December 26th
Glow Worms Birthday
Today we got up early and drove for about an hour and a half to the Waitomo Caves. Gabe got car sick on the twisting roads (it could have been the mud and bugs cereal he ate (a NZ chocolate cereal that actually isn’t that bad for you-unless you are driving on the mountain roads of NZ).
(not recommended for those prone to motion
sickness)!
Black Water Rafting Company-our launch point for exploring the Raukuri Caves
We eventually got to the Black Water Rafting company for our first cave adventure. Along with about ten other people we toured the Raukuri caves. Susan was our guide and she drove us down to the cave entrance. It is called the Raukuri caves because the Maori warrior who found it was attacked by wild dogs living in it and the name means, den of dogs.
We went down a spiral entrance that was very cool. We saw a ton of cool limestone formations, stalagmites, stalactites, curtain formations etc. We also got a close up look at a few glow worms. These creatures spin little silver chain like strands that hand down below them. Then, in the middle of their body they create a blue bioluminescent section that attracts any insects drawn into the cave from the outside. The bugs get stuck on the sticky and toxic strands and the the glow worm reels them in and eats them! Very cool. The guide even let the birthday boy, Gabe, lead us and help by turning on a small light (they turned them on and then off as we traversed the cave).
Entrance to Raukuri Caves.
The very long spiral staircase down to the underground entrance to the cave.
A curtain formation.
Those silvery strands hanging down are the glow worm's web.
Stalactites.
The "pretty place."
We took a break and ate lunch after our tour before heading over to the Glow worm caves themselves. After a brief tour down into the cave we took a boat ride under an entire dome of glow worms. The Maori word for them is stars over water and you felt you were looking up at a giant sky full of blue stars it was an amazing experience-no pictures were allowed in the Glow Worm Caves.
We took the small Te Anga road on a new adventure on the way home. After some very coiling roads we reached our first goal, the Mangapohue Natural Bridge. After a short walk through a lovely forest we came to a former cave which has collapsed to leave a large arch. It was very beautiful, especially with all the foliage growing around and on it. Past the arch, or bridge, we walked through a field that reminded me of The Lord of the Rings.
Another bridge to cross.
You can't see them, but there are orcs just over the hill.
Next we drove to the Piripiri Caves. We have looked for “torches” i.e. flashlights and were only able to find three overpriced solar ones at the gift shop before we left the glow worm caves. They didn’t help much. The darkness of this unlit cave easily overwhelmed the wimpy light of the flashlights. Ursula refused to go in but the kids and I made it about a quarter of the way down before being totally freaked out and turning around. It was a nice walk through the woods to get there.
Walk to the caves.
Entrance to the Piripiri caves.
Inside the caves.
Lastly, we stopped at the Marokopa Falls. While we loved the Bridal Veil Falls, this was as good if not better. It flows over terraced rocks and is really spectacular. The very dense forest surrounding it was just as delightful.
It was some seriously dense "jungle" like forest to trek through.
Marokopa Falls
We twisted our way home and after the kids jumped on the trampoline before having our birthday noodles and a NZ lemon cake. It had some sort of lemony filling and lemon frosting and was quite delicious. The kids also had Gooey Gooey Gum Drop ice cream (appropriately green for Gabe).
After some much needed laundry, we headed for bed.
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