More sun showers

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On arriving at Waitomo we checked in to the Juno hall backpackers hostel and then, after a quick bite to eat, headed out in the dark with our torches for a short walk in the nearby Ruakuri valley to see a glow worm area. Amazing little creatures that use a chemical reaction to produce light (to lure their prey). Somehow we managed to dodge the showers (Andy still doesn't believe that we miss the showers because of my Irish luck) and returned to the hostel for a dose of Fawlty Towers(not our choice of video but as funny as always).

The following morning we were booked in for the Black Abyss tour of the Ruakuri caves. We'd heard that water levels were nearing the safety cut off level the day before and after heavy overnight rain the trip guides weren't sure whether the trip would go ahead. It took sometime to get all the kit on for the trip - full wetsuits, gumboots, helmets, abseiling racks, etc - and all the while it rained hard. So things weren't looking good but we carried on as normal.

We finally got the news that the water level was just ok when half the group were at the bottom of the abseil! The trip itself invovled an abseil 37m down a narrow hole into the caves, jumping into the cold black river (Toni fell off her tube and was fully immersed), tubing along a glowworm studded cavern, wading and floating down the fast flowing river (the guide did casually mention part way through that the water levels were as high as he'd been down there with a group) and then climbing/caving our way back out to the surface up a side stream. Lots of fun but we didn't really feel scared at any point and they said that the adrenaline level should be high. All in all a memorable trip but recent price rises (25% in just over a year) did leave us feeling that it was a bit on the expensive side - NZ$175 for around 2hrs underground.

We were lucky enough to have a few 'locals' on the trip who told us about a few neaby attractions that we should take a look at (not in the guide books and free!). They also introduced us to the concept of 'sun showers' which aptly described the weather we've been experiencing since arriving here.

After a short drive, we walked first too the spectacular Manokupa waterfalls, then to the Piripiri caves and finally a huge natural limestone bridge. We then returned to the Ruakuri valley to see the impressive gorge in daylight before hitting the road again, this time for the thermal pools of Rotorua.

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