Tourists marvel at the glow-worms in a cave near Te Anau.
Photo supplied.
Baby glow-worms have created an explosion of light in
caves near Te Anau, following a particularly dry spring - but
those wanting to see them will have to act quickly before
cannibalistic worms spoil the show.
Real Journeys senior guide Justin Remnant said the Te Anau
Glowworm Caves were looking "really amazing" after the
glow-worms had multiplied in large numbers.
"The cave ceilings look as if they are covered in supernovas
as the worms hatch and disperse from the egg clusters.
"Right now, the glow-worms are so bright you can see the
faces of people sitting in the boats looking up at them," Mr
Remnant said.
"Everyone's just loving it."
The company was particularly thrilled, because heavy rain in
April flooded the caves and wiped out large numbers of
glow-worms.
While the timing could not be better for visitors to Te Anau
over the holiday period, those wanting to see the show put on
by the babies had just two to three weeks to do so, Mr
Remnant said.
"As the tiny glow-worms get bigger, the strongest of the
bunch will eat its neighbours to make a two to three
centimetre territory of space around them.
"They're still going to be impressive even after that because
there are just so many."
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