. There, we learned that our boat group would be divided into 3 smaller groups for the cave visit. In turn, all groups would receive an introductory presentation and have the opportunity to look at the information boards in the room. We wanted to listen to the presentation first, so we didn't go with the first group to the cave. As refreshment, they even provided free water, coffee, and tea. Really nice!

In the presentation, the nice man told us a lot about the cave, its history, and of course, the glowworm larvae that have made the cave famous. These larvae live on the ceiling of the cave by producing a sticky secretion and sticking to the ceiling with it. They also let threads of this secretion hang from the ceiling to catch insects, similar to the sticky threads of spiders. The special thing is that the larvae glow to attract the insects. And in a dark cave, the glow of thousands of larvae looks beautiful. By the way, these larvae are not the predecessors of the glowworms that we also have in our country. But in our German info flyer, the glowworms were translated that way. There were already glowworm caves on the North Island, and Andi really wanted to visit one. Unfortunately, they were always a bit off the beaten path or very expensive, so we didn't have time to visit such a cave. That's why it was even nicer that it worked out on the South Island and we could even combine it with a boat ride. Another special thing about the Te Anau Glowworm Cave was that you could navigate the cave with a boat because there is an underground river. In the other caves, you would have simply walked in on foot.

After the presentation, we entered the cave. At the entrance, we had to crouch down quite small, and then we walked on metal walkways along the cave walls above the water. The shape of the cave and the power of the water were quite impressive, and especially the underground waterfalls were very remarkable. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take photos because the glowworms apparently get disturbed by noises and flashes. However, in the front part of the cave, I didn't understand the prohibition because the sound of the water drowned out everything, and there were lamps installed everywhere so that you could see the surroundings. But well, this way we could fully concentrate on the special features of the cave.

After going a good way into the cave, we reached the actual Glowworm Cave with the underground lake, where we got into a boat. Then the lights went out, and it was completely dark. Except for the thousands of small bluish lights on the cave walls. Our eyes had to get used to the darkness at first, but then the sight was simply beautiful. The boatman moved the boat forward on a rope, and we had time to admire the surroundings. Only the quiet gurgling of the water under the boat could be heard, and in the complete darkness, we couldn't even see our own hand in front of our eyes. After a short ride, we arrived at a spot where the cave ceiling was directly above our heads, and we could even see the larvae's thread of secretion. Everything was sparkling so beautifully! Then we went back to the landing spot, and the view of the endless starry sky was no less magical than before. When the lights came on again and we had to get out of the boat, we were really dazzled by the experience. It was like another world, a small cosmos in our earthly life. Unbelievable.

On the way back through the cave, we admired the waterfalls again and then gathered in front of the info center cottage with the others. There, our guide told us, in response to a question, that the water level of the underground river was currently very high, and it usually accounts for only a third of that. We were lucky that our tour was not canceled due to flooding, as had happened earlier that day. Because of the high water level, we were also very close to the glowing larvae in the Glowworm Cave. So we were doubly lucky!

After another 20 minutes, during which we looked at some of the information boards, a ship arrived with which we wanted to return to Te Anau. Once we arrived there, we bought two ponchos in a souvenir shop in case it rained heavily in Milford Sound as well. Then we drove the Scenic Drive, which leads from Te Anau to Milford Sound. The road passes many great viewpoints, small lakes, and walks, so you can always stop and admire something beautiful along the way. Unfortunately, it was raining the whole time for us, and all the views were completely clouded. We didn't see anything even at the famous Mirror Lakes, where the mountains reflect in good weather. So we went straight to our campsite for the night. That was the DOC Campground "Cascade Creek" for $13 per person, and we arrived there at 8:30 pm. Thank goodness we even got a small hut, open on two sides, for the money, which was used as a camp kitchen. There, we could heat up our frozen meals in a pot and eat on a bench, somewhat dry. There was a thunderstorm the whole time, and it was freezing cold.

After dinner, we drove the car a bit further onto a gravel area where we wanted to stay overnight. We would be afraid of sinking into the grass! After watching an episode of Elementary, we quickly went to the bathroom, but brushing our teeth had to be skipped outside due to the thunderstorm. The rain, strong wind, and lightning continued the whole night, and we had only one hope: let the weather be better tomorrow!