Glowworms Make Natural Light Installations In New Zealand's Caves

New Zealand has some of the most breathtakingly beautiful landscapes on earth. However, thanks to photographer Shaun Jeffers we can now confirm that the country is just as beautiful beneath the surface.

Jeffers traveled to the Waitomo area, known for its limestone caves, which are amazing on their own, but what makes them even more special are the glowworms, who made the caves their home. Glowworms emit a phosphorescent light that turns the caves into these incredible natural light installations. And we don't know about you but they make us want to jump on the next plane to NZ right away.

"Over the past year, I have been back and forth to Waitomo’s Ruakuri Cave to master the art of photographing these magnificent little creatures - it’s been quite the experience!" Shaun told to Bored Panda. "When the headlamps are out and all you can see are the glowworms, you can’t help but feel like you’ve stepped into James Cameron’s Avatar Pandora, it’s just unreal! Photographing glow worms is very similar to shooting the night sky, however, the exposure time can be much longer. These images in particular range between 30 seconds and 6 minutes exposures. To achieve the shots, it required me to submerge myself and my tripod in cold water for up to 6-8 hours a day - it was totally worth it!"

More info: shaunjeffersphotography.com (h/t: boredpanda)