Diving - Northland style, and glowworms

Full body 7 mm wetsuits for two days in a row - really, what more can a person want :) It was cold water out on the Tutukaka Coast yesterday, and colder water today while exploring the Waitomo Caves. Both were fabulous in their own way.

After diving the Great Barrier Reef, we had a semi-lazy day in Port Douglas before flying to New Zealand. We arrived in Wellington close to midnight, and wearily found our night's accommodations. The next day, we explored Te Papa, the well-known and highly recommended national museum in Wellington. It is definitely worth a visit. Lots of good information, well-designed, and enough hands-on activities for the kids. New Zealanders have a good sense of humor, even when it comes to their professional presentations. I wish I could remember some of the signs, but one (referring to invertebrates) was something like "you spineless creature!" and talking about crustaceans "crusty critters". You get the idea; we were amused.

After Te Papa, we roamed around the city for a bit before having dinner and calling it a night. The following day, we took the Overlander train from Wellington to Auckland. We had a gorgeous, sunny day. It was great to see the geography change as we made our way north. The day was so clear that we were able to see Mt. Taranaki and Mt. Ruapehu. The trip took most of the day, but we finally made it to Auckland. The following day, we rented a car, and headed up to Northland. It was another sunny day, and we made a few stops along the way to Whangarei. We checked out Whangarei Waterfall and went for a short walk through that area which is dotted with kauri trees. Finally, the day arrived for another day of diving.

We woke up early to head a bit further north to Tutukaka. After getting our gear and heading out to the Poor Knights Islands (we saw a whale on the way out), it was time to dive. I really, really enjoy getting into the gear necessary for colder water dives. Ummm, not really, but it was totally worth feeling squished and then cold. According to the late Jacques Cousteau, the diving at the Poor Knights Islands is the best in the world. It is definitely the most unique that I have seen yet (me and my oh so experienced self :). Instead of coral reef, it is formed by volcanic rock and giant kelp have grown on top of it. The fish are just as colorful, and the kelp is amazing. We had a bit of a surge while diving, so the kelp sways in the water like grass in the wind. It was awesome to see. As you look around, and investigate a bit, you see a variety of fish (take your pick of colors and sizes) swimming through the kelp or near the rock. If you look very carefully, you'll even see some scorpion fish. Our guide motioned us over at one point to show us an urchin like thing. I dont' remember the name. Underwater it looks black, but he shined a light on it, and we could see the red that it is in natural light. When we were out of the water, he explained that if you took it up to sea level, it would be a fiery red. So awesome! The surges took a bit getting used to, but once I did, it was fun to just let the water move me back and forth. Lots more nudibranches to see - basically really colorful sea slugs in various sizes. They are interesting little creatures. I know we saw more, but I don't have my dive book in front of me. Oh, we had a few dolphins that weren't too far off from the boat. A truly lovely day, even with the cold.

We headed down to Waitomo Caves to go on a black water rafting adventure. It's black water because you are tubing in a cave, so the water looks black. More neoprene for us, and we were off. Only, this time, we had on helmets with lights instead of hoods and masks. There were a few tight spots, two little waterfalls to jump over, and hundreds, if not thousands of glowworms to see. There were a few different points were everyone turns off their headlamps to see the glowworms on the cave's ceiling. It's like looking at the stars in the sky. Absolutely gorgeous, even when you know that what you are looking at is maggot poop. Yep, that lovely luminescence in the cave is the result of an enzyme and a waste product. Still, it sure looks pretty.

We've made our way up to Rotorua (really enjoying the sulphur smell here :), and will be seeing some geothermal areas tomorrow as well as enjoying a traditional Maori hangi.

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