The Hokitika glow worm dell is one of the best in New Zealand, and probably the best glow worm display we’ve ever seen outside of a cave environment. The towering dell walls surround you on three sides with what looks like thousands of twinkling fairy lights. It’s a truly magical sight.
However, there are some downsides that come with such a beautiful spot. The first is crowds, and the second is the fence that surrounds the walls, which is of course in place because of the crowds.
We’d still highly recommend a visit, but for those of you that love a hidden spot that you’ll very likely get to yourself, we have you covered too.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Hokitika glow worm dell and a lesser known alternative.
The Hokitika glow worm dell
The walk and that fence
It feels funny to even call this a walk really because it’s only 150m each way! The path is gravel and in excellent condition. It winds slightly uphill to the dell. You’ll then find yourself standing in the middle of tall cliff walls, which are absolutely covered in glow worms, particularly on the left side.
As mentioned there is now a tall wire fence which wraps right the way around the dell. Clearly people have objected to this because there are also some sizeable holes in it!
The fence makes photography a lot harder but luckily one of the holes is big enough to poke your tripod through (and we have a pretty long zoom lens!).
If the glow worms were being disturbed by people then we’re glad the fence is there to protect them, but it does change the feel of the place. Some of the majesty is lost. The dell is just off the highway so you also get some road noise.
Having said that, it’s still absolutely incredible and a must visit. There really are an extraordinary number of glow worms there.
Make sure you give your eyes plenty of time to adjust in total darkness to see even a fraction of the glow worms that are truly there.
The longer you stay the more you’ll see, that is unless anyone comes in and shines a torch which sets you back again - another reason you want to try and get this amazing spot to yourself!
The best time to visit
As this is not a cave experience you do need to visit at night. And the darker the better, so leave at least 1-1.5 hours after sunset. If you want to have the chance at getting the dell to yourself - and avoid the problem of other people shining their torches when you need pitch darkness - then we’d recommend coming as late as you can. Avoid weekends and aim for post 11pm, but the later the better really.
We visited first at 9pm and the car park was full. We drove straight past and came back at 11pm and got it to ourselves.
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. As mentioned it’s not so easy here with the fencing but you can poke your tripod through the hole!
I’ve used a Sirui for the past 2 years and found it to be brilliant for photographing glow worms - light enough to carry, but sturdy enough for a crisp shot. You can find out all about the one I use by clicking here.
Getting to the Hokitika glow worm dell
The Hokitika glow worm dell is just 1km from the town centre, located just off State Highway 6. There is a small car park beside the trailhead and then room for a few cars in the lay by on the opposite side of the road.
Alternatives to the Hokitika glow worm dell
The Rimu glow worm dell
Less than a 10 minute drive from the main Hokitika glow worm dell there is a much less well known glow worm dell waiting to wow you.
You’ll pass through a little tunnel in the cliff and pop out the other side into a mystical glow worm dell, it’s a real Alice in Wonderland moment.
If, like us, the sight of a full car park at the main dell has you wanting to drive on by, then this is the spot for you. It’s not as big as the main dell - so there are less glow worms - but there are still hundreds and the setting is wonderful.
There is no fencing (so please respect the glow worms) and the mossy wall and tunnel opening create a fairytale like scene. It’s a really special place and we spent a long time just taking it all in.
The glow worms continue further along the cliff walls (walking away from the tunnel) but reaching them requires walking up a steepish bank.
It’s quite wet and rocky, and though it’s not overly difficult, there aren’t as many glow worms as there were by the tunnel, so you don’t need to venture up there if you don’t like the look of the trail.
In terms of the best time to visit and tips, it’s the same as the main dell, but you won’t need to worry about crowds and therefore won’t need to come as late.
Getting to the Rimu glow worm dell
The dell is very easy to access but there’s no big brown sign here like at the main Hokitika dell. To find it, park just outside the Woodstock Hotel (an eight minute drive from Hokitika town centre) or pop in for a drink at the hotel first and use their car park!
Then start walking south on the Woodstock Rimu road (slightly uphill and on the same side of the road as the hotel), it’s a main road but very quiet at night and there is a wide grassy verge, albeit very wet!
After 230m and roughly a 3 minute walk you’ll see a very small sign on the right side of the road which says glow worms (it’s not a road sign, but more like the kind you see at a historic site).
If you use Google Earth or Google Street View, you can see the gap in the bank you need to aim for. It’s easy to miss, but if you know roughly when to look for it you won’t have any trouble.
Directly ahead of you you’ll see a small tunnel in the cliff and pass through the tunnel straight into the dell. In fact, if as you crouch in the tunnel you look up, you’ll see glow worms on the ceiling!
It’s a very easy walk, yet still retains it’s tucked away feel.
Other spots
There are quite a few glow worm dells in Hokitika but we ran out of time to visit them all, or lets say we couldn’t face doing them all in the pouring rain which was sadly almost every night of our visit!
We did visit another spot 20 minutes outside of Hokitika, in Kumara which was also really cool. Park at the back of the Theatre Royal Hotel, cross the car park and walk towards the bush. You’ll head down a little stony path and then keep right. After 80m you’ll be standing at an abandoned mine shaft and a wonderful secret glow worm display.
I’ve also heard there are some amazing displays on the Tunnel Terrace Walk (12 minutes from Hokitika) but it was sadly closed on our visit.
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