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Blogs from Waitomo Caves, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania
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April 22nd 2013
Monday, 22nd April - Day Nineteen: Rotorua to Waitomo 163km (98 miles). On Highway 30 we head back southwest across country to Waitomo to visit the intriguing wet and dry caves where we see glowworms for the first time. They’re fascinating to see in the darkness of the caves - little pinpricks of light that attract all kinds of flying insects from the pools or river beneath our feet. Our guide briefly flashes a torch so that we can see the thin threads that hang from them to catch their food. The caves may not be as cavernous as others elsewhere but do have their own unique atmosphere. As we travel the road, we stop for a moderate to difficult forest walk to see one of the oldest trees in the country, the Pouakani Totara Tree, ... read more
Waitomo Caves - seeing stars
Published: March 20th 2013Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Waitomo Caves
March 12th 2013
We arrived in Waitomo after some lovely walks on the way through some dark caves and an old gold mining cave. This was really fun trying to walk through caves with no light and then coming out the other end to the most beautiful scenes of green trees as far as the eye can see and crystal clear lakes hundreds of feet below. Once in waitomo me and Pete went off for our guided tour of the glow worm caves. The rest of our friends had opted to do the various activities that included tubing through the caves or abseiling and tubing but as we have already done these kind of activities throughout our travels we just opted for the walk and mini boat ride. The tour was only half an hour and involved walking though ... read more
February 28th 2013
Ahhhh finally a great nights sleep! Our little cabin was warm, comfy and quiet, which made the 7.15am start a bit easier. Our first stop was a refreshing walk along the old gold mining tunnels at Karangahake, the rocky streams and chain bridges made for some nice pictures. We then stopped at the town of Paeroa, home of the world famous 'L&P' lemon sparkling drink - thought to be a great hangover cure. Our final destination for the day was Waitomo caves, we both chose slightly different activities so parted ways for the afternoon. I chose the Black Labyrinth tour where you descend down into the cave and sit in a donut while floating underneath the amazing glow worms that light up the ceiling. There were a few ... read more
Waitomo Caves, Tongariro National Park and short stopover in Wellington
Published: February 20th 2013Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Waitomo Caves
February 12th 2013
I left Auckland early in the morning and from Ignacio's house I took a train to Britomart Station. I had spent two more days in Auckland than initially intended and I needed to break the inertia and get going. I got just in time to board the bus that would get me to Waitomo. I bought a bus pass, valid for 5 rides, from the "Naked Bus" company. I had to change buses in Hamilton and arrived at around noon in Waitomo. The main attraction of Waitomo are the "glowworm caves". This is just a fancy name for larvae that glow in the dark. I had heard it was worth a visit and these larvae are endemic to New Zealand and Australia, so I decided to check it out. For more information on these "bugs", wikipedia ... read more
January 21st 2013
we left New Plymouth after a delicious breakfast of fresh fruits ( even rhubarb!), yoghurt and croissants and drove North, first along the coast road and then inland to Waitomo. not much to see on,the way.we checked into the guest lodge which is ok and not much else and then took the very expensive two cave tour. there seems to be a labyrinth of caves and rivers under the hill in this area, it almost looks like Tuscany from above and stalagtites and stalagmites underground with the amazing addition of light produced by hundreds of thousands of glowworms that stick to the rooves of the caves searching for prey. we travelled along the underground waterway in a rubber dinghy in the dark...unusual to say the least!... read more
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January 21st 2013
we left New Plymouth after a delicious breakfast of fresh fruits ( even rhubarb!), yoghurt and croissants and drove North, first along the coast road and then inland to Waitomo. not much to see on,the way.we checked into the guest lodge which is ok and not much else and then took the very expensive two cave tour. there seems to be a labyrinth of caves and rivers under the hill in this area, it almost looks like Tuscany from above and stalagtites and stalagmites underground with the amazing addition of light produced by hundreds of thousands of glowworms that stick to the rooves of the caves searching for prey. we travelled along the underground waterway in a rubber dinghy in the dark...unusual to say the least!... read more
November 23rd 2012
No reports from Plamerston North. Just a town for a stop over, same can be said of Turangi, although as the trout capital of the world I did want to wet a line. Had a nice meal (overpriced) in the fishing lodge restaurant. We did not stay here as the rate is $400 per night (£220 for a bed only). Next day was caving in Waitomo which is famous for limestone caves, glow worms and stalagmites /ctites. 3 caves and each one different which we covered over two days. 2 were very commercial but still enjoyable and the third was our own private tour, well there were actually 3 of us and a guide.... read more
November 18th 2012
Stayed in Auckland by beach again. Got chatting to a lecturer in Maori History, learnt a lot abouth the culture. Supposed to have been volunteering today but it all went a bit wrong. Long story. Went to Hamilton and Pirongia instead, and took a walk through Pirongia Forest Park. Using a very dodgy PC and taking an age to type this so will sign off for now. Staying at Otorohanga tonight. Got a tour booked for Waitomo Caves tonight.... read more
Hot Water Beach & Waitomo
Published: September 7th 2012Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Waitomo Caves
September 7th 2012
We arrive at our hostel at Hot Water Beach and we went straight down to the beach where you can dig yourself a hole in the sand at low tide and you'll find the water to be really hot. Unfortunately the tide wasn't low enough and not even a whole bus of us could find a good spot where the water was hot enough. And if we did, the waves just destroyed our efforts. Oh well, worth a try. We then went for a scenic walk and discovered the picturesque cathederal cove. That night we made lots of noise in the kitchen in the hostel and played drinking games until we were told to leave. Standard. After Hot Water Beach was Waitomo. This is where we went on a caving adventure which consisted of abseiling vertically ... read more
July 14th 2012
Afgelopen twee dagen was ik in Waitomo, een plaats die bekend staat om zijn grotten. Een van de attracties was de zogenaamde 'Black Abyss', een vijf-uur durend ondergronds avontuur. Hier kon ik uiteraard niet omheen, dus daar heb ik mijn weekend omheen gepland. Vrijdag ben ik in Waitomo aangekomen met de bus, en na wat spullen gedumpt te hebben bij het hostel waar ik zou overnachten ben ik richting de Waitomo Glowworm Caves gelopen. Dit zijn de grotten die Waitomo op de kaart geplaatst hebben, de aanwezige glowworms zijn namelijk zeer uniek! Ze bieden allerlei tours aan door de plaatselijke grotten, en overal zul je wel een paar glowwormpjes tegenkomen. Ik heb twee tours gevolgd door de grotten, een door de Waitomo Glowworm Caves en een door Ruakuri. Tijdens de Glowworm Caves tour vertelde een gids ... read more
