Spellbound is a fabulous experience. You get to see glow worms in all their glory. The organised trip is about 3 hours long visiting 2 caves in a small group of about 10 people with your guide, Norman...who himself is fabulous. A really great guide with a wealth of local and caving knowledge. The only way to see the glow worms...not herded around with the rest of the tourists.A boat ride in the silence in darkness. Absolutely great.Will definitely visit again

Also very kindly forwarded a set of photos by e-mail

When i first heard about visiting the Waitomo caves with the Glowworms, i was little interested. Never the less, we went to have a look to see what's this hype is all about. Belive me, this trip is marvalous!!!! You walk to the cave, get in and enter the complete darkness. And after a while your eyes gte used to the little amount of light and you start to recognice things next to you. This effect alone was interesting. But when you enter the glowworm cave by boat, the ceiling seems to change into a heaven full of stars. Outstanding. I have never seen something like that. Beside this wonder of mother nature, the stuff of Spellbound is really well informed about the glowworms and their habitat. And in addition to that really funny and friendly. Hope you will take your time there. Enjoy.

Spellbound does not have fancy advertisments in magazines , neither are their brochures as widely distributed as comapared to other operators . It was introduced to us by our Hostel desk manager . A bit sceptical in the beginning as it offers almost the same attractions but prices are lower , Our guide Pete , made good groundwork amongst our small group of 12 participants . What really impressed me was his keen sense of details and how good he was with our names . Small gesture , but it makes the group feel " special "

Tour starts with a scenic albeit dusty drive up to the caves , polka dotted along the way with interactive commentary on the sights that pass by . Treks are also part of the program , so come in covered shoes and a nice camera . there will e sights that come by unaccessible by car .

We spent a day in Waitomo while we were touring the North Island in March 2008. Spellbound tours were recommended to us, and they certainly lived up to expectations.

We met up with the group in the village. There were eleven of us plus the guide with ages ranging from ten to sixty-five. We left promptly in a minibus and drove for about twenty minutes to reach the area of the first cave. The guide dropped us off to take a short walk down to the cave, and met us there to distribute hard hats. As we boarded a raft she explained about the glowworms, and as we travelled down the river we were amazed by the spectacle.

When we emerged from the cave, we had a short break for coffee or tea, then walked to the bus. The second cave was not as unusual, but still interesting. We saw several skeletons of animals that had fallen down sink holes, as well as stalagmites and stalactites.

We returned to the village about three and a half hours later, having thoroughly enjoyed the trip.