The magical glow worm caves

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When driving around New Zealand you've got to keep your wits about you. The roads are all quite narrow and some involve giving way to traffic you can't see that may be coming around the corner. It's also hard to keep your eyes on the road when driving past so many wonderful sights. The landscape in the north island reminded us a lot of the opening credits to Emmerdale (back when it was Emmerdale Farm) all rolling hills and gamboling lambs. Except the hills are a lot bigger and more vibrant than anything back home. The shades of green we have driven by are so rich they look like velvet. It's a beautiful country.

The drive to Waitomo from Lake Taupo wasn't so picturesque as all we could see was sheet rain. It was pretty scary, especially as many of the roads seem to be on the sides of mountains with no crash barriers. We made it safely though and pitched up at a campsite in Otorohanga which was managed by an elderly couple who lived in a converted bus on site. Next door was a Kiwi and bird park so we were serenaded all through the night by various birds including one that sounds like a power saw.

The main reason to visit Waitomo is to see the glow worm caves. Before going to see the glow worms we explored the Aranui cave which was only discovered in 1910 and is packed with stalactites (the long bits of stone that hang from the ceiling) and stalagmites (the ones that start from the ground up) of varying size. We were told how the stalictites grow an average of one cubic centimetre every 100 years. Some of those in the caves are millions of years old - mindblowing really.

The glow worm cave was magical. After an entertaining tour through the cave we were led to an underground river and loaded into boats where we had to sit in silence. Then with the guide pulling us through the water using overhead cables we floated through the darkness. Above us the cave was lit up by thousands of glow worms on the ceiling. It was just like looking at a star-filled sky. So peaceful.

We were supposed to follow the tranquility of the glow worm cave with a spot of black water rafting. Floating through a different cave and jumping over underground waterfalls on blow up tubes. Unfortunately this was cancelled because the cave was flooded so instead we headed out in the Spaceship to explore the free sights around Waitomo.

We ended up at a huge waterfall (Marokopa Falls) which was raging due to the recent rains and we got quite wet. The we went on a bush walk to see a two-tiered limestone natural arch before heading back to camp to watch Casino on our DVD player.

This was our last night in the camper - we survived with our relationship intact! To reward ourselves we checked in to the Mercure hotel in Auckland after returning the Spaceship. It was such a treat to have space and be able to stand up. And don't get me started on the proper bathroom. Bliss. We even had a TV with movie channels! As another treat we ditched our waterproofs in favour of our gladrags and went to the Orbit restaurant at the top of the Sky Tower. The view was amazing and the restaurant revolves doing one circuit every hour so we saw all of the city at sunset which was lovely. The food was delicious too although I was a bit disappointed that our "we've just got engaged" spiel was met with "oh you'll want to buy some champagne then" instead of "have some free champagne!" Never mind, maybe next time.

Feeling a bit reckless after a G&Ts, a bottle of wine and Baileys with dinner we headed to the casino. We didn't make our fortune but the slots pay out coins instead of vouchers like Vegas so it was really exciting hearing them shooting out and we nearly filled one of the giant cups with $2 coins. After a few spins at the roulette table we called it a night as we had an early bus to catch to Wellington. 12 hours on a coach - we weren't looking forward to that!

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