I tend to err on the side of the dramatic when it comes to wildlife experiences, but some really do deserve the squeals that they induce – cicadas moulting out of their hard exoskeleton, fireflies floating by, their clear bright light signalling for a mate. These moments are some of my favourite goosebump-inducing animal encounters and I’ve recently added to that list tentatively walking through the breathtakingly beautiful glowworm colony at Helensburgh.
After a period of near destruction by reckless visitors, the gate, which was erected by Crown Lands, was locked for an extended period, keeping the human masses well away from the masses of glow worms. It worked and the colony is back better than ever, and the gate and entire fence have been removed. That’s a success, right?
Well, the fence’s removal was more about Hollywood coming to town and less about tourists being better behaved. So, perhaps the question needs to be asked, should we be gatekeeping the gate*?
Glowworm colonies are sensitive to anything that can affect their habitat: light, noise, insect spray and smoke. The colony at Helensburgh was severely damaged not just by uneducated visitors loving the glowworms to death, but by people setting off flares and fireworks inside the tunnel.
Merilyn House of Helensburgh Landcare, the Crown Land managers for the site, says there was a lot of work involved in the management of the gate. “Initially, Landcare used to unlock the gate for the daytime and then shut it for the nighttime but that depended on somebody being available to go and open it and shut it.”
And with the gate came the endless efforts by those wanting in, regardless. Angle grinders, car jacks and even trying to scale the fence were all methods employed by those desperate to get inside.
With people come noise and unfortunately lots of rubbish, a problem that the Landcare volunteers are left to deal with on a weekly basis. When the fence was in place, this would invariably lead to the rubbish getting caught against the bars, causing another ongoing problem with site drainage.
And so when the producers for the Planet of the Apes movie, filmed around Helensburgh but not inside the glowworm tunnel itself, asked for the fence to be removed, it made sense.
“So… we said, ‘yes, that’s fine’ because we had been talking for some time about how many times people were getting in, and it was stopping people who were genuinely interested in going in from actually going there, and it was only people who we were trying to keep out in the first place who were getting in,” Merilyn explains.
It’s easy to see why the location was chosen for filming. Heading into the glowworm tunnel really does feel like entering another world. The partial platform from the old train station is raised, surrounded by moss and fern-covered rock walls, the ground is always wet and muddy and sometimes underwater. As you stand at the entrance, frogs call from within the darkness, their ‘tok, tok, tok’ song echoes around you.
As you shuffle inside, and you’ll need to be extremely careful, the ground is uneven and it really is pitch black, but slowly your eyes adjust. As you wait, the smell of damp earth thick in the air, the ceiling and the walls begin to twinkle. Thousands of clear blue lights spread out in front of you. It doesn’t take long before you realise how special this place is and how much it needs protecting.
But can that protection only come in the form of a tall, metal gate keeping everyone out? I’m a firm believer in everyone having access to our most beautiful places as I think we only care about and, as a result, protect the things that we love. And the easiest way to fall in love is to have these experiences ourselves.
For their part, Helensburgh Landcare has erected some educational signage explaining the dos and don’ts, and there’s now a bin on site so you can clean up after yourself.
As for the rest of us, perhaps as we spread the word about this incredible location, we can also spread how to care for it, to keep the gate from the glowworms.
Remember: do not shine a light on the glowworms, no smoke or spray inside the tunnel, take your rubbish with you and keep quiet – for the sake of the glowworms and the neighbours.
*The Oxford Dictionary describes ‘gatekeeping’ as ‘the activity of controlling, and usually limiting, general access to something’.
Dr Chris Reid has more information about glowworms here
If you’d like to help maintain the site, contact Merilyn at Helensburgh Landcare on 0414 819 742
