Nikau Cave is less than 90 minutes drive southwest of Auckland, New Zealand, and has thousands of glowworms and amazing formations, but no crowds. The cave tours are personal, unhurried and best of all unspoiled by paths, handrails and electric lights. It is the real deal at Nikau Caves!
Before our caving adventure we enjoyed a delicious tomato soup with homemade bread at the Nikau Cave Café. The backdrop of sheep and cows grazing on a rugged hill sets the scene and provides the ideal place to start and finish the tour.
Our guide Phil gave us each a torch and safety helmet- just for precautions and then we set off into the dark and gloomy world of the caves. As we walked through streams and over rocks my feet were instantly wet but this makes it all the more interesting and fun.
Crawling on my elbows and knees in icy cold water through a long narrow cave about a half a metre high. Phil wasn’t lying when he said we might get a little bit wet- the torch might be waterproof but my clothes definitely were not.
However it was all worth it as I reached the other side and my eyes adjusted to the galaxy of glowworms twinkling from the roof high above. That was just the beginning!
As we walked through the exquisite cave our torches discovered glistening white pillars, delicate shawls and long, fragile clusters of straws made from limestone. These formations are otherwise known as stalagmites and stalactites, and are very impressive to say the least.
We finally found the light of the biggest glowworm of all, the sun, and made our way up some steps that led us into the beautiful native rainforest. For the five-minute walk back to the café I was in awe as Phil explained that we were walking on top of what we had just crawled our way through.
Once we were back at the Café/accommodation we had nice warm showers and changed into some dry clothes. After a delicious dinner of lamb chops, salad and potatoes I had one of the best cakes I have ever tasted- cinnamon and pear mmmmmm. Instead of TV and Internet we had a fun filled evening of wine and Pictionary. As our laughter echoed into the high beams of the ceiling in the café, I realized I hadn’t laughed like that in a long time!
Guests can choose to stay in the cosy cabin located privately at the outer edge of their extensive gardens or stay in one of the rooms in the Café Lodge. We were originally planning to stay in the cabin, which has a private kitchenette and bathroom however our gutless van couldn’t make it up the steep incline. We feel our new nickname for the van is quite fitting: “Willyeva”. Translation “will-he-ever” make it up this hill? We didn’t mind though because we had fun playing board games and socializing with the other guests.
For information on the cave tours, accommodation, and prices please visit their website at: www.nikaucave.co.nz
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