1 / 3Glow Worm Dell
📍 Hokitika, West Coast
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Best for a free ten minutes of magic after dinner. A tiny fern-lined gully on the edge of Hokitika whose stone walls fill with glow worms once it is fully dark. No cost, no booking, a minute from the car park.
🏆 Family Action Verdict
The easiest wildlife wow on the West Coast for small children: no cost, no walking to speak of, and a bedtime-friendly fifteen minutes. Take a torch for the path, then turn it off and hold hands along the fence rail; the darker and quieter you are, the more you see. Do it after dinner on a dry night and pair it with a daylight look next morning.
ℹ️ What to Know Before You Go
💬 What Families Are Saying
View all reviews →1,474 Google reviews
G Reviews from Google
Kylie Prestridge
a month ago
“We got there at about 8:30 at night, and were lucky to have a mostly empty parking area, and had the Dell to ourselves for about 10 minutes. It's a steep-ish but very short walk, and there are thousands of glow worms on the sides of the dell. And seeing them is free, unlike almost all the other glow worm sites in NZ. You just have to limit your visit to after dark, or you won't see the tiny points of light.”
Jon Sappington
2 months ago
“This is a hidden gem if you stay the night in Hokatika or pass through at night. You can follow the trail by holding the fence rail, or use a blue light. On a new moon night, it's pitch black, and seeing all the glow worms makes you feel like you're floating in space amongst the stars. My pics do it no justice at all.”
Benjamin McOmish
4 weeks ago
“Impressive glow worm dell when idiot morons with torches and flashlights don’t ruin it for everyone else… it’s in the name “glow worms” if you read the sign at the entrance! visit after all the idiots have gone to bed 10pm onwards best time! (in no way is this review a reflection on the attraction itself)”
📊 Commonly mentioned in Google reviews
Based on Google review tagsGlow worms
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Overview
The Glow Worm Dell is a short, sheltered gully beside State Highway 6 at the northern entrance to Hokitika, a ten minute walk from the town centre or a minute from its own car park. It costs nothing and needs no booking: walk in after full dark, switch off your torch, let your eyes adjust, and the high banks come alive with hundreds of blue-green pinpricks. It is small, about ten metres of path, and it is at its best on a moonless, dry night. The whole visit is fifteen quiet minutes.
