November 6, 2014 - Milford Sound Cruise, Ta Anau Glowworm Caves

Daily itinerary were:

• Stopped at Kingston to enjoy the beauty of Lake Wakatipu
• Stopped by Te Anau to unload out luggages and enjoy the Lake Te Anau
• Stopped a large grassland for photo
• Stopped at a river to taste the best miner water in South Island
• Milford Sound Cruise
• Lunch on the Milford Sound Cruise ship
• Drove back to Te Anau
• Visited Te Anau Glowworm Caves
• Checked into Tea Distinction Luxmore Hotel

We left Queenstown early in the morning, drove by the east bank of Lake Wakatipu.  There were so many beautiful photo opportunities along the lake, some of us asked for stopping a short moment for photo taking.  However, the road condition did not allow bus to stop and we finally stopped near Kingston which is located at the southern tip of the lake. We had a restroom break and photo moments there. Some of us even tried to throw stones flying over the lake water.

Our goal was to be at the Milford Sound Cruise pier on time to take the scenic tour.  On the way to Milford Sound, we stopped at Te Anau to have a restroom break and to unload our luggage at the hotel where we supposed to stay tonight.  While the tour guide and the bus driver unloading our luggage, we were at the bank of Lake Te Anau to enjoy the beautiful view.

Then we stopped at a large grassland for photo moments and a river stream to taste the best mineral water in South Island of New Zealand.  Vivian also told us that there is plenty of water supply in South Island, therefore there is never a water usage charge for anyone living in South Island.

The Milford Sound Cruise was definitely worth the 2 and 1/2 hours drive to experience it.  It is operated by NZ Real Journeys and it reminded us the cruise we had in Norway (Fjord Cruise from Flam to Gudvangen).  Milford Sound is beautiful with towering cliffs and peaks (including Mitre Peak), waterfalls, luxuriant rain forest, glaciers, seals basking on the rocks, and distant view Pembroke Glacier. The captain even steered the cruise ship very close to the Stirling Falls and we could feel the water spilling on us.

We had lunch on the cruise ship.  It was a good lunch, but there were too many other aggressive tourists in the buffet line made it less pleasant.  Unfortunately quite a few of them were orientals.

After the Milford Sound, we headed back to Te Anau for Glowworm Caves.  We had take a
boat ride provided by the same cruise tour company NZ Real Journeys.  It was a short cruise across Lake Te Anau to the Glowworm Caves entry point known as Cavern House.  We were split into 2 groups to explore this mysterious underground world with rushing water before drifting in silent darkness beneath the luminous shimmer of thousands of glowworms.

By geological standards the caves are very young (12,000 years) and are still being carved out by the force of the river that flows through them. The result is a twisting network of limestone passages filled with sculpted rock, whirlpools and a roaring underground waterfall. 

Deep inside the caves, beyond the roar of the water, we took a small boat into a silent hidden grotto inhabited by thousands of glowworms, unique to New Zealand. In the subterranean darkness, they produce a glittering display that is nothing short of extraordinary. 

Glowworms fish for food by dangling as many as 70 fishing lines which are 20-150 mm long and covered with thick sticky droplets of mucus.  The glowworm's light attracts insects which then become trapped and paralyzed by chemicals in the lines. When the glowworm feels vibrations on a line, it quickly hauls in its victim, kills it and sucks its juices.  The glowworm's light is produced as a by-product of excretion.  A reaction takes place in small tubes near the tail between an enzyme called luciferase and other chemicals, producing a blue-green light. If the food is scarce and glowworms live too close together they may even cannibalize each other.  The only time during its life that glowworm eats is during larval phase.  As an adult it has no mouth.  The hungrier a glowworm, the more brightly it glows.  

They have a no photograph and no video policy.  Therefore we were only enjoying with our own eyes.  I did went online and find some info and photos regrading glowworms as follows,