Sorry for the delay in writing we have been really busy since making New Zealand. We arrived around 8 am October 20 and disembarked shortly after our arrival. Our hired car was waiting for us right outside the disembarkation platform. We had prearranged with the boat to get off over night to be able to see a part of the island we would otherwise not be able to and to also do some excursions.
Our first stop was to be Waitoma on the other side of the island (West) two hours away from where the boat docked in Toranga. It was a pleasant drive. Forrest took to driving on the opposite side of the road quickly as usual.
Once there we arrived just in time for the tour. It was the the three of us plus one other American (girl) and an English girl. We got all our kit on which consisted of helmets, wet suits, climing harnesses, etc. Our two guides drove us up to the "jumping off" place. Once there they taught us how to absail. We practiced on a more friendly incline first (how to control descent speed etc). Once the guides felt we were ready they set us up ready enter the cave.
One of the guides went in first and we watched. The hole to the cave was about 3 meters by 2 meters in a craggy fissure in the ground. It was a rocky opening. About six meters above that was a descent platform where we dangled over the hole to begin a one hundred fifty foot descent into the darkness absailing the whole way. When i was in position (i went first) i looked up at the guide asking when he wanted me to go he playfully kicked my feet away from the side and i descended in. (you have good control over the speed). Below the other guide had the emergency line to make taut should any of us lose control of the descent. I bounced off the wall all the way down with my feet, hopping all the way as i descended at a comfortable speed. It was really cool.
Once we all got inside the cavern we hooked up to another line and ziplined down to the next level. The cave itself was deep and the rock itself had been carved by the underground hydrology of leaking water from the surface and an underground river. It looked as if the sides of the cavern and ceiling had melted away as if it were candle wax. Once we were a few meters from above the river level we grabbed inner tubes and one by one jumped into the river.
We floated for a distance in the underground system until we hit a high concentration of glow worms. The worms themselves are larvae that secret long threads that are sticky. The lights are chemical reactions that are carried by the thread like fiber optic. in the dark the clusters of glow worms look like constellations in the sky. it is quite incredible. The underground cave system was even more cool. We put the tubes back then traversed the cave system. It was not a place for the claustrophobic. we squeezed through some tight places some where our faces were no more than two inches from the surface of the water and nothing but rock above us.
The whole time the guide had been teasing us about eels in the water. Well it turns out there were. He took us to a shallow area where one particular eel made his home. He was about 4 ft long. Afterwards we climbed out of the caves up through three waterfalls. it was like rock climbing through a wall and carpet of water.
We all had an incredible time and the guides were fun and very skilled. We were all glad we did it. The two girls we were with were a lot of fun too. They were fearless and self-sufficient which made it enjoyable.
Afterwards we made our way to Rotorua. A provincial town in the middle of the island (about two hours from Waitomo on a South Easterly direction). Rotorua is known to be amidst a wealth of geothermal activity. there are spas and thermal pools, etc much like Harrison Hot Springs only more like yellowstone. Forrest and Dana went to a thermal pool resort to enjoy the natural springs. the town was quaint but had the smell of sulphur constantly in the air. we got a hotel room there which was quite amazing. it was huge. we stayed the night to continue our adventure the next morning in Rotorua.
To be continued...
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