Black water rafting

Trip Start Jun 05, 2007

131

Trip End Jun 2009

Loading Map

Map your own trip!

Map Options

Show trip route

Hide lines

Flag of New Zealand Raglan, New Zealand
Friday, December 14, 2007

We set off early the next day to try and get on a blackwater rafting trip that day. As we arrived into Waitomo we came upon a large cafe - the headquaters of The Blackwater Rafting Company. They had space this morning for 2 on a two hour trip that would incorporate the rafting and the glow worm caves. There are over 300 mapped caves in this area and the list of extreme sports is endless. We got kitted out in the latest snazzy gear - wetsuit, jacket, bouyancy jacket, shorts, booties and heavyduty rubber boots, helmet and headtorch! There was 8 of us altogether and we got taken to the cave in a minibus, once there we had to choose the rubber ring most suited to our bottom size and then practice jumping backwards into our tubes into the river. I suddenly had the fear of god in me and felt unsure as to whether I could do this, the jump wasn't that high but underground it would be dark and we would be jumping off a waterfall, twice!! The trek down was somewhat hindered by the large tubes in our arms as well as having ill-fitting boots on our feet

Gorge near the arch

. We finally made it underground and our feet were plunged into the cold of the water. The deeper and deeper we went, the deeper and colder the water got. Excited and scared, the time had come to get in our rings and shimmy under the narrowest part of the cave with the roof just inches above our face. The first jump was the smaller of the two and was deeply nerve racking, Kev let me go first - thanks, and the guide told me exactly what to do, holding the ring with my back to the jump, you had to push off and jump up at the same time, 3, 2, 1 go.... It was actually a great feeling, until the water engulfs you and gets forced up your nose! We carried on walking and arrived at some glowworms, we got told a little about their life cycle and then turned off our torches to take in their light, they were beautiful, a little like the night sky. Our journey continued floating on our rings, being led by our guides, a marshmallow fish was handed to each of us to help with the cold and by this point, our numb feet. We were able to fully enjoy the second jump after the practice we already had, this was bigger with much more water but everyone jumped with no problems, all laughing at the tidal waves caused by the previous person. Again on our rings, in total dakness, we came upon the milky way, a cave so high with so many glowworms, it was mesmerising. We were then left to float in silence and darkness along the rest of the route to the exit, at one point I completely lost my bearings and felt sure I had been seperated from the rest of the group, I shouted out and to my surprise Kev was right beside me. We made it out to sunlight that hurt our eyes, trotted back to the bus for our return journey to HQ - a hot shower and hot buttered bagels await. We chatted to others in the group whilst watching the photos of our trip on screen. Kev of course had to buy a t-shirt before being able to head off up the coast towards Auckland, 2 days left.

Looking up to the arch

We had planned to go to Kawhia as this was the last place to experience a hot water beach. On our way we stopped off at Mangapohue Natural Bridge Scenic Reserve, an impressive limestone arch which you can walk right up to. We finally arrived in Kawhia and went straight to the visitors centre to find out the best time to visit the beach and also, if it was possible to go see the burial place of the Tainui canoe. This canoe was one of the first canoes to arrive here during the 14th century from the Maori homeland. Kawhia harbour was prophesised to be the home of the Tainui people and the canoe was buried near to the marae where stones mark its bow and stern. The friendly lady in the visitor centre told us that low tide would be around 7pm, but to be very careful as teenagers in the area target campervans and tourists. She also told us that people of non-maori descent were no longer able to go visit the marae and buried canoe. We went for some food at the local pub and felt very uneasy in the town. A friendly, but drunk, man came to talk to us whilst we ate and although he seemed nice enough, we had a nagging feeling that we weren't particularly welcome, this was confounded by the fact that when I went to the toilet, I heard the gaggle of older chaps all talking about us - they weren't saying anything horrible but made us feel odd all the same. As travellers we have been used to being talked about, stared at and all the rest, but here, we felt that the best thing to do would be to leave, so on our way we went again and headed on the back roads to Raglan. As soon as we hit the unsealed back road, we were unsure if we had made the right decision. The majority of this road was gravel and slow going, but the scenery was enjoyable and we only passed 3 other cars. We had hoped to stop to look at Bridal Veil Falls which are meant to be spectacular but the road was blocked off and the detour was too far at this time of the day.
When we arrived at the campsite in Raglan the light was starting to fade and we had a lot to do. The van needed emptying and cleaning before heading back to Auckland tomorrow - not a job we were looking forward to!