The Waitomo Caves, 200km from Auckland in the North Island of New Zealand have been attracting visitors to masses of glow worms and incredible limestone formations since the late 1800’s.

That is still the case but the caves have moved on offering much more daring activities, like an exciting 100 metre abseil, possibly the longest commercial abseil in the world.

Abseiling 100 metres into an abyss can be just a bit scary but the guides are reassuring. In their view the most likely accident is twisting your ankle walking out of the cave, and if you’re a guy, getting a testicle caught in the harness.

So if you don’t have testicles you can be just that bit more relaxed and enjoy the sights while descending deep into the prehistoric wonderland of Mangapu Cave, a cross between a cathedral and a fairy grotto.

It takes about 15 minutes to descend to the cave floor.

From the huge opening above sunlight plays over smooth moss covered rocks. Trees, laden with dripping lichen tendrils jut out horizontally from the cave walls.

Descending into a damp misty haze, gliding past huge glistening spider webs, it is eerily still, the silence broken only by the babble of the stream running along the cave floor.

Before its official discovery by a European in 1906, the mysterious mist rising from the cave kept Maori away for fear of a taniwha (evil spirit). Even after discovery the glow worms and limestone formations were not appreciated.

Local farmers regarded them as a nuisance because valuable livestock literally disappeared into a black hole. Then the holes became a convenient landfill, everything, even old cars have been hauled out of them since.

Once on the cave floor there’s two kilometres of spectacular scenery and an entertaining obstacle course to follow with additional optional challenges for adventure junkies.

The tour guides lead off to explore narrower darker tunnels home to beautiful and unusual limestone formations and a maze of glow worms.

At times the limestone forms huge arches creating the illusion of a medieval church, with haze muted sunlight casting a spiritual air.

In other places the limestone has formed into crazed patterns creating a more sinister atmosphere.

Some formations are huge like the celestial stalactite called Angels Wings or the many large pod formations that would be good props for a Sci Fi movie.

Only a couple of short tunnels require a stomach crawl through mud. One crawl leads to a two- metre jump into a deep pool to clean it all off.

Most of the time you wade through the water, at times over your head, but wetsuits provide buoyancy and the cave side’s stability.

Sometimes you just float, turn off the helmet lights and admire the glow worms. Their lights form rivers on the cave roof with arterial offshoots to the sides.

The brightest glow worms are the hungriest, living solely to eat at this larvae stage of their life. Suspended by sticky threads they reel in prey attracted by the soft greenish light from their luminescent organs. Eventually emerging as a fungus gnat, they live long enough to mate and lay eggs before dying.

Apart from the abseiling there are other adventure trips. Blackwater rafting (tubing), floating along underground streams in an inner tube, is very popular. Leaping or descending waterfalls, abseiling backwards down rock faces or free-hanging are all options.

None of the trips require prior abseiling or caving experience. Turn up with a swimsuit, a towel and an appetite for fun and the operator will provide the rest.

From : Adventuretravel.suite101.com