Caving and Glow Worms

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Our first stop this morning was actually just outside of Rotorua, at the Te Puia Geothermal Reserve. Here we were led by a Maori on a guided walk through the Reserve, where learned a bit about all the thermal activiy around this area, and we saw our first live Kiwis (although they lived in a Kiwi bird house) Since they are nocturnal birds, and pretty close to be extinct, our chances of ever seeing a Kiwi in the wild, are pretty much nonexistant, so this was pretty cool to observe this big birds. (btw, did you know that Kiwis cannot fly and are of the same family as the Emu and Ostrich?, and that once Kiwi's meet their life partner, they never get together with anohter bird, even if one of them dies early, or that the female lays and egg that is about 1/3 of her own body size?, pretty interesting, eh?)
Anyhow, after we saw the big geysers stpi water up (about 5 m high) , and walked the reserve a bit more, we really had enough of the smell, and we got back on the bus to head towards Waitomo. Waitomo is known for its cave system, blackwater rafting and the glow worms who hang from the ceiling in the caves! A couple of the more adventorous travellers on the bus decided to go on the Abyss trip with the Blackwater rafting company, but those who know me well, will also know that i am not much of a fan of spending my time in dark, enclosed spaces, so i was not one the daring who went on inner tubes through the cave system. I opted for the guided walk and boat tour through the caves, which was just as amazing, and a lot less scary! The glow worms really look like stars on the ceiling of the caves, and it was most impressive to float on the boat through the caves, in total darkness (but without getting wet and cold, like those adventurous people did) and see the worms hanging from the ceiling. The rest of the afternoon was up to us, and since i do enjoy going out for a bit of a hike, i stretched my legs out on a hike/jog for about 2.5 hours to a nearby bushwalk. The trip took me across fields and up and down hills, where i had to chase a herd of sheep and then a herd of cows out of the way since they were blocking the walking track! If that is not the true New Zealand experience! After a great shower, our kiwi bus got together for a bit of a BBQ at the hostel and we had a great evening of hanging out and trading stories.!

ok, almost caught up, one more to go...

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Comments

[beth and rob]

kiwis
amazing steffi - can not believe you got to see live kiwis!!! stay warm - we are enviously enjoying your trip - we have a great tour guide!!