Day 67 - Kiwis, Cave Rafting, Glow-worms and a Very Happy Corrie

As we’d stopped the night at the campsite right next to the Kiwi House we also received a 10% discount for this place and, therefore, decided to make this our first visit of the day. This was where Danny saw his first real life kiwi, something he wasn’t too fussed about earlier, and seemed pretty impressed by the bird, especially its size. These birds are nocturnal but they had two of them in dark enclosures for viewing during the day. There were other birds in this place so we spent some time wandering around the whole enclosure before moving on.

Our next stop was at the Waitomo Caves where we hoped to see some glow-worms and try some black water rafting. We were a bit apprehensive about doing the rafting and weren’t fully sure about what it involved but decided to try and book a 12:00 slot. The lady behind the desk then informed us that two slots were available at 10:30, the time was 10:28 and so we had no time to either think or worry about it as we paid for our places. We quickly grabbed our swimming gear and towels before meeting the others and going to get kitted up. Once we were all in our wetsuits and gumboots (wellies) we were driven down to a river where we could choose our rubber rings (over-inflated inner-tubes.) The technique to getting a good ring was to make sure your bum would snuggly fit through it when bent over; so there we all were, picking up tube after tube and bending over to see if they fit over our bums. This seemed to draw the attention of nearby tourists in the car park, especially when it was time for the group photo with us all demonstrating how we’d picked our perfect tubes! We then made our way down to a tiny jetty where we were taught how to jump backwards from the edge of a drop safely; we were then made to do it to prove we’d been listening. This experience put doubts in Corrie’s mind as to whether or not she was going to enjoy the rafting experience but she carried on regardless.

At the cave entrance we all entered one by one until we were all gathered inside with our head-torches on and awaiting instructions. We were given a quick briefing about what would happen and then began to make our way deeper into the cold, dark cave system. We soon came to our first jump point and all lined up ready to jump backwards, with our bums on the inner-tubes, off of the 2metre or so high waterfall into the darkness below. This was fun and Corrie’s first impressions of this experience seemed to have changed for the better now. We made our way through the water of the caves; sometimes walking, inner-tubes in hand, and other times we would sit in the tubes and paddle our way along. There did come a point, after the second leap of faith, where we all created a long, eel-like chain with us as the links aptly named the eel. In this formation we turned off our torches and moved through the darkness using ropes to pull us along at points or just paddling in unison. Whilst bobbing along we could all take in the star-like spots of light up above us; needless to say these were the glow-worms of the cave and there were loads of them. Some of these creatures were just inches above our heads, slightly disturbing given that the drop down loads of mucus threads that are a few inches in length to catch their prey. We also learnt that the glow is a chemical reaction and is basically their poop! These things look pretty magical but are quite gross in reality.

We eventually were told to find our own way out of the caves using the glow-worms as a guide, and no head-torches. This was nice and peaceful, and after a while we could all see the light at the end of the tunnel.

After all getting hot showers we headed to the canteen area where we all could have some soup and a bagel to warm ourselves up a little more. We both went and bought the pictures from the trip on a USB stick so that both ourselves and you lot could laugh at the pair of us in our wetsuit attire and helmets.

We then had to drive a fair way to get to Judy and Paul’s place and so didn’t hang around too long at Waitomo. We did make a short stop in the little town of Egmont so we could get a couple of snaps of the dormant volcano dominating the skyline for miles around – Mount Taranaki.

We soon reached the town of Hawera and the part of our travels Corrie had been waiting for – seeing her mum! After relaxing in the last of the day’s sun with a couple of drinks to further the unwinding we all had tea. We then spent the night chatting, drinking, and having Corrie’s second birthday do of the month… and second birthday cake of the month also!