Ruakuri bushwalk: The FREE glowworm caves in Waitomo New Zealand

Ruakuri bush walk is an amazing place to see the famous New Zealand glowworms, but without the price tag in the Waikato District of North Island.

The Ruakuri bushwalk is 100% FREE, and you’ll be able to explore the trail and caves at your leisure.

The Ruakuri bushwalk is open 24 hours, meaning you can visit and hike during the day, but if you go at night that is when the scenery comes alive.

You can absolutely spot thousands upon thousands of glistening, little glow worms.

It’s quite a spectacle and definitely mesmerising and you can find yourself spending a good hour or two.

Here on this bush walk depending on how fast you walk, but you probably could do some of the trail in about half an hour if you walked quickly, and you don’t have to do the whole trail.

There are plenty of streams, waterways and waterfalls that you’ll see on your hiking journey of Ruakuri bushwalk, whether it’s daytime or night, you’ll be able to enjoy the cool running water through the caves and next to the pathways.

Have a look at some of my other Aotearoa / New Zealand travel blogs for attractions nearby on your South Island itinerary or North Island.

Not sure where to go? Have a look at my article on North VS South Island New Zealand, which is better?

• Lake Tekapo from Queenstown Road Trip
• Is New Zealand cheaper than Australia?
• Does New Zealand have dangerous animals?
• Glenorchy Wharf
• Akaroa Dolphin Watching
• Tongariro Crossing Hike

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Ruakuri bushwalk glowworms at night

If you’re heading to Ruakuri bushwalk in the evening to see the glowworms then make sure you check the sunset time as you’ll only really see these fascinating little bioluminescent creatures after the sun has set.

It’s one of the best Waitomo Caves in the area and even better that it’s free.

Have a look below for sunset times throughout the year.

If you want to book onto a the tours, they do an excellent black water rafting – which basically means rafting through the caves in the dark.

Car & Campervan Rental

It’s recommended that you either hire yourself, a campervan or a car, so you can explore South Island at your heart’s desire on an epic road trip NZ South Island.

Depending on what time of year it can be really busy so it is worth looking at your stay well in advance. Bear in mind cost of hotels on your itinerary South Island New Zealand.

Where to park

Drive up to the Ruakuri bushwalk car park which is free of charge and make sure you bring your headlamp or flashlight.

We went at around 11 pm at night (sunset was late in the height summer!) and found that there are actually quite a few people exploring the caves at the same time as us and it didn’t feel dangerous in terms of footing or lack of signage.

Bear in mind that there are actually two car parks, and if you want a short walk, then pull up to the second car park, that’s closest to the caves and where you can’t drive any further because the first car park is a little further away.

The Ruakuri Cave Trail

Distance: around 1.6k or just under 1 mile

Elevation: 55 meters

Drive down the hill and you’ll see signs for different walks, but make sure you walk the right trail in the Waitomo area!

It’s under the wooden awning with the sign that says the Ruakuri walk and the caves.

The other walk will take you back into the town centre. It’s a good idea to download Google Maps off-line in advance just in case you don’t have signal in the area and you can tell which direction you’re going.

You wanna make sure you’re on the right track, but it’s pretty easy to find as long as you find the sign for the caves and the Ruakuri bushwalk.

Also check the weather in advance because you might find that it’s raining and you need to bring a poncho or waterproof jacket with you.

There is a short walk to the caves probably 10 to 15 minutes.

Whenever you pass any rock faces on the pathway, stop and switch your headlamps off, because we actually missed the glow worms on the way in and Mike spotted it on the way out.

These walls were covered in bioluminescent glow worms.

Because they are on the side, the path you can walk right up to it and have a really close look at them.

Make sure you stick to the paths at night and keep your head torch or flashlight pointed steadily at the floor in front of you because although there are lots of railings, there are some areas where the parts will drop off down the side.

There is running water and cliffs below, and you don’t wanna fall down there.

The pathway is fairly flat or there will be some boardwalk sections and some stairs before you arrive at the caves.

The First Cave

The pathway goes through the caves, and you’ll see many stalagmites and stalactites and this is why you should switch off your head torches, because this is when you start to see some of the blue ones appearing in the cave.

Take care here because it’s very easy to stumble over something or knock your head, although the pathway is relatively easy to follow. There are also some lovely viewing sections and the pathway is fairly well signposted so you always know the direction back to the car park.

Why use red light?

Red light is not meant to interfere with your natural eye’s viewing of these little glow worms. I bought a head torch that has red light. It’s also great red light for viewing the night sky.

The Second Cave

Keep heading on through the first cave and it will take you up some stairs and follow the pathway along for another five minutes or so and it will take you through to even more caves.

If you take the path onto the right y’all enter into another larger cave which turns into a cavern, and here is where you will probably find the most amount of glowworms.

It’s pretty spectacular to see thousands of twinkling blue lights in the distance and below you’ll hear running water, and if you switch your head torch on, you’ll see the running stream below.

Here is a great place to stop and take pictures, and if you decide you wanna take photos then you’ll need to set up a tripod because you’ll need a long exposure and you won’t be able to hold this by hand without any tremors that all interfere with the picture.

You can also use a long exposure on your camera phone and depending on how good it is, you might be able to pick the glowworms up on some of the imagery.

What to bring?

Make sure you bring a head torch or a flashlight so you’ll be able to see on your way.

You can obviously use your mobile phones, but if it runs out of battery then the walk could become quite dangerous to make sure your phone is charged as well.

Power bank – I made sure that I had a fully charge power bank just in case we ran out of battery for the hour flashlight phones or head torch. My favourite power bank is this one because it comes with inbuilt cables for every single type of device, including iPhone USB C and universal charger.

Rain jackets or rain ponchos – bring a waterproof with you because it started raining when we were there and you don’t want to be soaking wet and cold when you’re exploring.

Trainers or shoes with good grip – as you’ll be hiking up and downstairs and uneven passageways and through caves with stalagmites and stalactites… I recommend you wear trainers or shoes with good grip, particularly if it’s raining!

Photography – bring your camera or your phone camera if you don’t have one, and if you are really interested in taking some crisp photos of the blue worms bring a tripod for some long exposure photos.

A lot of the time I had my camera set to the shutter speed of eight seconds to pick up the lights emitted by the glow worms.

A bottle of water! Stay hydrated!

Where to stay? A hobbit home!

The most incredible stay we had in New Zealand was in this Hobbit Home! It’s such an iconic place, and it’s just 5-10 minutes from Waitomo.

It also doesn’t break the bank, in fact, it’s actually pretty reasonable!

Ruakuri Bushwalk address

Save the address, it is 205 Ruakuri Road, Waitomo Caves 3985, New Zealand. It’s about a 10-15 minute drive form Waitomo.

Ruakuri Bush Walk Map

Save the below on Google maps so you know where to go!

Weather in North Island

North Island Weather in January

• Average temperature: 23°C (73°F)
• Average rainy days: 8
• Average daylight hours: 15
• Average sunrise time: 6:15 AM
• Average sunset time: 9:30 PM

North Island Weather in February

• Average temperature: 25°C (77°F)
• Average rainy days: 7
• Average daylight hours: 14
• Average sunrise time: 6:45 AM
• Average sunset time: 9:00 PM

North Island Weather in March

• Average temperature: 23°C (73°F)
• Average rainy days: 9
• Average daylight hours: 12
• Average sunrise time: 7:15 AM
• Average sunset time: 8:15 PM

North Island Weather in April

• Average temperature: 20°C (68°F)
• Average rainy days: 11
• Average daylight hours: 11
• Average sunrise time: 7:45 AM
• Average sunset time: 6:45 PM

North Island Weather in May

• Average temperature: 17°C (63°F)
• Average rainy days: 12
• Average daylight hours: 9
• Average sunrise time: 8:15 AM
• Average sunset time: 5:30 PM

North Island Weather in June

• Average temperature: 15°C (59°F)
• Average rainy days: 14
• Average daylight hours: 9
• Average sunrise time: 8:30 AM
• Average sunset time: 5:15 PM

North Island Weather in July

• Average temperature: 14°C (57°F)
• Average rainy days: 15
• Average daylight hours: 9
• Average sunrise time: 8:30 AM
• Average sunset time: 5:30 PM

North Island Weather in August

• Average temperature: 15°C (59°F)
• Average rainy days: 15
• Average daylight hours: 10
• Average sunrise time: 7:45 AM
• Average sunset time: 6:00 PM

North Island Weather in September

• Average temperature: 16°C (61°F)
• Average rainy days: 13
• Average daylight hours: 12
• Average sunrise time: 6:45 AM
• Average sunset time: 6:30 PM

North Island Weather in October

• Average temperature: 18°C (64°F)
• Average rainy days: 11
• Average daylight hours: 13
• Average sunrise time: 7:15 AM
• Average sunset time: 7:45 PM

North Island Weather in November

• Average temperature: 20°C (68°F)
• Average rainy days: 9
• Average daylight hours: 14
• Average sunrise time: 6:00 AM
• Average sunset time: 8:30 PM

North Island Weather in December

• Average temperature: 22°C (72°F)
• Average rainy days: 9
• Average daylight hours: 15
• Average sunrise time: 5:45 AM
• Average sunset time: 9:15 PM

Quick links

Have a look at some of my other Aotearoa / NZ travel blogs for attractions nearby on your South Island itinerary or North Island.

Not sure where to go? Have a look at my article on North VS South Island New Zealand, which is better?

• Glamping on South Island
• Things to do in Akaroa
• Wanaka lavender farm
• Onsen hot pools
• Akaroa Dolphin Watching

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