Waipū Caves
A free-entry glowworm cave about 30 km south of the city; wade in with your own headlamp, and when the lights are switched off, the ceiling looks like a starry sky.
Waipu Caves lie within the Waipu Caves Road scenic reserve. This undeveloped limestone cave is famous for the glowworms covering its ceiling. With headlamps switched off, the blue-green points of light look like the Milky Way. The cave entrance is about 5 minutes' walk from the car park. Inside, you wade through water over slippery, muddy ground, so bring your own headlamp (red light works best), shoes that can get wet and a change of clothes. Do not touch the glowworms' silk threads or the stalactites. The reserve is free to enter. Nearby grassland has a basic campground and a limestone karst walking track. The privately owned Waipu Caves Farm nearby offers paid guided cave tours. Do not enter after rain, when the water level rises.
Opening hours
All day
Nearby sights
- Smugglers Bay
- Mount Manaia
- Kiwi North
- Hundertwasser Art Centre
- Town Basin
- Mount Parihaka
- Abbey Caves
- Whangārei Quarry Gardens