All Work and No Play. . .

So, it's been a while since my last update--mostly because there hasn't been much to update. I started work two weeks ago and since then it's been work, work, work! Well, I did get my haircut also. I found a fantastic discount coupon on GrabOne for a color, cut, and blow dry at a legit salon on Havelock North--all for $69! ($52 U.S.) Can't beat that! The color is a bit different as they didn't have my brand of color so we had to go with the most compatible thing, and it's a bit shorter than what I usually get--but I like it! It's a nice change, easy, manageable, and much cooler for the summer. Pictures!

The color in these is a bit off--as it's more a dark copper color--a bit darker and more auburn-ish then my usual color--but it's still nice!


Anywho, my nice new haircut went well with my nice, new job! I feel like a real person now--waking up at 6:00 a.m. working from 7:30 to 4:30 and coming home exhausted--then doing it all again the next day! I used to do things like grocery shopping, cooking, reading, and laundry to occupy my day. Now all those things I feel like I barely have time for by the time I get home! Including writing this blog. I literally wake up at the crack of dawn:

Though usually it's actually still dark when my alarm goes off--I'm not greeted by the sun until around 6:30 when I'm eating my breakfast. Poor John has to wake up too in order to drive me to work--though on days off I just take the car myself and he sleeps in. On other days, I make the 35 min bike ride home!


But yeah--my job as a QC at ENZA Pak is going really well. They really like me because I can pick up on things quickly and then do them perfectly without supervision. Also, the people I work with are really nice--I mostly socialize with the other QC's as many of the other workers are migrant workers from Samoa and only one out of the group speaks English. I get to wear these cool lab coats every day with a green baseball cap with the ENZA logo on it. Just to give you a mental picture:

Styling and profiling! My job is in two parts. One, every grower who submits a big batch of apples has to have them tested for maturity to make sure they will store and ship well--arriving overseas in good, eating condition. I use a device called a penetrometer--pulling down on a lever that penetrates the surface of the apple and the needle stops at the amount of Kgs of force required. I record that number for two sides of every apple I test in a batch-- a sample of 20. Then I use my calculator to get the total average pressure and record that. Then I take the juices that have been emitted and pour a small sample onto an electronic refractometer that reads the sugar content (called % brix) and record that as well. I feel like a little science geek in the corner and I love it! Well--we will see how much I love it after a month--may get old. 


Once I'm done with that I go help do what we call "in-line inspections" in which we pull a random sample of apple boxes off the production line and check them to make sure there aren't too many defects on them. If there are, there is lots of paper work and stuff involved. It's kinda fun, very clinical, so that's why it's much more my thing and I do well at it. 


Apples, apples, apples--every day!


Now, for the moment after all those hours Monday to Friday (and sometimes, like today, on Saturday--NOT fun) I also am helping out with the Census. I get just a basic stipend amount ($2,000) for my whole assignment--which is like 300 homes. I have 4 weeks to do the whole thing--John and I had about 1,000 a piece for the U.S. Census so this should be a piece of cake in comparison--plus with a smaller population it's much less of a production. But, it's extra easy money that will help in the long run.


After all this work one would wonder if we have any free time!? Well, for the moment John and I barely see each other--which is the downfall. Three of the waitresses at his work have gone back to school, which means John is working a lot more hours, but it also means we don't get to spend much time together. The big boss man (i.e. third richest German in the world) is in town--we saw the Rolls Royce go to the airport to pick him up last week. He has a lodge on the property that he stays at during his visits. During the rest of the year you can rent the lodge, plus have unlimited access to the Rolls Royce, plus a free dinner and wine at the restaurant--all for $10,000 per day! What a steal. Oh, how the other half lives. If only I could have enough money to operate a winery for fun. 


However, for Valentine's Day John did cook me a delicious dinner and made me (via hack saw, file, and needle) a necklae out of a special shell (called paua) he found on the beach here:

Such a romantic!

In other news, our roommate Lui flew back to the states today. He was a really nice kid and we really enjoyed having him around and befriending him. Earlier this week we took him to a local bar in town called Roosters, where they brew their own beer, with our two other Indian roommates. It was a good time. We also went to Art Deco Weekend in Napier last night for his last hurrah (well me, Lui, and our roommate Gopal did--John was at work). It's this big weekend festival where they celebrate the deco history of the town and the 1930's earthquake that flattened it. It's quite a site to see. Flapper dresses, fedoras, feather headbands. Pin stripes, top hats, golf gaps, and suspenders. Everyone (well, whoever wants to) dresses up like it's the 1930s. There was jazz music, old 1930s cars all over the place, people having dinner parties a la The Great Gatsby on the side of the streets. It was fun just to walk through. Here's a little video to show the ambiance:

So--that's what we have been up to as of late. All work and very little play. We are also both very tired hence the brevity of this post in summing up the last two weeks. More soon (after more sleep!)

Sauron Strikes Again!

Really, at this point it's just ridiculous. I now understand what a pain in the ass it was for Frodo just to make it to Mordor. So, John and I once again attempted the Tongariro this week and we thought for sure bringing along other people with us would change our luck around. NOPE. Taupo Road is still EVIL and the Tongariro is still cursed--we just managed to shift the bad luck onto someone else!


We invited our roommate Lui, and John invited his South African friend from work, Glenn, to do the Tongariro with us. Glenn has a big camper van with a big bed in the middle and a little propane stove and ice box in the back--perfect for a camping situation. We had everything organized and headed out of Hastings around 6:00--this time determined to make it! Our car Kingsley was doing just fine. We were literally about 10 minutes outside Taupo when we got a call from Glenn saying he had to pull over because his van was overheating. It's a pretty old van, and a manual, so he said it struggled a bit over the hills. Those flipping hills--I really want to write a letter expressing to the NZ government that they should really just plant dynamite along the whole road and flatten it out--or at least make tunnels. They do enough unnecessary road work as it is. 


Anyways, so we turn around and head back a little ways before finding Glenn pulled over the on the road. We pull up behind him and John gets out to go help him with the van. Luckily, Glenn had a big 5 liter tank of water in the back that he used to try and cool the van off. We stood around for quite a while, giving the van some time to cool down. Mind you we first pulled over at about 7:45, as the sun was just beginning to set. However, after a while, and a lot of water, his van was not doing much better. So Glenn called a mechanic friend of his and asked for his advice. His friend said it was possible that he had, unfortunately, yup--a FREAKING BLOWN HEAD GASKET. Poor guy--we felt like we just shifted our crappy luck onto him. Apparently though, he had already once replaced the head gasket on the same van. He did the same radiator test, and yup, not good. Luckily Glenn had AA and we were literally only 10 minutes from Taupo and he was able to call a tow. 


We waited for a while for the tow guy, and pondered whether or not to just grill our steaks we bought right there on the side of the road with his grill--but we decided against it because we weren't sure when the tow guy would actually show up. We did crack open some beers, though. The tow guy didn't end up coming until about 9:30 and by that point it was dark.


We were hoping that Glenn could just drop off the car and keys and still come with us to the campsite and do the Tongariro and we would drop him back off in Taupo the next day. However, the garage was closed which meant he had to go first thing in the morning and give them his keys. Luckily, Glenn has been in the country for a while now and had some good friends in Taupo that he had planned on staying with the next night anyways. We felt bad that he couldn't come with us and that such a crappy situation happened to him--we could empathize. It was ridiculous and very deja vu-like as to how much we could empathize!


However--turned out that it didn't matter he couldn't come! When we called the campsite to let them know that while we were not canceling, we would be getting in rather late--they dropped the bomb that actually they were canceling the shuttles to the Tongariro Alpine Crossing in the morning because of too strong, gale-like winds that was predicted for the area that day (but that they would make a final call at 7:30 a.m.). FOR THE LOVE OF GOD. Just. Wonderful!


We still decided to head there though, and figured if it did turn out that it was cancelled we could always have a fun day in Taupo. After dropping off his van at the garage, we dropped Glenn off at a bar downtown where we was to meet his friend he was going to stay with. We left Taupo at about 10:00 for the hour and half drive to the campsite just outside Tongariro National Park. The stars were actually gorgeous that night, but it was difficult to enjoy with all the crap that seems to happen to us whenever we make this trip!


We FINALLY made it to the campsite around 11:30 p.m. After all that trying at least we had made it this time! One step closer! It was dark and no one was awake--but the nice staff had left us a note on the door giving us instructions to our campsite and letting us know to come see them in the morning about other possible walking tracks if the Tongariro was still canceled. So John went about setting up our tent and air mattress and Lui set up his. It turns out there is a communal building right next to the lawn for tents that has proper bathrooms, showers, a kitchen facility with a refrigerator, hot plates, cooking utensils, and a microwave! So I went about cooking dinner for us--which we finally ate at around midnight. We finally went to bad at around 1 a.m. I slept fitfully that night, as the wind was flapping on our tent--but the new sleeping bag I got on sale a while back at this store called Kathmandu was great! Kept me warm.


We woke up around 7 a.m. and after getting dressed we went up to the reception area where Lui had kindly already paid for our tent sites--but also gave us the unfortunate news that, yes, the Tongariro Alpine Crossing was canceled that day (and would probably be as well the next day). SIGH. However, the woman showed us another walking track called the Tongariro Northern Circuit that makes a big circle around the park--which was still open due to the fact that it was at a lower elevation and thus the winds weren't dangerous. It seemed a bit weird that it would be cancelled as there was no wind at the campsite and it was a gorgeous morning--but later in the day we would soon discover why they indeed canceled the trip. We decided to do a different 6 hour (return) tramp that would take us past a waterfall and to some Emerald Lakes. It was a tramp that was to the South of the Alpine track and didn't cross through the Tongariro and Ngauruhoe volcanoes, but went in between the wide gap between Mt. Tongariro/Ngauruhoe and Mt. Ruapehu.


So we ate some breakfast, packed up, and headed out to the village of Whakapapa! The only village located within the park itself. Now, the thing about the Maori language is that the "WH" letters make an "F" sound. So the name of the village, when pronounced, sounds like "F*ck-a-papa." Fun stuff!


So anyways, we set out at around 8:45 for our tramp through Tongariro! Just not the one we had planned/hoped for. But it was still a great time! Here are some of the best pictures and video for the day:

View on the way into Whakapapa. Mount Ruapheu in the background. In the winter that mountain is a popular ski place.

 

Mount Doom! This was the volcano that they filmed as Mount Doom in the Lord of the Ring movies--with lots of CGI effects added, of course. (Technically called Ngauruhoe--don't ask me how to pronounce that--I have no idea. So, I just call it Doom.)

John and Lui posing in front of the sign for the start of the tramp.

 Start of the tramp--some cool clouds made Mount Doom very ominous and neat-looking.

It's still an active volcano. The last major eruption was in the 1970s. The first one was 2,500 years ago. It's actually a second vent of the Tongariro Volcanic Complex.

Towards the beginning of the tramp we stopped at this river as it was a really pretty site. The land is mostly brown now, since it's the summer, rather than green. Plus, the landscape of the area around a volcano is not very attractive--lots of shrubs, bushes, grassland, and rocks. However, the river with Ruapheu in the background made for a nice view.

The first major site we reached was Taranaki Falls. It cuts through old, hardened lava and volcanic rock.

John and Lui wanted to get a closer look. Note the rainbow!

It was about a 2 hour tramp from the falls to the Lower Tama Lake. But it was a beautiful site! The lake is that color because of the volcanic sulfur. It was created from old eruption craters. Back in the day, people thought it was good for your skin to swim in it--they know better now. The lake has about the same acidity as battery acid. Definitely NOT good for your skin.

A nice panorama view.

Once we got to this spot, it was SUPER windy! We then understood why they canceled the Tongariro for that day--the wind was enough to blow you around!

Here, John and Lui wanted to see how long they could lean forward and let the wind support them--it was that strong!

Here's a video of Lui to help give you some more context:

You could go even further on the tramp to the Upper Tama Lake--but first you had to walk up a STEEP hill into the wind! It was quite difficult.

Taking a little break to catch our breaths.

View from higher up. I was clinging to my cameras for dear life!

Upper Tama Lake was different, but equally beautiful. It was quite a hike though! At the top of this mountain we were very exposed and so experienced some incredibly powerful wind!

We actually managed to do the whole tramp, there and back, in 6 hours. I thought it took us at least 7. By the time we got to the end we were pooped! My legs were so sore (and still are!) I can tell you that we slept very soundly that night! And yes, good ole' Kingsley brought us back safely (and without problem) to Hastings. I think Glenn managed to get his van all fixed up, which is good. I was glad, actually, that we were able to have the chance to do this tramp--we may have never done so if we did the Alpine Crossing to begin with. I start work soon--next Wednesday--so it will be harder now for John and I to coordinate our schedules for the next few months.

HOWEVER, someday, somehow, we WILL defeat the Tongariro Alpine Crossing!

Hawke's Bay Food and Wine Festival

So, last Saturday was the big Hawke's Bay Food and Wine Festival. It's a big shindig that happens every year where all the local wineries and some food places get together to hawk their wares. Their yummy, delicious wares. John had to work, but our roommate Lui really wanted to go, so I said I would go with him.


It was pouring in the morning but the weather forecast said it was supposed to clear up--so we crossed our fingers as we made the drive to Napier to pick up our tickets. By around 10 a.m., when we got back to Hastings, it was sunny without a cloud in the sky. New Zealand weather for you. However, the wind had picked up quite a bit. After some breakfast, (so I wouldn't be drinking on an empty stomach) we headed out to the popular Gimblett Gravels wine growing district where the event was being held on the top of a hill overlooking the vineyards. It was a beautiful spot, however, having no protection the wind was wicked strong and even knocked over some of the tents!


We went to 4 different winery tents--Ash Ridge (the one that John and I did work for) but they also had tastings for a few other boutique wineries in the area as four of them teamed up for 1 tent; Matariki--where the wine maker was a girl not too much older than me--but very nice and friendly; Sacred Hill--real nice guy and some good wines; and the last one called Tukipo River Estate--where Lui ended up buying a bottle of Chardonnay. Even though you paid a $45 entry fee (that basically gave you a wine glass--that you could take home--and a holder to wear the glass around your neck) you still had to pay $2 for tastings at each place--though that let you try 3 to 4 different wines. So in total I had 13 tastings which was about 4 glasses of wine--so by the end I was in quite a good mood!


While at the Te Mata Cheese Factory tent we ran into some really nice American ladies and their male Kiwi friend (well, technically Aussie). The guy, Peter, was really nice, though also really drunk, as later I saw him trying to pull random women up to dance with him. He told me that I should start writing a travel column for magazines since I told him I was a journalism major. He was very, drunkenly enthusiastic about this idea--as in he would clasp me hard on the shoulder and boast loudly in my face about how great an idea it was. Apparently he has a nice house and a boat in Taranaki and has invited John and I to stay anytime (as long as John knows how to back a trailer into the water). The two women, Joanne and Susie, were from Kentucky and Vermont/Colorado respectively. The one woman, Susie, was a cool hippy kind of lady (as she had long grey hair and a nose ring!) but she is also an anesthesiologist! Her daughter also went to Duke so we talked a bit about that. She also, probably feeling less inhibition due to alcohol intake, told me all about her boyfriend who recently broke up with her and was supposed to come to the festival but he knew she would be there so he stayed away. Regardless, she was really cool and said how she was so supportive of what John and I were doing--traveling the world and whatnot. We exchanged information with our new American friends, who we chatted with for quite a while. So maybe we will see them again!


The whole day was quite nice, even though it was VERY windy, but everyone was in a good mood as it was a completely acceptable excuse to day drink! Unlike other tasting events I've been to, once you bought a bottle you could drink it there on site. As many wineries had special prices on their wines that day, there were MANY bottles floating around--with some people drinking straight from them. The food, while a bit over-priced, was also very good--Lui and I got some yummy lemon and ricotta ravioli and grilled salmon skewers! Gotta have something to soak up the alcohol. We then sat for a while to listen to some jazz band before heading home. We were there for about 4 hours, and I had spent all of my allotted money (including buying John some nice cheese) so it was time to go (also I had since sobered up)! It was a very nice afternoon and here are a few pictures and video (though I didn't take much--I was too busy enjoying the wine!)

I wore this skirt but decided at the last minute to wear some sofie shorts underneath--BEST idea ever. If I hadn't, a good number of people would have had a nice glimpse of my Victoria Secret Pink collection underwear with the words "you're perfect" printed on my backside.

And a little video to provide some ambiance:

Quakes and Quality Control

Just wanted to give a few quick updates.


First, a large portion of the North Island was awakened at 4 a.m. this morning by another earthquake! It was a 5.9 centered about 30 Km north of Taupo. It lasted about 30 seconds--and was strong enough to rouse both John and I out of a deep slumber. This time, you could hear the rumbling of the Earth. Kinda neat! We just stayed in bed and then it subsided, as it was nothing too major.


I finished up my training for Quality Control, which is the position I will have at the Pack house. It's a pretty good one--requires more brains than brawn--which is much more my thing. It's also indoors in a nice air conditioned building! Plus, it's a pretty small team of about 10 of us and everyone is very nice. When I got home from training, the Census woman had just arrived to give me my contract to sign and turn in sometime this week. So, pretty soon I will start making the moolah!


Also at training we were introduced to a brand new variety of apple that was developed through a partnership with the company I will work for, ENZA, and Johnny Appleseed in the U.S. It was developed at the University of Minnesota and they just recently harvested and sent the very first bunch and let us give it a taste! Some of the first people in NZ to try it. It's called the SweeTango--so keep an eye out for it! It's pretty yummy--both tangy and sweet.


Anyways, John picked me up from training in our car that is all fixed! We were right about the pebbles in the breaks being the problem--and so we were charged just $4 for them to put it up on the rack and clean them out. Phew! Then we just had to pay for the window--but now it's all good to go!


Tomorrow is the big Hawke's Bay Food and Wine Festival just down the road near Neil and Sarah's. John has to work, but a new roommate of ours, Lui, who got here about two weeks ago wanted to go and so I said I would go with him. He's a nice kid--Japanese parents, but raised in the Czech Republic, and goes to school at RISD in Rhode Island for furniture design. He's here for 5 weeks for an internship. Anyways, he's a nice guy, so we're going to the festival tomorrow to check out all the wine and food! It was $45 but that includes a tasting wine glass you get to keep, plus there is live music, a fashion show, workshops, and tons of food and wine booths, of course. Should be a good day. 


Hoping the Universe is appeased for a while!

The Tongariro is Cursed

Bah. I really, REALLY need to stop coming back here with crazy, stressful adventures to tell. The Tongariro, at least for John and I, is cursed and the Taupo road to get to it is EVIL. Not as bad a story as last time, but still a less than pleasant one.

So our plans for John's days off were to head to Taupo today and redeem GrabOne coupons we bought for a sailing excursion to some Maori rock carvings on Lake Taupo. Then, we were going to head to Tongariro, camp out for the night, and do the crossing tomorrow and be back home tomorrow night. Well, the first snafu in our plans came when I got a call from the packhouse I interviewed for. They want to hire me! Which is the great news--I have gone from no jobs to two (one full-time and one just flexible/casual hours). However, they wanted me to come in, at very short notice, tomorrow to start training. I asked if they had any other days available but unfortunately there wasn't--so we had to scrap Tongariro.

However, we decided to still do the sailing so we headed out to Taupo for a very nice, warm, sunny day. The actual sailing was great and I will share more pictures later. The other crazy ridiculous event was on the drive back. We had been driving for a bit on Taupo road, and all along they have been doing a lot of (unnecessary and excessive) construction and repaving. A lot of areas they have yet to re-tar and so it's just gravel pebbles you have to drive over. So we're heading along and we start to hear a strange noise from the car--almost like a helicopter--or air trying to squeeze through a small space. We pull over, resting for a few minutes, then keep heading on but it starts up again. So we pull over again to the next possible area and John jacks the car and takes the front tire off because that's where the noise seemed to be coming from--the breaks. We can't tell much, so we put the tire back on and keep going. No more noise for quite a while and so I'm hoping it was just some pebbles that dislodged themselves. Well, we go over another long stretch of unpaved road--uphill--and once again the noise starts. So we pull over as soon as we can, but it's not the best spot, and are stressing out about what to do. When all of a sudden, a car comes flying around the bend and BAM! Our back driver-side passenger window is shattered. I have evidence:

FML, people, FML. First we were just trying to get the pebbles/breaks sorted out and now we have a shattered window--on our new car. Just. Freaking. Fantastic. We're not sure if a big pebble or rock was hurled toward the window by the car or if the guy threw something--but the whole entire thing shattered in an instant.

Thank the Lord John signed up for AA Plus. As we were able to call them and they sent a free tow to get us back to Hastings--as we were only about 30 min from Napier, 45 minutes from home. The tow guy got there really quickly, as he was also heading back the same way on that road and also lives in Hastings. He could not have been more nice. He let us stop on the way into town to get some pizzas and even had a phonebook in his truck so we could look up the number. As he loaded the car onto the tow bed, he said it sounded to him like we did have some gravel pebbles up in the breaks--though really we would just need to have it looked at to know for sure. And obviously, we'll have to fix the window--which hopefully won't be too much. He dropped our car off at the AA garage in Hastings--so we don't have to get a second tow in the morning--and then dropped us off at home--frustrated, sun burnt, tired, but safe. He also said if he gets any late night calls, which happens a lot, he will stop by the AA on his route just to make sure no one does anything to car while the window is gone. He was a super nice guy and the silver lining to all of this. 

It seems whenever John and I get ourselves into these situations that there are always kind strangers to lend us a hand and it's truly a blessing. But as nice as they are, I would MUCH rather avoid these situations all together. A person can only take so much! C'mon, Universe, cut us some slack!

So yeah--John is going to drop me off at training tomorrow morning using our roommates car (again) and then hopefully get ours sorted out. Please God, let it be an easy fix!

But here are the pictures from the very nice part of the day before happiness was yanked from our grasp:

 The captain of our little yacht was a really nice guy, telling us a lot about the lake and the area. Lake Taupo was formed by the collapsed basin of a very old, dormant volcano. While enjoying the beautiful water and scenery, we also got a complimentary glass of wine or beer! A nice touch. We were joined on the cruise by a francophone family from New Caledonia, another French guy, and an English woman. All very nice. 

 The Maori carvings were actually done only 30 years ago by a group of about 8 Maori artists, as a gift to Taupo. They are still really cool and one day they will be ancient!

We were able to take a dip in the water--I took one was well--but it was cold! So I only swam for a bit. But here's John in front of the carvings.

On the way back, we stopped at this scenic overlook where you could view this great waterfall. It was a very pretty sight, but very soon after this all those smiles would be turned up side down.

So yes--I am convinced that the Tongariro is cursed. However, John and I will make one more attempt next week, before we are both working and our schedules won't match. We will defeat the Tongariro Crossing come hell or high water!

Blackwater Rafting

Woohoo! John and I finally had a successful adventure without any mishaps! But first on a side note: the other night I was laying in bed at about 9:30 when I started to feel the bed shake, and my computer shake, and the wine in my hand sloshed around a bit. It lasted for about 10 seconds then stopped. It was an earthquake! Albeit a very small one, but as they happen all the time there are bound to be a few that can be felt (though everyone hopes to avoid "the big one.") It was mildly exciting, and probably a bit smaller than the one we had in Georgia back when I was in 10th grade. 


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!