Day 16-Rotorua to Waitomo

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The alarm went off at 7:30am. We got up to start our day off with packing our bags, getting some breakfast and getting on the bus by 8:45am for departure. We didn’t want to make the same mistake as yesterday and not eat breakfast as it made us really hungry. The good thing is the remainder of our trip the drives in between each city are not that long possibly 2-3 hours each day.

The first stop was Agrodome about five minutes outside of Rotorua. This was a hilarious one hour show about the agriculture in New Zealand for 13.50NZD=$9.85USD. The following animals were included in the show: 19 breeds of sheep, 1 dairy cow, 2 different types of dogs for sheep farmers and ducks. Pete and I actually both participated in the show; I milked a cow and Pete bottle fed a lamb.

Growing up on a farm you would have thought that I had milked a cow before but we didn’t have dairy cows and this was my 1st time and Pete’s 1st time bottle feeding a lamb. Not so rare it was Pete’s 1st time since he grew up in urban areas.

Next we stopped to pick up some of the passengers that did the Zorb see the pictures below. It was over $45NZD=$32.85 USD for less than 45 seconds of adventure. You are placed inside a huge plastic ball with warm water and basically roll around the ball as you roll down the hill. After we gathered the Zorb riders we were on to Waitomo.

We rode for about 1 hr and 40 minutes when we stopped in a small town for lunch and to grab any groceries we wanted as our accommodations for the evening were in a very small town(smaller than Deer Grove, IL). The main attraction in Waitomo are caves that have Glowworms in them.

There were 4 different tours offered as how to see the glow worms so Pete and I decided on the longest and MOST adventurous of the options; 4-5 hour tour including abseiling, zip line, floating the underground river, climbing waterfalls and jumping down waterfalls ALL inside the cave. It was 194NZD=$141/person. The tour also included 2 snacks along the trip and soup/bagel at the end of the trip.

We paid for our tour then got back on the bus for a 3 minute drive to check into the Kiwi Paka YHA Hostel. It was close to 2pm and our tour would be picking us up at the hostel reception at 3pm. We got a double room 66NZD=$48.18USD but this one had no bathroom in the room. The hostel is still great as it is less than 7 years old and has lots of amenities.

At 3pm we began our adventure along with 6 others on our Kiwi Experience bus; 2 girls from Germany, 2 guys and 1 girl from Sweden, 1 other American plus Pete and I. We were about to embark on a GREAT time but had no idea how awesome it would be.

WOW we can’t even begin how to describe this experience except if you ever come to Waitomo, New Zealand this is a MUST DO. Waitomoe Black Water Rafting Black Abyss tour. www.waitomo.com

Check out the photos below. The 8 of us in our group purchased one CD and then copied the pictures on to our computers/flash drives coming to a total cost of 2.50NZD per person=$1.83USD great deal since no cameras were allowed in the caves as we were in FREEZING cold water most of the time.

Prior to the caves we were given lessons on how to use the repelling equipment properly. We had a few photos and were ready to climb down into the cliff. Pete was the first one to repel into the cave. I would go second. Some 20 down you had to pass thru a narrow passage way which looked pitch black after that. The guide told me that it was narrow for only about 4 meters (12 ft)

I watched Pete disappear into black and waited nervously. On my way down I had no idea how far I had to go. In all I think it was close to 80 ft before I touched the ground. We then waited a little further down the cave with our lights off. This would give the other cavers the same experience when they entered the cave. The glow worms lit up the top of the cave like stars. It felt like we were outside on a cool evening since the internal cave temperature is a chilly 55 degrees. After we all reached the cave floor we traveled a few hundred meters where we were instructed to wait. This was the part of the cave tour which included a zip line. Pete was the first one up again. I would end up going second to last on this trip. Pete let out a woo hoo on his way down disappearing once again into the blackness. I got up and was harnessed onto the pulley. Slowly lowered then picked up a lot of speed before coming to an abrupt halt. I sat dangling in mid air and noticed the numerous glow worms throughout the cave. It felt like I was in outer space. Then the guide flipped on his light to reveal that he was right next to me. He helped me unlatch myself and pulled me towards the flat ground.

At this point we were told to sit along a cliff that sat about 10 ft above the calm underground river. At first it was so calm and quite I thought it may be mud. We dangled our feet over the cliff and were given hot coco and a delicious cookie treat. In the distance we could hear the sounds of faster moving water

Once again Pete was up to venture into the water first. We were told to hold the tube to our buts and jump into the water. SPLOOSH was the sound echoed in the cave when Pete and his tube hit the water. When I eventually landed if felt that my whole body was immersed in the water. The water was freezing. it’s a good thing the wet suits were so thick or the trip would have been miserable. The hands were cold but would eventually get used to the frigid waters.

We took hold of a rope and listened to the guides explain what we were actually looking at. The glow worms used their glowing light to attract insects near them. The insects would get caught in tiny webs of sticky fiber similar to a spider web. However these weren’t actually glow worms at all, in fact they are maggots. The adult fly lays 150 eggs but only 9 -12 would survive. The reason is that the fist maggot to hatch would eat the other larvae. This is necessary because that the glowing substance is their feces and they would need to eat something in order to generate the glowing light. The guide said that glow worms sounded a lot better than cannibalistic maggots with hot glowing shit.

After the tube ride we headed off on foot through some of the caverns. We were given another snack that included hot juice and chocolate. The ground was uneven and many of us fell often. We had a belly flop completion, climbed underneath a cave waterfall, and climbed up three separate waterfalls before we appeared in the natural daylight. We all jumped into a van that was parked close and traveled back to the company headquarters where we enjoyed tomato soup and bagels.

We arrived back at our hostel Kiwi Paka YHA Waitomo around 8pm pumped and exhausted. It was a physical and adrenaline adventure. We quickly showered and then went down to Curly’s Pub for our steak dinner that we booked for 13NZD=$9.49USD. Pete and I were not starving since we ate 3 different times along the Cave adventure, so we split one steak, sausage, potatoes, pasta salad and 2 dinner rolls. Of course we each had our own beer to end a great day.

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Photos

eating our first snack
before we jump over the edge into the water

Comments

[Mom]

Rotourua
I love the desription of the glowworms!!! I love seeing the pictures...but there is no way in hell I would have done that!!!!! I will wait and see Dad's opinion....Sure glad you are having fun!!!

[Caitlin]

How awesome! We actually went to the Agrodome when we were there too which was a riot, but what a fantastic experience on your tour! And great photos!