Road Trip #2 Part 1 - Waitomo Caves

19 June 2006

We set off from Auckland for our second road trip. This time however our last stop would not be back in Auckland but in Wellington on the southernmost tip of New Zealand’s north island. We were faced with the age old question – how do we get there!? By this time we had experienced enough to know how to get most from a road trip. We started by hiring another car which had to be slightly larger than the sunny since we are taking our copious amounts of luggage along with us. (We have so many bags you could swear we were immigrating… well, yes, hehe we are!)



Mount Eden Crater (Extinct Volcano Remember...)
The small specs are people... this thing is like a wok for the gods hehe Mount Eden View - Nice even if I do say so myself... Auckland in night time from mount Eden. Yes, I was cold... :) We have been in New Zealand for over 3 weeks at this point and almost 2 of those weeks were spent in the
mount Eden area of Auckland. Here we lived in the “Oakland Lodge” at the foot of mount Eden (One of the multitude of extinct volcanoes that shaped the Auckland region) Awesome days were mingling with other travelers. Some were warm hearted and others stuck to “nod and smile” communication since they couldn’t speak English all that well. We shared a room for the first 3 days, then had to move since that room was pre-booked before we arrived. For 3 nights I shared a room with a Japanese nod and smile dude (Komichua ek sê!) while John and Liza shared their room with a sweet American girl who worked at a local Belgian tavern. Later that week Chayenne moved to a single room an I moved in with John and Liza again. We had some good times playing guitar and singing until 2 am, watching movies, chatting with other foreigners about places they’ve been and sharing ideas on God. Some cool friends were made. To all the guys and gals we met, thanks for a good time! Especially Peter, we’ll look you up in Czechoslovakia when we’re in the area. Also our new Israeli, German and British friends – Cheers! And so after saying our goodbyes we were off to destination Wellington in a rented 7seater-people-mover-van-thing. (purple, ugly thing but at least the radio worked… now and then) We considered making a one day dash for Wellington but that would bore us to death and back so consensus was reached to take a 4 day detour! First we headed south on the main southern motorway and turned west toward Raglan beach one click north of Hamilton. On the way to Raglan I spotted sign stating that the Bridal Veil Falls were 14 km to my left… But I know for a fact that the Bridal Veil falls is this beautiful little waterfall just outside of Sabie in Mpumelanga, South Africa. Without a second thought I turned from our planned route to go have a little look-see. First you have to understand that the long sweeping yet never-ending hills that fill the countryside south of Auckland give way to steeper ravines and finally mountain passes as you near the west coast. And so we were traveling along this myriad of passes through incredible pastures of emerald green fields, patches of massive oak trees and meandering streams with no idea where we would find this waterfall. I saw in my minds eye this “waterfall” turning out to me an overstated river rapid… small unimpressive and weak but oh was I wrong. As unpredictable as only the
New Zealand landscape can be the peaceful farmland gave way to a monstrous hill covered in rainforest. We went up and over the near side and still no waterfall… I almost lost it but around the next hairpin bend we found the end of the rainbow. We parked the car and set off on a short 10 minute walk to find the Bridal Veil falls. The hike follows the western bank of the waterfalls source… ugghhhh stream… really it is probably the most relaxed stream ever, which poses a serious problem if you want an impressive waterfall… Anyhow we were following this stream staring at the forest canopy, leagues above, and gaping at natural orchids growing where fables of faeries begin. We finally left the music of a million falling droplets behind and found ourselves engulfed in the roar of a waterfall. What an impressive sight this 55 meter waterfall made in the backdrop of rainforest and blue sky! On one of my infamous three stooges photo sessions John and I were posing on the wrong side of the safety railing only a few slippery meters away from falling to oblivion. On the way back I slipped while jumping over the safety railing in youthful defiance and ended up in a slimy pool of mud. Great stuff… Check the pics included and laugh it up! Next we found raglan in our sights.Bridal Veil Falls (A few seconds before I fell face down into the dirt - funny funny) Scenic Falls

Raglan is a surfers’ paradise with waves getting more aggressive as you move south along the beach. No really, it’s like this one single beach has 3 separate sections of breaks. At the northernmost part you have a sluggish but long left hander that keeps you well clear of any rocky parts and ends in a loooong piece of whitewater – perfect for novices like me. Then, 200 meters up the beach you near the rocky parts and the waves are bigger and stronger showing a bit more face. Finally when you pass a tiny peninsula of rocks and whoa the surf takes your breath away…

Raglan Beach - Lekker waves hey

First sleepover pit stop – Waitomo. This is a Maori name (duhhh) meaning “place where the water disappears into the ground. (Wai – Water, Tomo – hole) It seriously is a place were normal streams disappear into caves and reappear the other side like a magician…The entire area is laid out on one of the worlds largest limestone cave systems. Sure the natural surroundings are brilliant. The hills are evergreen, mountains are breath taking and the rivers are crystal clear but the moment you enter Waitomo’s subterranean wonder world you get introduced to whole new levels of speechlessness. This speechless effect was rendered useless on the rest of our tour group which largely consisted of Korean students. They do not understand silence or quiet please. ;) One of the many wonders of the word only found in the south pacific is glowworms. These little creatures are found close to water and resemble the south African firefly version with a few exceptions. They spin sticky webs to catch food and are carnivorous eating other insects or other glowworms – cannibalistic glow in the dark freaks... hehehe They can also regulate the brightness of their glow-thing from soft sexy mood glow to literal “sun shining from rear end” hehe. This is of course how they attract their food … and … tourists! Glowworms inhabit the Waitomo caves by their millions and paint intricate pictures of the universe (in blue fluorescent tail light!) while your boat glides silently below (with a tour guide trying every tactful effort in the book to keep the Koreans that way too) Sure people feel inspired when they look up at the milky way on a clear night but replace the milky way with millions of glowworms and put yourself in a utterly dark cave and awe gets spelt A – W – E – S – O – M – E. Cathedral Cavern Glow Worms Waitomo Cave Exit

We spent the night in a farmhouse backpacker lodge complete with mist, full moon, and a indoor fireplace. What a picture! In the next post I’ll share some thoughts about the next leg of this journey as we head out to mount Ruapehu, the north island’s ski paradise.

Till later then, cheers!