Beneath a canopy of glowworms (actually, they’re not worms; they’re the larvae of the Arachnocampa luminosainsect, or New Zealand fungus gnat), a line of inner tubers floats slowly along a river. They’re about 150 feet (46 meters) below the surface, winding their way through a cave in Waitomo, New Zealand.
Three connected tubers drift along the Waitomo River, where the term “black water rafting” was coined.
A black water rafting journey through the Waitomo Glowworm Caves is one for the travel journals. Waitomo is home to the Legendary Black Water Rafting Co., which coined the term for the adventure and runs two trips out of Waitomo: the Black Abyss and the Black Labyrinth. Both involve inner tubing along the frigid Waitomo River in the dark, but the trips require different levels of physical fitness.
The Black Labyrinth is for beginners and requires only a base level of fitness and health. It’s a three-hour cave tour both on foot and inner tube, and it has one short waterfall drop. The Black Abyss is a more advanced black water experience that includes a 110-foot (34-meter) rappel down to the cave floor and includes waterfall jumps, climbing, a 50-foot (15-meter) rush on a zip line, and squeezing through narrow cave formations over a five-hour adventure. The Abyss is really only for people who are in pretty good shape. Read more
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