Cows, Sheep, and Glow Worms

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Short post today - wifi has been scarce. Yesterday was a great day! We drove two hours from Auckkand to Waitomo through lovely farmland. I've never seen so many cows in my life! We checked into our B&B, had lunch at a tiny brew pub down the street, and headed out on our cave trip. Thank you Trip Advisor for recommending Spellbound Tours and the smaller caves. Six of us hopped in a little van with our guide and drove past the main caves where tour buses were stacked on top of each other. We drove 30 minutes into the hills, hiked into a valley, donned our hard hats, and headed into the cave. Our guide has been caving here his whole life. He taught us so much about these caves and the glow worms. He put us on a little raft and had us turn off our headlamps, and we floated down into the blackness until suddenly our eyes adjusted and we saw thousands of glowing lights on the ceiling and reflecting in the water. We floated in silence, enjoying the quiet of the deep cave, hearing only drips of water off stalactites and a distant falls in the cave. It was truly a magical experience. One we wouldn't have had with the hoardes of tourists in the other cave battling for position. We came out of this cave and enjoyed afternoon tea in an open barn in the valley, getting to know our Danish and Canadian travel companions, while curious sheep pretended to graze while getting closer and closer to the gates that surrounded us. We hiked off to the second cave after that, enjoying more time together. Last night Aaron and I did our first bushwalk here, enjoying the lush surroundings and exploring little caves on our own. It was an awesome day!!!

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