Product Overview

After travelling across Lake Te Anau on a boat cruise, step into a magical world of churning waterfalls and whirlpools, polished limestone, tranquil streams and shimmering enchantment. The expert nature guide will lead you by path and small boat through a twisting underground network of cave-system passages lit by thousands of glittering glowworms.

Product Description

Experience a mysterious underground world with a guided cave tour past the rushing water of an underground stream before drifting in silent darkness beneath the luminous shimmer of hundreds of glowworms.

Your trip to the Te Anau Glowworm Caves begins with a cruise to the western shores of Lake Te Anau on one of our purpose-built scenic cruise vessels.

At the entry to the caves at Cavern House, view the informative displays and learn about this geological wonder before you join your guide underground. On the tour of the caves, our friendly guides will point out the highlights and share their knowledge of the caves and its history.

This underground world is astonishingly beautiful. By geological standards, the caves are very young (12,000 years) and are still being carved out by the force of the river that flows through them. The result is a twisting network of limestone passages filled with sculpted rock, whirlpools and a roaring underground waterfall.

Deep inside the caves, beyond the roar of the water, you will be taken by small boat into a silent hidden grotto inhabited by hundreds of glowworms, unique to New Zealand. In the subterranean darkness, they produce a glittering display that is nothing short of extraordinary.

Departure Times

• 10:15am 
• 2:00pm 
• 7:00pm 

Duration

2.25 hours 

What To Bring

Non-slip shoes/boots, waterproof jacket, warm sweater/fleece jacket (It’s always cold in the cave 8 - 12ºC), sunscreen/ sunglasses, insect repellent and camera.

Company Info

Welcome to RealNZ – in business for good 

RealNZ offers experiences in some of the most untouched regions of New Zealand including Stewart Island, Fiordland and Queenstown. Trips include day and overnight cruises through Milford and Doubtful Sounds, glowworm caves in Te Anau, and a guided walk on the Milford Track. In Queenstown we offer BBQ dining options, cycle trails and farm tours at Walter Peak High Country Farm, cruises on the heritage steamship TSS Earnslaw, as well as whitewater rafting trips and thrilling jet boat experiences. Cardrona Alpine Resort is an alpine playground in both summer and winter including wide open ski slopes in winter or dial up the excitement on mountain bike and carting trails in summer. Treble Cone, the home of skiing in Wanaka, is the South Island’s largest ski area in both terrain and vertical metres. The International Antarctic Centre is Christchurch’s leading visitor attraction offering a fun and interactive experience of Antarctica.