张晓敏

在新西兰，有一个地方被称为“世界的第九大奇迹”，那里布满了成千上万的萤火虫，它们聚集在一起，形成了奇妙的景观，就像夜空中璀璨的繁星。让我们走进这个被誉为“奇景”的洞穴吧！

The Waitomo Glowworm Caves， located just outside the Waitomo township on the North Island of New Zealand， is a famous attraction because of a sizeable population of glowworms that live in the caves. Glowworms or Arachnocampa luminosa are tiny， bioluminescent1） creatures that produce a blue-green light and are found exclusively2）in New Zealand.

The caves were carved by underground streams pushing through soft limestone3） over thousands of years. Many have amazing stalactites4） growing down from the ceiling and stalagmites5） growing up from the cave floor， pointy cones6） of layered rock formed over centuries by dripping water. The cave walls are also decorated with galaxies of native glow worms.

Imagine floating silently along on the slow-moving current， through a pitch-black cave， with thousands of glowing lights sparking above your head like a million stars at night. Dont worry； the ceiling is at least 10-feet above your head， so theres no chance of a too-close encounter with a glowworm web. All you can really see is the illumination of the glowworms. The cave is completely dark， with no light entering. Thats probably why the glowworms like it there so much.

The Waitomo Glowworm Caves were first explored in 1887 by local Maori Chief Tane Tinorau accompanied by an English surveyor Fred Mace. Local Maori people knew of the caves existence， but the subterranean7） caverns had never been extensively explored until Fred and Tane went to investigate. They built a raft and with candles in hand， floated into the caves where the stream goes underground.

As they entered the caves， they were amazed by the twinkling glow coming from the ceiling. As they travelled further into the cave by poling8） themselves towards anembankment9）， they were also astounded by the limestone formations.

Jubilant10） at their discovery， they returned many times to explore further， and on one independent trip， Chief Tane discovered the upper level entrance to the cave， which is now the current entrance.

The easiest way to see the caves is with a walking or boat tour. If you are into11） adventure， try the unique experience of blackwater rafting12）—youll crawl， swim and float through the caves on a rubber tube. Or you could abseil13） or zip-line through the darkness. However you choose to explore Waitomo Glowworm Caves， you arebound to14） agree theyre a wonder of nature.

Discovery

怀托摩萤火虫洞就位于新西兰北岛怀托摩城镇外，因数量可观的萤火虫栖息其中而成为著名的景点。萤火虫又名小真菌蚋，是一种微小的发光生物，它们会发出蓝绿色的光，而且这种萤火虫只有新西兰才有。

这些萤火虫洞都是软的石灰岩经过地下水流长达数千年的冲刷和侵蚀而形成的。许多萤火虫洞里都有令人惊叹的从洞顶往下长的钟乳石和从洞穴地面往上长的石笋，还有层状岩在水滴数百年的作用下形成的尖头圆锥体。洞壁上还点缀着土生土长于此、如银河般的萤火虫。

想象自己静静地漂浮在缓慢的水流上，穿行在漆黑的洞穴中，成千上万个散发着微光的光晕就像夜空中数不清的星星，在你头顶闪烁。不用担心，那洞顶距你头顶至少有十英尺（编注：约三米），所以你没有机会跟萤火虫织就的网来个亲密接触。你唯一能真正看到的就是萤火虫的光芒。洞里一片漆黑，没有一丝光线进入，这可能正是萤火虫钟爱这里的原因。

怀托摩萤火虫洞在1887年迎来人们的首次探访，探访者为当地的毛利族酋长塔内·蒂诺劳和英国测量师弗雷德·梅斯。当地毛利人早就知道这些洞穴的存在，但这些地下洞穴一直都没有得到大规模的探查，直到弗雷德和塔内二人前去。……