New Zealand has lots of really well known glow worm spots, but there are many more that remain local secrets. The glow worm colonies of New Plymouth fall into the latter category. As a bit of a glow worm fanatic I tend to look for them where ever I go and I was delighted to find a couple of great lesser known spots on our recent visit to Taranaki. In fact, New Plymouth might just have one of the most accessible city glow worm colonies in the whole country!
All of the places we checked out were really easy to access so it makes for a great night time outing, you don’t need to worry about long walks in the dark, or any tricky terrain.
Here’s everything you need to know about visiting New Plymouth’s hidden glow worm colonies.
The glow worms in Pukekura Park
I am going to start with my favourite spot and one that really surprised me, especially given that Pukekura Park is right in the town centre! There were hundreds of glow worms and the walkway where they are located is surrounded by lots of huge ferns which give it a great jungly vibe.
It’s basically the best of both worlds: an environment that feels wild, but an easy paved path so you don’t have to worry about footing or taking a wrong turn in the dark. Almost all of the path to the glow worm area is lit at night, so I didn’t even need a torch.
You can get right up close to the glow worms (although of course don’t touch or shine a light on them) and it was a really magical little spot. It was also wonderful to get it all to ourselves.
To find the glow worms, park at the eastern car park off Rogan Street, and walk down the paved walkway, following signs for the glasshouses and fernery. It’s just 200m from the carpark to the start of the glow worm trail and it’s all paved. There are a couple of stairs but it’s mainly sloped path and very easy.
The walk to the Fernery by day
When you get to the Fernery, just to the left you’ll see a dark pathway which is covered in ferns. Turn off your torch and walk through this short passage and you will see all the twinkling blue lights. The biggest concentrations are on the right and it takes just a few minutes to walk through.
I’d then recommend heading to one of the biggest patches towards the end of the path and stopping to let your eyes adjust for at least five minutes. This will allow you to see a lot more glow worms. The longer you stay without lights on the more you will see!
The Fernery next to the glow worm dell
There is a second path to the left of the glow worm ferny trail which also has a few glow worms but nowhere near as many. The best are definitely along that first track.
The Taranaki overhang glow worms
I am not sure what this spot is actually called but I’ll call it the Taranaki overhang. It’s marked at the trailhead as a cave, but it’s not an enclosed cave so you still need to visit at night.
This one is also very easy to access but it’s not as manicured as Pukekura Park and definitely feels a bit more adventurous. The walk to get to the overhang is just 250m long and took us less than five minutes. The track is mostly flat, but it is less manicured and therefore you will want a torch to keep an eye on the terrain and any short muddy patches if you’re visiting after rain.
This is a proper forest experience so you’ll no doubt be serenaded by rurus and other birds of the night. We love being in the forest after dark but others might find it a little eerie!
Once you emerge from the forest you’ll come into an open area by the river. Hopefully it’s not too bright with moonlight here as that can affect your viewing experience. Look to your left and you’ll start to see glow worms high above you. You can walk up into the overhang, it’s easy enough but it’s uneven so you’ll want to watch your footing. It takes less than a minute to get up into the overhang.
From here it’s much easier to see all the glow worms on the ceiling of the cave. The only downside is that as it’s not an enclosed cave there are a lot of ferns, so some of the glow worms are obscured by foliage. It’s still a great spot but don’t expect anything like Waitomo Caves. The great thing about this one is that you can visit for free, without a guide and it is completely natural.
To get to the walkway you need to head to the Everett Park Scenic Reserve and park by the green sign which says ‘Cave 10 minutes’. It’s 3km down Everett Road on the right-hand side and just past the Everett Park northern entrance.
You can pull fully off the road here, but there’s no car park as such. There isn’t room for many cars, but it’s not a well known spot so I can’t imagine that ever being an issue. The lay-by is outside the main park gates (which close at night), so you don’t need to worry about being able to get in after dark.
The reserve is a 20 minute drive from New Plymouth.
Other spots
There are no doubt other spots which we have yet to find, so you might get lucky if you enjoy finding new places for yourself. We did find some along the Huatoki Walkway - walking south of Brougham Street - but there weren’t many so it isn’t really worth a visit as a glow worm spot in particular.
Tips for the best glow worm experience
Make sure you leave it at least an hour after sunset. It can be tempting to head into the bush just after sunset, but you really need full darkness to see the majority of the glow worms. You’ll see some earlier but only a fraction of what’s really there. The darker the better, so ideal conditions would be low moonlight too, but it’s hard to get things that perfect when you’re only in the area for a limited amount of time.
As mentioned, you need to turn all light off to enjoy the glow worms, not just for your eyes to adjust but also because you shouldn’t shine light on glow worms. It can stop them feeding and also encourage them to stop glowing which in turn ruins the experience for you.
For photography bring a tripod and plan on taking long exposures. You don’t need any light to photograph them.
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