Enchanting Abode: Millions Of Fireflies Illuminate The Splendor Within The Cave

Coming to New Zealand, visitors from near and far cannot miss the sparkling Waitomo firefly cave tourist spot with millions of luminescent fireflies radiating beautiful light.

Waitomo Firefly Caves are located outside the town of Waitomo, New Zealand. Waitomo Cave has charm and beauty because it is the settlement of fireflies. The Arachnocampa firefly is usually very small, its body has the ability to glow in the dark, this is what gives the cave a shimmering, magical scene.

In fact, the Maori people have known about the existence of this cave for a long time, but because the cave is underground, it is very difficult to access. Therefore, the cave was only discovered when Fred and Tane started working on it.

Waitomo Firefly Cave was first discovered in 1887 by local Maori leader Tane Tinorau. He was also accompanied by a British inspector named Fred Mace. To be able to enter the cave, Fred and Tane made a raft, they started using torches to row along the water flowing underground to penetrate inside the cave.

When they reached the inside of the cave, Fred and Tane swam through an area of fireflies. Here, the two were extremely surprised by the shimmering beauty of the fireflies shining down on the ceiling. When Fred and Tane moved deeper into the cave, they encountered another equally magical scene, a system of stalactites and stalagmites.

Excited and curious about their breakthrough discovery, Fred and Tane then returned to the cave many times to explore more closely. During a free trip, leader Tane discovered a path into the cave located right above the wall of the cave. In 1889, Tane Tinorau officially opened the cave for tourism.

Tane Tinorau and his wife (Mrs. Huti) began to lead groups of people to visit inside the cave, the cost of each trip was not much. By 1906, the management of the cave was taken over by the Government. At this time, Mr. Tane Tinorau and his wife received a commission from tourism exploitation, and they were also given partial responsibility for managing and developing this cave.