Today was the Waitomo caves. I booked the “triple cave combo”, and drove along to the first one, the Ruakuri Cave, to join the 9am tour party. The rain was hammering down outside, but inside it was (mostly!) dry, cold, and quiet. We had an excellent guide, who knew the history of the cave system, and also had been involved in digging out mud in order to open it up to tourists.
The tour lasted nearly 2 hours, with many wondrous sights. To get in, we descended a deep shaft using a large spiral ramp.
I didn’t manage a good photo of the entry ramp, so I got a postcard
The sights started almost immediately, with wonderful stalactites (growing down) and stalagmites (growing up). We learned the water deposits new material at about a cubic centimetre a century.
Stalactites, up close
amazing coral-like structure
sheets of rock
atmospheric lighting
so many stalactites
caves within caves
a large cavern (note the handrail at the bottom, for scale)
other people enjoying the caves in their own way
a giant funnel
After walking round in dazed wonder, we re-emerged blinking into daylight. The rain had just about stopped, and it was a short drive up to the next site: the Aranui Cave. This was a shorter tour, just under an hour, but no less spectacular.
small stalactites and stalagmites, some connected
A ceiling full of spikes. Some are broken. This cave has been open longer, and in the early days, before it was known how long the stalactites took to grow, tourists were allowed to break pieces off as souvenirs.
over 6 feet high: like a vast leg
a ceiling like ice cream
a vast cavern; see handrail at bottom for scale
a petrified waterfall
I’m running out of things to say other than “wow!”
so fragile to have survived so long in a geologically active region
more petrified falling water
the huge cavern on the way back: see heads at bottom for scale!
this is what makes the stone features -- slowly
When we left this cave, not only had the rain stopped completely, but the sun had come out, and it was a beautiful day. I had no specific time on my ticket for the third cave trip, so I decided to do the short Ruakuri bush walk, which my host at last night’s B&B had told me was the “best bush walk in New Zealand”. It goes along a river which itself goes through a natural tunnel (the path goes over the top though).
The sign suggested it was a 30 minute tramp. I took an hour. (That sounds better than “it took me an hour”.)
a natural tunnel
the path goes through a twisty tunnel of its own
beautiful mossy trees
a view from inside the river tunnel (view accessed down a dark unlit staircase...)
another tunnel along the path: at least with this one, I could see the other end!
a view down to the river
the other end of the natural tunnel
Although I have no sense of direction, I did get a bit confused along this path as the river seemed to switch direction. Then I saw a map: the river performs a 180° turn in the tunnel.
On the walk I passed two other people, until I got close to the end, when I passed a noisy crowd of about 10 teenagers on a tramp. Like with my Kauri forest visit, the solitude was part of the experience. I don’t know if it is the best bush walk in New Zealand; however, it is an excellent bush walk.
Next, back down the road to the Waitomo glowworm cave. We weren’t allowed to photograph in this one, as there were a lot of parties milling about, and it gets very dark. There was a short walk through a big cavern with lots of stalactites: very impressive, then, once our eyes had adjusted, onto a boat to see the glowworms. Um, wow! There is a big cave system with a lake that the boat moves slowly and silently down, and a relatively low roof, utterly smothered in glowworms. When the boat is still, it looks like an exceptionally starry night (except that the points of light are too evenly spaced for stars). When the boat moves, the shape of the roof becomes apparent. I’m running out of superlatives, but, amazing!
Once I had done with Waitomo, I headed off to the Otorohanga Kiwi House, to see some more kiwis. This site again had a night enclosure, with four kiwis in separate pens. The largest kiwi, a mature female, was very active, strutting around her enclosure, probing the ground for food. Then it was feeding time. The keeper entered her pen with the food, and the kiwi went bonkers, running around, really fast, and kicking the keeper, really hard. The keeper told us after that she had been hospitalised twice over the years, once from a deep peck, and once when a kick hit her knee (rather than her tough boots). So much for fragile sweet little birds!
three stuffed kiwis on display; the live kiwis are in a much darker environment
There was a lot more to see, but I had had my fill for the day, and finished off with a short drive to Tamahere, where the friends I’m staying with over the weekend live.
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