The wizard-nature created such miraculous miracles that, looking at them, one involuntarily thinks of some kind of supernatural mysterious power that can plunge into amazement even the most orthodox skeptics. And there are many such natural surprises on our planet that can compete with the legendary 7 wonders of the world.
One of them is in New Zealand; in a country that itself is a kind of Natural Wonder - Waitomo Firefly Cave is the only underground formation of this kind in the world.
How the Firefly Cave appeared
Millions of years ago, on the site of the present caves, the ocean splashed, the bottom of which was cut by limestone labyrinths. After global changes in the earth's crust, the ocean gave way to land, and the unique stalagmitic and stalactite caves of Waitomo arose from the underwater convolutions of limestone. There are 150 of them: Ruakuri, Gardnes Gat, Aranui - it's impossible to list them all. The walls of the caves are formed from limestone, formed over millennia from corals, fish skeletons, small and large shells and countless different small marine organisms.
The most amazing, full of mysteries and special charm is the Firefly Cave, where tourists visiting New Zealand certainly strive to get. Despite the fact that literally every corner here is a spectacle of fantastic beauty, a visit to the cave with a mysterious glow makes you numb with quiet delight caused by such an unusual contemplation.
It is truly unusual, almost magical, because anyone who enters this cave sees a picture of a starry sky under the ground with small flickering luminaries. The only difference is that they are all strung into a kind of garlands hanging from the ceiling of the cave, and if you stretch your hand, you can touch these luminous points. The mesmerizing sight looks like a fairy tale, so the number of people wishing to see it is growing every year.
Historical reference
The ancient Maori tribes gave the name to the caves - Waitomo, which means a water hole: “wai” in their language is water, “tomo” is a hole. For many centuries, no one swam in them: the Maori scared away the cave darkness, people were afraid even to come close to mysterious objects. But the more civilization developed under the influence of Europeans, the more acute was the desire to penetrate into the unexplored depths of the caves.
The first real survey took place in 1887, which was organized by the chief of the Maori tribe, Tane Tioranu, together with the English naturalist Fred Mace. Several reliable boats were equipped, strong guys were selected to row. The expedition was carried out by the light of hundreds of candles in order to study in detail the limestone deposits in the caves. Words cannot describe the amazement of everyone who saw a cave resembling a starry sky: fear, delight, joy.
The organizers realized that in the future this place will bring considerable income as a unique tourist attraction. From that moment on, a struggle began for the right to own an unusual cave between the official government of New Zealand and the Maori tribes, on whose territory the cave is located.
As a result, in 1904, the government declared this object with a mystery of nature state property with the proviso that the leader of the tribe would receive interest from paid visits to the cave, as a discoverer. Now the distant descendants of Tioranu receive an interest rate from the income of the tourism business. Geologists, speleologists, biologists and zoologists rushed from different parts of the world to uncover the secret of the extraordinary glow in the cave.
The firefly mystery
Each miracle has a very real explanation: the bluish-greenish glow in Waitomo Cave has it too. Careful research has shown that the cause of the glow is ... the tiny fireflies that live here. According to one scientific version, it is believed that the glow is a way of luring insects flying into the light and getting into the food of fireflies.
When they are hungry, their abdomen begins to glow brightly and attract prey for nourishment. The hungrier the fireflies, the brighter the glow; as they become saturated, the glow weakens. Thousands of cobwebs hang from the ceiling of the cave, to which these luminous inhabitants attach with sticky saliva and guard their prey. It was noticed that at the moment of touching them, the glow ceases, and the fireflies become invisible.
According to another version, it is not at all the way to attract food that makes the insects glow. Observations have established that fireflies also feed on fungal spores, which there is no need to lure, and the glow does not stop at this time. Whether or not there is an exact explanation is not so important, the main thing is that this phenomenon pleases people, attracts their attention and leads to the understanding that Mother Nature is fraught with many mysteries, the secret of which is sometimes impossible to reveal. You just need to admire them!
Another interesting place in New Zealand is the Bridge to Nowhere.
