Accommodating Guides at a New Zealand Worm Cave Tour

One of the most popular tourist attractions in New Zealand are the Waitomo worm caves. During a 3-week trip there, my friend and I booked a 3-hour guided worm cave tour. (The time we would actually be in the caves was closer to 1.5-hours). Sadly, my friend missed her connecting flight and missed this tour.

Everyone on the tour wore wetsuits, gumboots, and lighted helmets. We all traversed on foot with innertubes through the cave. Not an ideal place to carry any personal items. It’s actually against the rules to carry anything with you into the cave. Not that I wanted to carry anything (especially diabetes supplies), but being a type 1 diabetic tends to allow me to ignore these types of rules.  

Checking In

When I checked in for the worm cave tour, I filled out a waiver. You fill out things such as; name, contact info, fear of heights, have a certain selection of disabilities, among others. One of the disabilities they specifically named is diabetes. I checked off diabetes and that I have a fear of heights. I didn’t think my fear of heights would be a problem for this tour, which it wasn’t, thank goodness.

At the start of the tour, everyone got fitted for wetsuits and boots. This was also the time that everyone who marked anything down on the waiver had to talk with the guides. Like a good student (at this point in my life, I’m only a student of life) I immediately talked with the guides. I shared that I was the one with type 1 diabetes. And, if possible, I would like to bring my phone (glucose monitor receiver) and glucose tablets into the cave.  

Problem Solving

The two guides, who we will call Stacie and Steve, went into problem solving mode. Stacie offered a large mouthed, screw-top plastic water bottle for me to put my glucose tablets into. Steve went and found another water proof bag and water proof hard case. The waterproof bag looked very used and wasn’t going to be used for its waterproof abilities, or lack thereof. I put my phone into the screw top plastic waterproof case, which would be put into the not-so waterproof bag. We would carry the bag through the caves with us.   

Before we left, Steve asked if I had to stay within a certain distance to my phone, so it would work and constantly relay my blood sugar numbers. This surprised me, as that isn’t a question people usually ask. I told him I ideally needed to stay within 1-3 meters of my phone to get readings. But that it’s totally okay if I’m out of range for a short time. The monitor sends a value every minute, so if I am out of range for a few minutes, once I get back into range it will send those values to my phone.

Inside the Worm Caves

Steve took this much more seriously than I did, which also surprised me, in the best way possible. He made sure I carried the bag during the bus ride to and from the caves, and getting into and out of the caves. Inside the caves he clearly communicated when the next time we could stop and check my sugar levels. He also made sure I stayed either in the front of the group or the back, depending on which end of the group he and the bag were at. Ensuring that I was always as close as possible to the bag with my phone.

It was incredibly accommodating, and I was genuinely touched! I’ve never been on a tour or in a group where the guides took such care of me and my diabetes. I don’t normally ask or expect others to accommodate me this much. So far, based on my life, it doesn’t happen very often.

Meeting a Mom of a Diabetic Daughter

During the tour I shared with a few other people that I have diabetes. A woman on the tour shared that her daughter has type 1 diabetes and is currently in medical school. We bonded for awhile about how much work it is to live a life with type 1 diabetes and compared insulins and devices. She shared with me that her daughter did not want to become an endocrinologist (doctors that see diabetic patients, among others) because she didn’t want her job to be so closely related to her real life. I completely understand this and fully support her decision!

One funny thing this woman thought was that I was the same age as her daughter, but I am in fact 7 years older than her. I will take it that me being in a wetsuit, helmet, and traversing dark caves make me look younger! Now I know the secret.

If you’re interested in more New Zealand stories, please read about my canoeing adventure here. Stay tuned for more New Zealand stories to come.