Things to do in Waitomo

There are many different activities that you can do when you are at Waitomo Caves.

Activities that are free include:

• Ruakuri Bush Walk – a 1/2 hour circuit – stunning scenery – a must-do when you visit Waitomo
• Night Time Bush Walk – visit the Ruakuri Walk when it is dark and see the glowworms close up
• The Shearing Shed – watch Angora rabbits being shorn – a different experience!
• Mangapohue Natural Bridge – drive half an hour for a scenic 25-minute walk
• Marakopa Falls – just 5km further for a beautiful 30-minute bush walk to the falls
• Waitomo Way – take your time and enjoy the limestone scenery walking along this walkway with a lookout over the village and including the Ruakuri Bush Walk. Allow 3 hours for the round trip or ask to be taken out and then walk back in your own time (1.5 hours)

There are many other activities that we can give advice about and book for you:

• Tourism Holdings Ltd offer a variety of cave experiences:
  • Waitomo Glowworm Cave - a 45-minute guided tour through a beautiful cave including a boat ride to see the glow-worms
  • Aranui Cave - beautiful formations in a lovely bush setting
  • Ruakuri Cave - 2-hour guided walk through glowworm cave. Wheelchair and pushchair friendly
  • The Legendary Blackwater Rafting Company offers both a 3-hour cave tubing and a 5-hour abseiling/caving/tubing experience

• Spellbound Ltd offers a 3· hour caving experience in 2 caves: the first includes a ride on a raft to see the glowworms up close; the second a dry cave with masses of stalactites and bones
• Cave World Ltd offers a 3-hour float-through cave tubing experience, a family caving experience and a day/night abseil trip
• Rap, Rock & Raft has a 4.5-hour abseil/tubing/rock climb caving experience
• Waitomo Adventures offer wet and dry caving experiences with or without abseiling
• Greenglow :up to 6 hours of abseiling, caving and rock climbing.

Of course there are other activities to choose from besides caving:

• visit Altura Horse Treks, Gardens & Wildlife Park to enjoy a magical place with spectacular views, horse trekking and whole family entertainment. Qualmark endorsed with award-winning gardens
• watch Billy Black's Unique Kiwi Culture Show at Woodlyn Park
• visit the award-winning Waitomo Discovery Centre
  Dundle Hill walk, a 2-day walk staying overnight in Kay's Cabin

Visit the Waitomo i-SITE website for more ideas or go to Destination Waitomo www.waitomo.org.nz for more information.

If the activity is not within walking distance and you haven’t got a car, most operators will pick you up from our driveway.

When you finally tear yourself away from Waitomo and head off to visit other places in New Zealand, we can give you route information and recommendations of what you can see and do en route.