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Published: February 10th 2011
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Waitomo Caves Boat
No pictures were allowed till we were out of the caves. Once again, I woke at 5:00. This time, at least, I wasn't gasping for breath; the inhalers had done that much good. I'd planned to get up at 5:30, so there wasn't much harm done. I did some last-minute packing, ate breakfast, left messages for Jim on Chatzy, and was at the bus stop by 7:15.
To my delighted surprise, the Rotorua-Auckland trip went perfectly. I got my favorite seat on the bus (left front), and there were never more than eleven passengers so we were all pleasantly uncrowded. My shoulder was well braced, not least because the driver was very firm about my wearing a seatbelt. I could barely fit into the belt, but I
could fit, so I wore it.
The driver began his commentary by referring to Rotorua as "this little corner of Paradise." Given my experiences in Rotorua, and its sulphurous reek, I couldn't help reflecting that he was thinking of the wrong afterlife. Of course, I didn't say so out loud.
The bus' onboard restroom was out of commission, so we had an extra rest stop, an interesting one. We stopped at a scenic overlook. Below us was a dam, wide enough to
accommodate automobile traffic. The interesting thing was that it was curved; I believe, but am not certain, that it was a complete S.
The Waitomo Caves were marvelous. At the entrance, our guide warned us, just as the Te Anau guide had done, that we would need to duck our heads at the entrance. We did -- but not by much. In my case, tucking my chin down against my chest was sufficient. The entrance was well lit, and the low place only lasted for a few feet.
Indeed, the whole first half of the tour was well lit. The focus was on admiring the rock formations, and they were indeed well worth seeing. That part of the cave was almost entirely dry and the ceilings were much higher than the ceilings in the Te Anau cave.
At one point, the guide told us that we were in an underground chamber noted for its acoustics, and that famous singers had come to perform there. Several recordings had even been made in the caves.
The guide asked whether any of us would like to demonstrate the acoustics by singing, so I sang the first verse of Poul
Andersen's "Three kings rode out on the road to Hell...." The acoustics were great and it came out sounding pretty good, especially considering the pummeling my voice must have taken in Rotorua.
The guide thanked me, and then, quietly, as an aside while the others looked at the rocks, asked my name and country of origin. Somewhat mystified, I told him. "I will add your name to the list of those who have sung here," he said. I was thrilled, and I immediately wished I'd sung the whole song. But that would probably have been inappropriate; there are four more verses and it would have taken too long.
When we got to the water section, the boat was much larger and easier to get into. The glowworms, while recognizably of the same species, looked completely different. In the Te Anau caves, the focus had been on the glowing lines each insect had made as they fished for food, and the view had been of shimmering lace studded with tiny sparkling dots which were the insects themselves.
In the Waitomo Caves, there were far more glowworms, and their lines were accordingly shorter. The effect, at least to my
Corrugated iron sheepdog
There was a corrugated iron sheep next to it, but I didn't get a picture of it. vision, was a pattern of bright triangles rather than a tracery of lines against the night. On the high ceilings, the glowworms looked like the Milky Way; on the walls and the closer outcroppings, they looked like a solid light-sculpture done with LEDs behind translucent plastic (the plastic forming the triangles).
Both caves were beautiful, but they were completely different, and the Waitomo Caves were much easier to move through. I would gladly go back to them, if only to sing the rest of "Three Kings" 😊
Lunch was a buffet at The Big Apple Cafe. For $25, we had our choice of fish or steak (I took fish, of course), unlimited trips to a buffet with salad and various side dishes, including chicken wings and french fries, and apple cobbler a la mode for dessert. I ate heartily, as it was the first buffet I'd had since Milford Sound. The apple cobbler was especially good.
We had a second rest stop at a travel plaza while the bus refuelled, but it was uneventful, except that I learned from a free magazine that Auckland was now one city instead of a conurbation of several. This change was apparently quite recent, and indeed our bus driver said that it had happened only three months ago, at the most recent local elections.
Kevan, an online acquaintance whom I know because we play the same online game, met me at the bus station and took me to YHA Auckland City. Once I had been assigned my room, we went to a nearby hotel's cafe and he treated me to hot chocolate.
He's invited me to stay with him and his family for my last three days in New Zealand, and, after talking it over with Jim, I've accepted.
I haven't known Kevan anywhere near as long as I've known Sue, with whom I stayed in Palmerston North, but we've been exchanging a flurry of e-mails and I think everything will be all right. He seems bookish and pleasant. He works with computers as Jim does.
It is a strange coincidence that the three New Zealanders who've offered to let me stay with them on this trip have the same first names as three of the four friends who witnessed our wedding 21 years ago. Elizabeth and Mike were my maid of honor and Jim's best man respectively, and Sue and Kevin, who weren't Christian and so couldn't have roles in the service, were our sole guests and civil witnesses.
YHA Auckland City is a nicer hostel than I'd remembered. Of course, it helps that I've got a double bed this time; I won't have that next weekend. But the staff is very friendly and helpful, and the furnishings seem more cheerful than I'd recalled. Probably it is only that I am more cheerful. After all, I had just gotten off the plane when I was last here.
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