Waitomo and the glowworms

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A short detour from the beaten track led us to Waitomo which you cant say has a lot to do. However it is home to the Waitomo limestone water caves which must be there number one (and only) attraction. These caves are home to the glow worms which is apparently unique to NZ. A walk through these caves was magnificent viewing the glow worms in their natural state, and we took a boat ride and viewed them hanging from the roof of the cave lighting up the way for us. If you are feeling a little more adventurous the black water rafting comes highly recommended where you can glide through the narrow passes of the caves on a black tube and abseil down the waterfalls inside the caves. Definitely should be avoided if you are even a little claustrophobic though! Some of the nearby gorge and bush walks can keep you busy here during the day and the caves are definitely worth the detour but make sure you bring a six pack and a pack of cards to keep yourself entertained at night!
Unfortunately you can't take pictures inside the caves so I only have mental pictures for this part of the trip.
Nearby was the town of Hobbiton, formally known as Mata Mata, and home to the Lord of the Rings craze, they can take you on all sorts of tours from the movie sets to the museum although they all come at a steep price and you need to be a real avid fan to get involved at those prices. We posed with the sign and stroked their statue of Gollum before heading on our merry way. Nearby was Mt Doom (pictured) also from LOTR although at this point I felt I needed to go home, watch the movies again and refresh my memory.

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