Anyways, we bought coupons a while back on a site called GrabOne--a lot like Groupon in the US--for an excursion in these glow worm caves near the West Coast. John bought them for me for Christmas. We decided that yesterday would be a good day to redeem them and we set out on the four hour drive to Waitomo Caves! We passed through Taupo, and the exact spot where we broke down last time, but no more troubles for us! Kingsley Zissou, the name we gave to our car, did a wonderful job getting us to an from our destination! We arrived with plenty of time to spare--ate some lunch we packed, got a free pass through the Waitomo Caves museum, and enjoyed the sunny, warm weather (it was rainy and cloudy all day where we live).
We set out for the excursion around 3:00 and were joined by a nice Australian couple from Brisbane and their two sons. Our tour guide, Rodney, was very nice and brought along his little girl, Jessie, with him for the trip.
After suiting up in our wet suits, helmets and gumboots (the name for rain boots)--we were ready to go!
Once we reached the entrance to the cave, which wasn't too far a walk, we grabbed some inner tubes and headed out for the mouth of the cave!
First, though, we had to walk up a hill and across a paddock to get to the actual entrance--not an easy feat on a hot day, with a full wet suit, wearing rain boots, and carrying an inner tube!
We finally reached the entrance to the cave where our tour guide told us a little bit more about the caves. There are several of them in the cave system and have been around for a very long time. The name of the cave we were going into was called Te Anaroa in Maori, which means "The Long Cave."
Ready to head in!
Next, it was time to descend the 20 or 30 feet or so into the cave. We had stairs to get down, but other adventure options let you abseil down into another one of the caves and see the glow worms up close as you made your way down. We weren't able to abseil down that day.
Once inside, Rodney told us more about the glow worms. They are actually very small and the part of them that glows is, in fact, their poo as they excrete it. Whatever they eat gets mixed with special enzymes that glow when they poop it out! They also have these long, sticky strands that hang down that they use to catch insects as they fly about the cave. However, the stage that the glow worms are in are actually a larvae stage that lasts for 9 months. After that, they get into a cocoon like casing, and then they "hatch" as small mosquito-like flies. However, they only last about 5 days because as flies they have no mouth so they can't feed! The females in these 5 days try to find a mate and can lay as many as 150 eggs--to be hatched into more glow worms! It was really fascinating to learn and see them spread out above us like stars!
John and I posing in front of glow worm tendrils
We didn't take this picture--but I got it from online to show you what they look like in the dark.
We also learned that the English name for the cave was "Foot Whistle" because of a rock formation (technically called a "deflected stalactite" because it comes from nowhere) that the original discoverers found in which the bottom looked like a foot and the top looked like the whistle of a steam engine. Hence the name.
John and I in front of "Foot Whistle"
After learning about the glow worms/cave, and introducing ourselves to everyone in the group, the little girl Jessie led us to a neat little waterfall tucked away in the cave! It was a bit disconcerting as we had to crawl through some pretty small spaces in water, but it was still great fun!
I survived!
As we went deeper and deeper into the cave, it was time to get into our inner tubes and take a little rafting ride down the river--in the pitch black darkness!
We made our way around the cave using the side wall to guide us, with our eyes adjusting with the tiny bit of light provided by the glow worms! It was a beautiful sight--though the water was quite cold! We also encountered animal bones from animals that had fallen through sinkholes into the cave and eventually deteriorated. We then stopped at a certain point where there was about a 5-foot drop off--time to jump! We turned around backwards with our tubes behind us, and fell back into the water with a nice plop!
This would be right about when I got water up my nose.
We then traveled a bit more in the darkness--making our way through the cave with John leading the group since the guide went up ahead of us to our next stop. We got to a point where there were 3 branches and we didn't know which one to take! All of a sudden--PLOP. It sounded like a big water bomb! Our guide turned on his headlamp as we laughed off our sudden fright. We had almost reached the end of the ride--but not before the big final drop off! This one was about 20 feet high--much too far to jump--so a slide had been installed to make the way down. However, it still was deep enough to disappear into the darkness of the cave--making it that much more exciting!
With everyone having made it safely down, it was time to head out! After a bit of walking we finally reached the exit--cold, wet, and having thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! The bright sunshine we a beautiful sight as we once again ascended up a ton of stairs in all of our gear, boots, and inner tube!
When we reached the top we were a fatigued, but happy bunch. The whole adventure was so neat and something you couldn't do anywhere else in the world! Glow worms only exist primarily in New Zealand, though a few are in Australia. It was definitely a memorable experience!
Returning to the base, we were able to remove our wetsuits and enjoy a nice hot shower and hot soup! Though, luckily it was a warm and sunny day so we were able to heat up quickly. After that, we were able to look at our pictures from the trip--which I have just been sharing with you! The Australian couple was so kind and gave us their card--saying if we ever needed a place to stay the night in Brisbane to give them a call!
After that--it was time for a nice dinner! As part of the deal we bought on the website--there was also a side deal that included a $40 food voucher (in which you only paid $19) to redeem at the Waitomo Caves Hotel restaurant. Upon arriving it was clear that the hotel, built in 1910, had already seen it's glory days--as it was a bit outdated and John and I were the only patrons to have made a booking that night. However, the quiet was actually nice and it turned out that the food was great! We had a nice glass of wine, shared a really good prawn appetizer (look at me branching out--though I admit that the yummy sauce that came with it made it a lot better!), and John had some nice fish and I had duck. It was nice to relax without either one of us having to cook or serve.
Enjoying the evening out on the terrace.
After such a good day and good meal--it was time to make the 4 hour drive back home! I must say that I still hate the road between Taupo and Hastings--John had to pull over for a few minutes about halfway through, because I was so car sick I felt like I was going to vomit. But, I made it through and we got home around 11:00--and went straight to bed to get a good night's sleep! However, as we passed Taupo we did get a nice glimpse of the sunset to top off our good day:
Next week we are hoping to re-attempt the Tongariro! Cross your fingers!
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