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Mullarkey Tours

Short Tours & Excursions for cruise ship passengers visiting the Bay of Islands

Glow worm cave tours

Kawiti Glow Worm Caves, Hundertwasser Centre & Opua Forest Walk Tour

Tour Details

Perfect tour! Highly recommend for cruise passengers! We had an amazing experience with Ken as our tour guide. He was fun to talk to and is very knowledgeable about the places we went. The glow worm caves are amazing and Ken has a great relationship with the family running the caves. The length of the tour and amount of time at each stop was perfect since we were cruise ship passengers. I highly recommend this tour for cruise ship passengers because you won't be just another number on their roster. Our travel partners booked through the cruise line they were delayed 2 hours and had to miss half their tour! Thanks again for an unforgettable experience!
Tripadvisor Review

Our first destination is the Kawiti Glowworm Caves where a local Maori guide will lead you through underground caverns to see the glow worms and tell you how the caves came to be found.

Your 30 minute guided tour will follow a wooden boardwalk (with handrails) through a 200 metre limestone cave system. Once inside, you will see thousands of glow worms spread across the ceiling surrounded by breath taking stalactites and stalagmites.

As you enjoy the galaxies of glow worms above, your friendly guide will explain the life cycle of the New Zealand Glow worm (Arachnocampa Luminosa) and the intricate webs used to catch their prey. You’ll even get close enough to see the actual body of the glow worm and its stunning blue/green tail light, before you make the return bush walk through a natural corridor of karst rock formations and pristine rain forest.

Then, a short drive to Kawakawa, location of the world famous “Hundertwasser Toilets” one of the few public toilets seen as an international work of art, designed by the expatriate Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser, features the use of recycled materials from the local community.

You will also visit the recently opened Hundertwasser Cultural Centre. Opened in 2020, the centre offers an opportunity to enjoy the best of both Hundertwasser’s work and local Maori Arts & Crafts.

The final destination is the Opua Forest home to Kauri trees which are over 1000 years old.. From here we go back to the Wharf via the Waitangi lookout, where there are great photo opportunities particularly of your ship moored in the Bay.

In the event your ship does not dock, there will be a full refund.

Virginia
VirginiaTrip Advisor
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The experience was fantastic! So informative- I had never heard of glow worms before. Couldn’t tell which way your scale goes- if 5 is best I say 6!.
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