Bucket List Item Checked: The Glow Worm “Trifecta”
- katherineduker
- Jan 13
- 8 min read
Arachnocampa luminosa and Orfelia fultoni
While absolutely mesmerized by the ethereal show of light that truly looked like the most gorgeous starry night you’ve ever seen, one of our knowledgeable guides at the Legendary Blackwater Rafting Co. mentioned that the glow worms we were admiring in Waitomo (Arachnocampa luminosa) could also be found in parts of Australia (for more information, click here); AND that their “cousins” (Orfelia fultoni, or “Dismalites”) could be found commercially in only one place in Alabama: Dismals Canyon. Separately but simultaneously, we had a new goal/item for our bucket lists – what we called “the glow worm trifecta” (i.e., seeing the glow worms on all 3 continents they’re known to exist)
Miraculously, it worked out that 2 months later we’d find out that the Air Force would be relocating us to Alabama for my partner to attend school AND that the opportunity would arise for us to visit the glow worm caves in the Blue Mountains of Australia 11 months later… allowing us to achieve this very lofty goal within the span of 1 year!
Before I begin to compare experiences, I want to emphasize that every experience with the glow worms has been truly awe inspiring and worth EVERY penny. We truly would do any/all of them again if given the opportunity!
Glow Worm Trifecta:
Waitomo Caves, New Zealand – December 2023 ✔️
Dismals Canyon, Alabama USA – September 2024 ✔️
Blue Mountains, Australia – November 2024 ✔️
Experiences Summarized
New Zealand
Company/Location= The Legendary Blackwater Rafting Co./Waitomo, New Zealand
Estimated # seen = tens of thousands
Visibility = Up to interpretation, glow worms are visible from far away, but in HUGE volume
Photos = professional photographs of the glow worms and caves as well as photos taken by the guides during your tour are available for purchase at the end of the tour
What to expect = This varies drastically by the type of tour booked: we picked the most adventurous option, the Black Abyss Tour. We started by rappelling (or abseiling, as they call it) into the cave, followed by ziplining THROUGH the cave, then (depending on water levels) a small cliff jump into a tube in the river, tubing through the cave with a canopy of phenomenal glow worms, finishing with rock scrambling up a waterfall. All gear (including wetsuits, helmets, etc.) is provided, guides take photos along the way, and a few snacks/meals/drinks are included, so all you need to worry about is your ride to/from the caves! Towards the end of the tour, one of our guides revealed that the glow worms could be found in other caves around NZ (see *BONUS below) and Eastern Australia and told us about their “cousins”, the Dismalites, that could be found in ONE location in the US, Dismals Canyon in Alabama; when she described how challenging it was to obtain a reservation, we thought she may have been dramatizing a little – but she was spot on (see below for details).
*BONUS: Ruakuri Walk
Company/Location= NONE/Waitomo (Ruakuri Bush Walk)
Estimated # seen = dozens – hundreds
Visibility = not great but free 🤷♀️, maybe if you planned ahead and brought a ladder you could get close?
Photos = snap away – photos and memories are free, but you definitely need a VERY steady hand or a NICE camera to capture anything for the record…
What to expect = After feeling like we were on an aimless easy-moderate hike at dusk, we eventually found cave environments conducive for glow worms, allowed our eyes to adjust to the dark, and looked up to find dozens of glow worms clinging to the top of the cave in a couple different spots. Note: this excursion is free but obviously not guided, so neither detailed information nor any “gear” (including hiking boots and flashlights) is available/provided – nor feedback on how close/far the caves are.
Alabama
Company/Location= Dismals Canyon/Phil Campbell, Alabama, USA
Estimated # seen = hundreds
Visibility = “Just OK”… despite being relatively close, it was particularly difficult to view the Dismalites due to their more dispersed presence, the ambient light from the setting sun and stars, preference for clinging in dark mossy areas, etc.
Photos = photos for personal use are allowed to be taken on devices at designated times/places
What to expect = Once the owner has determined that viewing conditions are sufficient for the “season” to begin, you can call to make a reservation by phone the Sunday of the week that you’d like to visit; but in order to make sure the limited spots don’t fill up, you’ll want to begin calling* as soon as they open on Sunday morning (especially since there’s only one phone and it doesn’t always have reliable service). An extremely diverse crowd of people gathering slowly in an old-timey Western, eclectic outdoor living-room outside of an old-school general store, the owner takes a role-call to confirm that everyone with a reservation is present before leading the group towards the cavern. While an extremely easy trek that even the elderly and individuals with mild mobility issues could likely handle during the day, it was made slightly more difficult by the dark and number of people stumbling in a line. The walk itself is a very short distance, so the tour takes longer than you’d expect given the ground covered, but with good reason: the owner allows ample time for everyone to admire the view and try to take photos in each “hot spot” of Dismalites (and as an added bonus: flashing firefly larvae!) that he previously scouted while sharing his extensive knowledge of the fascinating creatures. Note: bring your own flashlight/headlamp, and if it doesn’t have a red light setting, cover the light with some red tape to achieve the same effect (it helps your eyes adjust to the low light and see the Dismalites better and makes them happier)
*Pro tip: we both sat next to each other calling the number repeatedly to make sure that one of us got through to the reservation line.
Australia
Company/Location= Wildscape Adventures/ Blue Mountains, Australia
Estimated # seen = thousands
Visibility = INCREDIBLE! We saw absolutely every detail we remembered hearing from our guide in NZ up close with our own eyes (unfortunately in ways an iPhone camera could never capture)
Photos = personal photos are allowed to be taken at designated times/places and professional photographs of the glow worms can be obtained upon writing a review of the experience on Trip Advisor
What to expect = After arranging to be picked up from our location and driving ~45 minutes from Sydney into the Blue Mountains, our guide provided us with the proper headlights and safety instructions before we started the very easy hike to the waterfall/glow worm “cave”. Though the excursion was relatively short compared to the drive, the spectacular show of glow worms and incredible opportunity to admire them up close made the experience so unbelievably worth it!
Recommendations
If I had to pick a favorite experience, despite how strongly I believe ANYONE should instantly jump on ANY opportunity to see glow worms in any capacity/location, I’d probably have to say the Black Abyss Tour with the Legendary Blackwater Rafting Company. It’s hard to beat the memory of that surreal view when all of our senses were primed and heightened by the adrenaline pumping activities that directly preceded and proceeded. For me, seeing the glow worms in the most epic, adventurous way possible after DREAMING of seeing the glow worms in Waitomo “someday” after first discovering them in a random National Geographic magazine as a young girl was MORE than a dream come true. That said, since the extra adventurous part of the experience both made this option obviously ADA inaccessible and potentially could be too intimidating, risky, etc. to others, it is important to note that there are multiple other ways to visit the glow worms in Waitomo, so long as you can get there!
Transportation
Speaking of “getting there”, living outside of Montgomery, driving up to Dismals Canyon to see the Dismalites one September evening was technically the “easiest”, but given how difficult it was to ensure we got the chance to see them, I wouldn’t say they were the “simplest” to see. I would say that traveling to the glow worm caves in Waitomo was the second easiest for us, however, we had our own transportation and literally planned our road trip itinerary around it. Moreover, in addition to being able to snag 2 spots during a time that could be worked into our schedule, we selected the glow worm tour that we did in Australia mostly based on the fact that it provided transportation – while we were FAR from disappointed, our limited flexibility in both our schedule and our mobility heavily influenced our glow worm viewing experience in Australia.
Photos
Pics or it didn’t happen! Or “ew, glow worms sound gross, how could that possibly be PRETTY?” On all excursions we were either allowed to bring our own cameras and/or were provided the opportunity to obtain professionally taken images of the glow worms/photos from our experience (see above). While I cannot speak more highly of each of the experiences themselves, I was somewhat disappointed by the photos available at each location for differing reasons: (1) given the price of the Blackwater Abyss Tour itself – charging for photos at the end felt like a bit of a “squeeze” (but were admittedly well worth it), (2) taking our own photos of the Dismalites was nearly impossible for numerous reasons – so it would have been nice to have the option to obtain (even for purchase) professional quality photographs of the Dismalites, and (3) while I still would have written the rave review of our experience visiting the glow worms in the Blue Mountains and it was worth it to get the photos – I do find it a little “icky” when anything is offered as a reward for writing a review on google/trip advisor/etc.
In addition to photos, sometimes it’s nice to get a little “something” to take away that helps trigger the memories, but we really struggled to find “glow worm souvenirs" that we liked! We ended up getting a little informational photography booklet from the Legendary Blackwater Raftjng Co. and a silver ornament from the Dismals Canyon gift shops, but that was about the extent of what we could find in person; however, we were able to find this gorgeous glow-in-the-dark print on Etsy.
Ratings
Before I get to this, I want to reiterate and re-emphasize how strongly I would endorse any/all opportunities to experience the glow worms in any location/capacity!
The Legendary Blackwater Rafting, Co. (New Zealand) | Dismals Canyon (Alabama) | Blue Mountains with Wildscape Adventures (Australia) | |
Adrenaline Level | ★★★★★ | ★☆☆☆☆ | ★★☆☆☆ |
Visibility Rating | ★★★☆☆ | ★★☆☆☆ | ★★★★★ |
Photography | ★★★★☆ | ★☆☆☆☆ | ★★★☆☆ |
Transportation | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★★★ |
Ease of Booking | ★★★★★ | ★☆☆☆☆ | ★★☆☆☆ |
"Wow" Factor : Price | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★☆ |
ADA Accessibility | ☆☆☆☆☆ | ☆☆☆☆☆ | ☆☆☆☆☆ |
Overall Experience Rating | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
Note: the ratings above reflect my specific opinions on the specific tours we went on (including the type of tour, tour operators chosen, tour guides, and fellow group members)
Though the spectacular show the glow worms perform is absolutely a dream on its own, I do believe that the adrenaline-pumping activities we did in Waitomo did enhance our experience to some degree. In terms of transportation, I gave 3 stars to both the NZ and AL experiences because the potential transportation challenges depend on your starting point and whether you have your own vehicle; comparatively, despite the distance from Sydney, I gave our Australia excursion 5 stars because we specifically chose the tour that we did in part because we were picked up from our hotel. Though online booking is easy when slots are available, I only gave our Australia experience 2 stars for ease of booking due to the extremely limited number of spots available each day via Wildscape Adventures. While none of the experiences we chose were ADA accessible, that's not to say that is the case in all glow worm locations; this was not something we specifically were searching for, but I do believe that there are some ADA accessible ways to access the glow worm caves in Waitomo.
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