Waitomo Glowworm Caves

oh my god it was dreamy really enjoyed a lot took many photos was able to relate the movie seeing those houses and overall it was a great experience

We first visited the Glowworm Cave, which is a very special attraction. It is a typical limestone cave with stalactites of all sizes. But this is not the highlight of this cave, because there are many limestone caves in the world that are much more spectacular than it. What makes it special is that there are thousands of worms hanging in the cave, and their tails glow to attract prey. So when we look up from the boat, we can see stars that look like the vast starry sky. It is really spectacular! But they are not like the common fireflies that flicker on and off. They are fixed on the rock wall and the light is always on, which is very magical! After finishing the glowworm cave tour, the next step is to go to the scene of the "Lord of the Rings" movie - Hobbiton. It takes about 1 hour from Waitomo to Hobbiton. Then we will spend 1 hour in the Hobbiton souvenir shopping area and then take the shuttle bus to visit the movie scene area. The first scene is the small dirt slope where Gandalf drives his carriage through the Shire and greets Frodo at the beginning of the film. Seeing such a small dirt slope on the scene, it is hard to imagine that the scene in the movie was shot on a very large slope. It’s magical! After passing this dirt slope, we began to enter the houses of the Shire Hobbits walking on the hills. They were really similar to the houses in the movie. Then here I saw apple trees for the first time. There were many plants planted here, and it was obvious that the staff were updating and maintaining them. Then we arrived at Bilbo Bagins’ house, which is located at the highest point of the entire hill. There is a unique artificial tree (made in Taiwan) on the roof of the house, but unfortunately we cannot go inside. Later we meandered down to another larger house, where we could finally go inside and visit. The furniture inside was all handmade and very exquisite and luxurious, definitely worth a look. Finally, we walked to the end and had a free beer at the Green Dragon Tavern. All in all, I was very satisfied with today's trip!

kind tour guide and good arrangement. nice van and happy experience

It was great though I feel like the actual Hobbiton tour guided by the place should be longer as it doesn’t give enough time for the amazing location to be captured on camera. however the food at the place along with the beer is also great and overall experience is just wonderful.

Of course, people who like the original story will enjoy it, and some of the participants did not know the story, so I think they can enjoy it as a cute dwarf's house. The guide gave a very cheerful and fun introduction, so we enjoyed it even on a cloudy day. I would like to see the movie again.

The pickup was very on time. The drive was comfortable and smooth with water and little snacks and our guide Grant told us stories about the places along the way and where we were heading to. He was very nice and funny and could answer any questions we asked, also sorted out all ticketing so we didn't have to do anything. We just ate and had fun the hobbiton movie set and glow worm caves were incredible and magical i love it!!! super pretty. On the way back we got to stop at an ice cream place and that was a really nice touch and we got home smoothly. Thank you for the trip ~

Totally great tour!! We went to not only scheduled spot like Waitomo cave, Te Puia and Rotorua but also suspension bridge, feeding a ostrich, and Tip Top ice cream. The driver Jeff guided New Zealand while driving. The tour schedule was not too tough. I thought the tour price is pretty expensive at first, but I definitely experienced valuable things.

The tour guide tried his best. It would be very hot if the weather was good. There were a lot of children and people, so there were often people taking photos. However, there was one chance to take a photo alone.