Waitomo Caves...Way too much adventure

Our first task this morning was the dirty work. We decided it was time to attack the dreaded tank o' fun and also drain the "gray" water--oh joy! It was a successful venture but it was a great reminder of why we only use our facilities for late night emergencies...otherwise, you hold it.

100 Meter Abseil

After this lovely job, we checked out the Waitomo Cave Museum that adjoined the Waitomo Adventures shop where we bought our tickets. It seems that each little town has its own museum to bleed money from tourists who want to feel they are getting educated while on vacation. We got our passes to the museum for free so we felt obligated to attend. There were some great exhibis on the history of spelunking in this area of NZ and the evolution of the sport. Unfortunately, there was also an exhibit of the wildlife that inhabit the caves. One such creature, the eel, was a LIVE exhibit. Yes, ther was a large fish tank with a real eel swimming around in it simulating the wildlife in the rivers within the caves we would be exploring. All the other animal exhibits were dead ones or simply bones of ones which is not nearly as scary as a live eel looking straight at you. In fact, the afternoon of our cave adventure involved trudging, crawling, and swimming through the cave waters!

Happy Moment Before the Drowning

The morning tour we took began at 10 AM. We got all dressed up in our abseiling (rappelling) gear and helmets equipped with flashlights (called torches in NZ). The first component of this 4 hour trip was abseiling down a 100 meter drop into the depths of "the Lost World." (Waitomo Adventures apparently has a trademark on the name of the cave they use) I wanted to abseil down fast but there were so many safety precautions that one had to stay at the same level as everyone else since the drop was so drastic (Caveat: I will be wishing such safety measures were in place later on in the day). After making it to the bottom, we began to explore the massive cathedral vaults of the cave until we were in total darkness. When all of the natural light was gone, the light show began. We turned off our torches adn suddenly the sky lit up like the brightest starry night. These were the glowworms that inhabited the roofs of the caves. (glowworms are the larva of the fungus knat) After we left the glowworms, we got our surprise. I was hoping it was more of the chocolate fish candy they had handed out on the break (the NZ trademark candy...don't worry Dad, I'll bring you some), but instead it was a 75 meter high ladder we needed to climb to reach the next set of caverns. Luckily Hane and Jimmy our guides were helping via a sweet pulley system...otherwise I don't think Scott nor I would have made it up in any record time. We both decided we needed to hit the gym more often after that climb.

Headed in the Washing Machine

The hike was pretty much over at this point and we headed back to the village to grab lunch and wait for the afternoon tour we had signed up for. Lucky for us, our lunch coincided with a local rugby match that was being played on the field adjoining our RV park. So, Scott and I ate our usual peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and cookies next to the field and watched an incredibly brutal match. Honking your car horn is similar to our jeering in the US. There was lots of honking at this match.

Our afternoon tour was called Haggas Honking Holes...yes, another tradmark name. It was named after a Dr. Seuss story. All I can say...IT WAS INSANE. I've done what I've considered brave and adventurous things before, but what we did this afternoon was nuts and way outside my comfort zone. First off, we had to wear full wetsuits and heavy duty boots. They said this as a set trip, but that was an understatement. The trip was a 4 hour tour of a different cave from this morning. The cave earlier today was a cathedral style cave, but the one this afternoon was very narrow and at times so narrow you had to squeeze yourself through a small hole that had a gushing underground river trying to squeeze itself through at the same time. We received a far more intensive abseiling instruction on this tour as much of the time we were setting up our own safety harnesses and carrabingers due to the adverse conditions. The trip included 3 abseils through gushing waterfalls, intense rock climbs, and traveling along a subterranean river with hardcore waterfalls and speed. I don't think any description I can give you will give the intensity and sheer craziness this trip involved, but just imagine the scariest water environment possible. Your claustrophobia and height comfort zones were totally maxed out...you basically felt like you were going to drown, get stuck or fall at any moment. (mom, should have warned you not to read this...sorry) For example, we had to slide down a whole about 2 feet high that was flooded with water, then stop at a dime, attach ourselvs to a safety strap and abseil down a waterfall into a river! AMAZING! I won't ever do it again!

Posing in the Lost World

The group we were with bonded so much during the trip that we all grabbed dinner at the one restaurant open in the village, a pizza place. Everyone we have met so far has been so nice and generous. It has been a pleasure swapping stories with others from different countries and backgrounds.

Time for bed...it's getting late. We are off to Rotorua tomorrow. Rotorua is famous for both its tribal history and its adventure activities. It is nicknamed Roto-Vegas due to its energy and attractions. There are some great thermal pools there (we need to get some therapy on our muscles soon) and exciting hikes and fishing. Oh, I can't forget to mention the zorbing. Zorbing is a basically riding down a hill in a large plastic bubble. It was invented here in NZ and it's apparently all the rage. I can't wait.

Swimming with the Eels