Lake McClaren Glow Worms

Our trip to see the Lake McClaren glow worms. We ventured out on our PPC paddle boards to Lake McClaren to check out the glow worm dell at the top of the lake. Unfortunately the GoPro started to play up so we didn’t get as much footage as we first thought. We didn’t take any pictures of the glow worms, partly because we feel you should go out and see them for yourself, and partly because the GoPro f*@cked up and we didn’t want to risk carrying the camera with no dry bag.

The trip itself is quite short, it’s probably around 1.5km from the bottom of the lake by the car park to the top where the glow worm dell is. You can really only see the glow worms when it’s really, really dark so prepare yourselves and learn from our mistakes. No head torches and shorts and t-shirts made for a very disorientating and cold paddle back to the car. Worth it though!

We ventured off around 6pm when the sun was setting and did have to wait a while for it to get dark enough to see the glow worms but we filled our time up with taking pictures, video and having a bit of an explore further up the lake.

The trip itself is very placid, it’s a lake after all, but if you would prefer some guidance, plus the hired use of a boat and relevant safety equipment we’d recommend you go on a guided tour with a local company like Waimarino. You don’t need to be incredibly fit, just expect approx. a 3km paddle and be prepared to get wet, cold and a little tired. Not saying you will, but being prepared is better than a cold trip in the dark.Hope to see you on the water soon!