Ohakune & The Waitomo Caves

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Wanganui
June 10th 2007

Published: August 7th 2007

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bigtrip06

Where Adventure Begins...And It Rains Alot

Well the car was pink, very very pink but came at a bargain basement price so we weren´t complaining (well not too much). At least it attracted a smile wherever it went especially with us two driving. To make it feel somewhat masculine we christened it Cleatus - the least feminine name we could think of. After picking up a trolley of supplies (And Ciaran figured out how to drive an automatic) we hit the road to Ohakune. We reached Ohakune in the lashing rain at about 4pm and got settled into our hostel.

Ohakune is located at the southern end of the Tongariro National Park, close to the southwestern slopes of the active volcano Mount Ruapehu (more famusly known as one of the mountains used to portray Mount Doom in Lord of The Rings). It is also home to what is reputedly the world's largest model of a carrot, celebrating the area as sourcing a high proportion of New Zealand carrots (Now for ye).

After getting the "carrot shots" we drove to the National Park and onwards to Mt Ruapehu. Unfortunately due to low fog and the fact that a lot of the road was closed due to

Loading Up The Car

snow we had to turn back after 10km with only a fleeting glance at the mountain.

The rain continued all that evening and through to the following morning. We decided to cut our losses and go to the only guaranteed dry spot in the area - The Waitomo caves. It was about a 2 and a half hour drive and Cleatus struggled with some of the hills but we made it.

The caves were fairly close to closing themselves as they involve a boat trip and the water level was rising. As a result we did the Waitomo Glowworm Cave first which is a spectacular cave covered in stalagmites and stalactites but the highlight is the glowworms. After boarding a boat our guide pulled us into position under thousands of glow worms using their light to attaract prey from the water below.

After Waitimo we drove to Aranui Cave about 3kms away. At the very start of the tour our guide introduced us to the giant weta insects that live inside the caves entrance. Happy to leave them where they were we moved on. The cave was spectacular and the tour was really good.

After the