3-hour Private Photography Tour In Waitomo Caves

This experience was really awesome. Being able to see the glow worms and have the opportunity to actually slow down and photograph them, was exactly why we booked this tour. As a fairly experienced photographer I revelled in the challenge of shooting in almost pitch black. It becomes its own experience, working out how to get the photograph you want. The tour guide, ash, was knowledge about the caves, easy to chat with and patient. He took us to the spots where there were plenty of glowworms to photograph. I would highly recommend this unique way of seeing the glowworms!

We had an amazing photography tour with Ash. He provided a lot of information about the cave and the area and was really fun and interesting to chat with. My husband is a photographer and enjoyed the chance to photograph glow worms without other people in the photos and having time to do photography without being rushed through on a tour. Access to the cave was an easy walk down some sets of stairs. The cave felt very safe, not scary at all with a lot of interesting formations and lots of glowworms. This is a great opportunity for photographers!

We both loved our photography tour with Down to Earth. It was very well organised from start to finish and Ash made the whole experience relaxed and easy. We never felt rushed taking photos and the cave and surrounds are stunning. Really glad we chose this tour, can absolutely recommend this lovely company

This was the best experience ever! Ash was the best guide and it was totally worth it to do the private tour since we had so much time to figure out the camera settings for pictures. I thought we were just walking on a path in the caves, but we were in the water and ducking and shimmying on rocks and it was soooo much fun! 10/10 recommend!

Incredible! It was beyond what I had imagined. Since the beggining you Can feel the family escense. Then you will have the chance to connect with nature, by seeing the sorriundings and after that entering the cave! The guidance was just amazing aswell!!! Highly recommended

The view was fabulous, the guide is fantastic and really nice to customers. An amazing experience that I will never forget.

This was an amazing experience! It was exciting to be able to make our way through a cave in its natural state. We appreciated being provided with clothing, boots, and helmet with light for our adventure climbing over the rocks and sloshing through the underground water. Ash is an awesome guide, and he led us through the cave with both knowledge and a good sense of humor, as well as with kindness and concern for everyone in the group. We loved too that he offered to take great photos of us as we went through the cave, and with the incredible glow worms above us. This experience is a highlight of our trip!

Kudos to Ash! He was extremely knowledgeable, witty and ensured we had a great time. He paid utmost attention to safety and was vigilant. Highly recommended.

We had such a good time on this tour! Ash was wonderful - informative, funny, and kind. It will be one of the highlights of our trip!

Ash is a great guide, knowledgeable and the type of guy you’d grab a beer with. Photography tour is definitely worth the money!

Down to Earth is the most amazing adventure in our 3 weeks family trip to New Zealand. Tour guide Ash is extremely experienced, friendly and knowledgeable everything about local environment. Big thumb up and highly recommend.

This tour is an absolute must do when in the area. We did the private tour so it was just our family of 4 along with the tour guide, Heath. Although it is a bit pricey compared to other tours, it is definitely worth the value. It truly was an amazing experience. The caves have been untouched and remain as nature created them. They provide all the clothing and footwear you need as you will get dirty crawling over the rocks and through the water. The attire adds to the experience. You must be relatively fit as you are crawling through crevices and there is a hike to get down to the caves and back up. The hot shower with drinks, snacks and conversation with the owners at the end was also a nice touch to complete the experience. A truly must do!

Most important to my husband in choosing which glow worm tour to take was his allowance to bring in all of his camera gear. So, we took the photography tour and we couldn’t be happier that we did. Heath ,our guide, knows every nook and cranny of his caves and we very much benefited from his knowledge. He’s also very good company. We also got lucky because Heath took tons of very good photos of us and then allowed us to download them for free! Which was so refreshing after being on tours that would try to make extra money from taking your photo.

This is our third trip to New Zealand and our third trip to Waitomo. We absolutely love the glowworms. I also love photography, but the problem was taking pictures of glowworms is tricky and you could never do that on the tours, and we never really spent enough time viewing the glowworms. And then, I discovered Glowing Adventures which solved all that. We went on the private photography tour so we could have an opportunity to set up the tripod and take as many pictures as we wanted and that is exactly what the tour entails. You first walk through a beautiful forest for a bit and get to the cave. They give you complete gear, boots and clothes and you need it, because through the cave you are walking in mud and through water (yes, you do get wet) to get to the area where the glowworms are. Words cannot describe what it's like when you turn your headlamps off and you slowly see the glowworms appear. We set up the tripod there and, honestly, at this point I just let my boys take the pictures, I just gave occasional advice, and back and enjoyed looking at everything. One of our trip highlights and will definitely go again next time we return to New Zealand.

We had so much fun. The worms are not nearly as vibrant as most peoples pictures might showcase. I have attached an image to give a better understanding. They make the caves almost look like a pitch black sky and they are the tiny stars off in the distance. It was so beautiful to just sit in the darkness at times and stare above while listening to the water move through the caves. A recent storm had moved through before we got there, wiping out most of the worm's long dangling webbing (not sure what to call it). We did find out while we were there that while they normally offer night tours during the summer, you can reach out to them during the winter time and request a night tour. This helps to get the cave entrance shot which has more glowworms (as you won't have sunlight spilling into the entrance to ruin your long exposure). We are so glad we went through this experience with Glowing Adventures as we had read that some venture into some of the other caving systems just on their own. While free is nice, safety and having the right equipment/clothing is paramount. This experience is so worth the cost. And added bonus, we got to see an eel swimming in the water as we were playing with light painting.

We had a private photo tour (2 people) in January 2019 - was expensive but worth it. As all the other tours forbid personal cameras (after experiencing two other tours, I can understand why: I would just spoil the experience for others) I was curious to see the difference at Glowing Adventures. Their photographic tours are always private, and that has a reason. I’m an ambitious amateur photographer for the last 35 years but to take pictures in a totally dark glowworm cave has been one of the most challenging experiences for me so far. Exposure times of 30sec. and more, experimenting with combinations of different settings plus a torch to illuminate some parts of the cave for a second or so to give it some structure…Well, we were in the cave for almost two hours and I took about 50 pictures – of which 10 turned out to be nice and 3-5 which I consider “decent”. Not something you can publish in National Geographic Magazine but o.k. for what I expect. See some attached to this review. They also send you in advance a very good script about what to prepare for, what gear to bring and tips & tricks. The preparation with all the clothes for the trip is great, the team is very friendly and helpful and they give you advice where the good spots for the photos are. The rest is up to you, your camera and your skills. Be aware, that it can be a bit boring for the “non-photographer” – except, if you need him/her for assistance (carrying gear, illuminating parts of the cave with their torches etc.). They have to stand/sit around while you doing picture after picture….and with each picture taking easily a minute or longer… The cave might have some less glowworms compared to the other two I’ve visited but the chance to have the place totally for yourself, switching out all light for several minutes and just to admire this wonder of nature is well worth it. I’m totally happy, that we did it!

The glow worms are amazing and it was fabulous to have an opportunity to take photos of the caves. Since the caves are pitch black it takes time to set up for the photo and then requires some skill to light paint the interior without detracting from the visible glow worms. The tour was fun and well run. While I was focused on taking photos the guide showed the other two in our group other parts of the cave. The hike to the cave was easy (mostly on a constructed walkway) through beautiful vegetation. We all had a fabulous time and enjoyed the conversation, tea and biscuits afterwards. They provided all the gear to wear into the cave so as to stay safe, warm and dry.

We booked the day before for 3 people. We were with another group of 3 peoples as well. Our guide (i don't remember his name was really really kind ! We enjoyed this trip into the earth. From the beginning to the end, everything was excellent ! Starting in a lush meadow plunging into the forest and then into the cave, to finally get out in the forest again to arrive just at the office ! If you like caving, just do it ! You should be well fitted and in good health to do it. But it is a very nice experience. And the glowing worm are amazing ! Stay in the dark and just enjoy the water noise, crushing on the rocks while the worms illuminate the cave ceiling ! Nature's lover, this is for you !

far from the beaten pathways, the caves are wild but secured ! We were a small group of 6 and the excursion is between sporty crossings and breaks for appreciating the beauty of the different places with a lot of comments from the guide. I brought my phone with me and took a lot of incredible scenes !

As a caver, photographer and fan of bioluminescent creatures, my husband knew he just had to checkout the famous glowworms in the Waitomo area. An internet search brought us to Glowing Adventures, a tour company which allowed us to check off all these activities. Heath was our guide and his professionalism and experience with this particular cave allowed us to take some amazing shots. The glowworms were brighter and more plentiful than what we had initially expected - a huge bonus. Heath was also very patient, allowing us time to set up the shots for our photos. We were also happily surprised with the amount of real caving you get to do even on the photography tour. We worked up an appetite so it was nice that after our tour, we got to recharge with warm tea and cookies on the back porch while gazing at the most magnificant farmland in the world. Glowing Adventures also takes care of all the clothing and equipment you'll need, which is great because as tourists we didn't want to have to put up with wet, muddy caving gear while traveling. As a family-run business, this tour allows for that extra added personal touch. Very highly recommended!

We were very happy with this booking, the time allotted and the extra guidance given by our tour guide. All staff were very friendly and welcoming. Other tours either do not allow personal cameras or do not give you the time to take decent pictures of the glow worms. After much trial and error, we were able to walk away with a few great photos with my Sony RX100 V. I'm very much a beginner when it comes to photography but through our guide's input, we were able to get these once in a lifetime shots. They provide you all the gear you need to be warm and dry. We were very comfortable the entire time. I would recommend bringing a very low output light source to assist with the long exposures. It's as dark as it gets in there and having very low light allows your camera to focus easier and see more of the features vs. only the worms.

Loved loved loved this tour! Had friends over from america and Im so glad we did this. It was a small group of 7 with the guide who grew up on the land so knew so much about the area. While some of the spaces you crawl through are quite narrow (not for the very claustraphobic!) overall, it was loads of fun. Saw LOTS of glow worms and finish off the tour by sitting on the deck with the group and tour guide drinking coffee and having biscuits. I would 100% recommend this to anyone and will bring other friends.

A wonderful guided tour in a small group (max. 8 people) through the caves of Waitomo including the great fireflies. The guide was great and I realized he loved his work and the caves. And he also took great photos that I received a day later.

We were just my husband and I for this visit. The Ash guide is exceptional. The experience is unique. I had chosen from the comments and I do not regret. Special mention for striped outfits. To do absolutely!

A pure happiness this visit! Really unimaginable. Ash is a great guide. Super nice, super funny, super pro. The visit is certainly a little sporty but not difficult. And the glowworms are so beautiful, it’s just the effect Wow times 1000! Take this tour, really!

Wonderful. Private cave tour, 1 guide + 6 participants. Not suitable for those suffering from claustrophobia, the tour is a continuous climbing over stones, boulders and holes. It is still safe and no one is left behind. Before leaving we stopped at an "enlightened" spot. Clothes (including boots and socks) are given by them (does not apply to underwear)