JOURNEY IN THE DARK

The crowd around the gates was already a decent size when we arrived and was growing quickly. People were milling around in small groups, chatting to each other with excitement and curiosity. I don't think anyone really knew what to expect. The Botanical Gardens are not exactly well known for glow worms, so I think many of us had low expectations. It must have been an interesting sight to any passerby to see a crowd of people collected around it's back entrance gates after dark.  

They split the crowd into 3 groups and briefly explained some basic information about the incandescent insects. Glow worms are the larvae of a small fly (which in it's adulthood is similar to a mosquito). The species found in New Zealand is not found anywhere else in the world, although there are other species in Australia and Fiji. The larvae are suspended by webs which catch small insects that they feed on and are typically found around water. Since Wellington is windy, these webs are shorter that the glow worms in the Waitamo Caves (a tourist location famous for them) where they are much better protected. The light produced by the glow worm is bio-luminescence which means that it is produced by a chemical reaction within the worm. 

After beginning our walk, we all moved forward in a bit of a clump, further into the forest in the gardens. A lot of people were shining their torches around to see, but as long as you followed the person in front of you, really the only people who needed them to see were those at the front. There was only a sliver of a moon, but it was still quite bright. After some time we could hear the sound of a creek below on our right side and we were asked to turn off our torches. We all stretched to try and look down to see whatever we could of the glow worms. We moved along the path, but let a lot of people pass, because after they had finished looking in the area they were in they would turn on their torch and make it impossible for the rest of us to see the glow worms.The glow worms became easier to see and increased in number as we walked along. The pack of people was dispersed over the length of the pathway and we could meander more freely. Also, a bit further up the pathway, a bank developed on our left side which had the worms glowing away (although not as brightly and in as great numbers as by the river. 

I couldn't take a picture that would properly show you what this looked like (or look like anything other than darkness), so I've stolen a photo from google that hopefully will give you an idea of the ambiance created by the glow of the worms. 

I believe this is probably taken in the Waitamo caves

It was a mystical experience walking along in the dark with the path lit with blue-green incandescent light with the stars and the sliver of the moon. As I said, on the left there was a creek, so the worms were spread out over the different levels of the riverbed and up the sides of the banks around it, creating a slight chasm effect (since we couldn't see the details of the creek or bush around it). These glowed quite impressively. On the left, they worms didn't glow quite as brightly on the bank, so there were clumps of little pinpricks of light in crude lines along the way. Above you could see the sky and the clouds and the southern cross (which is the group of stars on the NZ flag) past the tops of the trees. It was a fairly warmish night and there was only a slight breeze. This came in gusts which would howl as they approached and the ferns and cabbage trees would rust in such a way that it sounded like a wall of rain was coming towards you. At first, because we were not 100% certain that it wouldn't rain, it was a bit nerve-racking, but once you got used to it, it just added to the mood of the evening. It was light wandering through a mystical forest by fairy lights, no word of a lie. It was so awesome. Definitely one of the coolest and most enjoyable experiences of New Zealand so far. 

Wellington Botanical Gardens are very enjoyable to walk around in the day as well. Although, I must add that it is not always very well signed, so it can be easy to lose your way (but don't worry, other than probably a few more hills to climb and possibly going out of your way, you'll find your way fairly quickly). I tried to go back to the spot that we toured the glow worms, just to give you an idea of what the forest area was like and to try to imagine it in the dark and with blue-green glowing specs along the way, but I got lost.... a few times, and took photos as I was walking along, so my the time I got there my camera had died. So here are some photos taken from the gardens, but not in the area we had the tour. 

Cheers!