Boat Day Trips Auckland

Begin your adventure with our expert guide leading you through mesmerizing caves. Learn about fascinating geological formations and history as you marvel at stunning stalactites and stalagmites.
Step into the enchanting Glowworm Grotto, where thousands of glowworms illuminate the cave with their magical light. Enjoy a serene boat ride, gazing up at sparkling lights resembling a starry night sky. Gain insights into the glowworms' life cycle and ecological significance from your knowledgeable guide.
Immerse yourself in the natural beauty surrounding the caves. The lush greenery and tranquil streams add to the charm. Capture breathtaking photographs and soak in the peaceful ambiance.



Important information from the Spellbound cave team:


Bring along
A warm top or jacket, walking shoes (trainers) and your camera. If you have any questions about visiting our caves, please contact us for more information.

Fitness and Mobility
You do need to be able to walk for at least 40 minutes at a time over gentle terrain and pathways.

We do not climb or crawl anywhere in our caves. There are no stairs in our caves. For those with mobility concerns, you will need to step up 40cm into and out of a transit van and down 40cm into and out of our raft. We do not take wheelchairs or walking frames. If you are concerned or unsure if your fitness is adequate, please contact us.

Medical and Health

Participants with medical or health issues should be aware that an average evacuation to a medical centre from this tour would take 1 hour. It is your responsibility to manage your personal health conditions. You can discuss these with Spellbound or your guide. We will cancel your tour and refund you if Spellbound Staff assess that our tour is unsuitable for you on the day.



Hazards of the tour;
Flooding
Our glowworm tour operates beside and on a natural river. Heavy rain can cause the river to flood.
We will cancel the tour at any time which the river becomes unsafe or we forecast that it is likely to flood. In the event of a partial tour we will offer a partial refund, for a full cancellation we will fully refund the tour. Your safety is our highest priority and our team are among the most experienced and qualified cave guides in NZ.
If we are concerned that it may flood, we may contact you to discuss how this may impact your visit, options include, visiting before the flood event, cancel and refund and visiting after the water has receded.
Rock fall
These are natural limestone caves and rock fall, or collapse is possible. We manage this risk as well as we can. Events such as seismic activity are beyond our control.
The van ride
We drive over a working farm and there are drop offs and steep sided sections along the way. We
drive carefully and slowly and maintain our vans properly.
Child safety
Children are the responsibility of their caregivers, children must be supervised by their caregivers,
and our guide's instructions must be followed for safety. Our bridges do not have child proof railings so children need full supervision near water.
Please be aware that the caregiver of any upset or crying children may be asked to leave the cave and wait outside to reduce disturbance to others on the tour.
Photography
Modern smartphones can take amazing snapshots of glowworms in the night mode, videos are not so amazing yet...
Below are some tips to make the most of your photography.
-Leave your tripod behind unless it is a private photography tour, other customers do not appreciate tripping over your tripod!
-Turn down the brightness of your screen to protect the night vision of yourself and the people around you.
-When your phone is taking a long exposure photo, the longer it shoots, the brighter the glowworms will be. The steadier your camera is the brighter
the glowworms. It can deal with a small amount of movement, but large movements will result in star stripes.
-Because of this photography on the boat ride produces very low-quality photos. So, many groups prefer to enjoy the boat ride with some or all as a "cameras off" experience