Unfortunately this morning we had to awaken from our deep sleep at 6:45am to catch a 7:30am bus to the Waitomo Caves for our Blackwater Cave Rafting Adventure. I feasted on a Milky Bar for breakfast as we had little time to spare. Not the best way to start the day.
We stumbled into the bus and were told that the caves were a two and a half hour bus journey away. I for one got absolutely no sleep on the bus because the seats were so cramped. Some lucky fecker who got on the bus before us had the whole back seat to himself to lounge on! We were a bit envious to say the least. Once again the essential travelling device, the iPod, got us through the journey.
When we arrived at our destination we had a bit of time so we grabbed some real breakfast. Conor got the best meal on the menu, the bacon and banana pancake which sounds disgusting but watching him eat it made me probably the most jealous I have been on this trip so far. It made my toasted sandwich look like a piece of shit!
Before entering it was time for us to squeeze (and I mean really squeeze) into our wetsuits, fit into our helmets equipped with headlights and don our waterlogged rubber boots. Gary described putting on the wetsuit to Robin Williams disguising himself as Mrs. Doubtfire. I immediately thought of Ned Flanders comment “It’s like you’re wearing nothing at all” from The Simpsons. Playful smacks of each others arses, funny dances and group photos followed.
Our first mission was to find an inflatable tube big enough to fit our bums and leap backward into freezing cold water. Tom was the first to jump and his girlish screams didn’t make us look forward to our jumps too much but we all got the job done. The water was an icy ten degrees!
After this training process it was time to head into the caves but not before a few quick photos taken by tour guides Stew and Vicky. The caves themselves are located on private property and the rafting company pays the land owner to use the caves for these expeditions. As we headed into the caves our attention was brought to the blue-green type glow of the Glow-worms and we were informed about them
A glow-worm isn’t really a worm at all, but the matchstick-sized larval stage of a fungus gnat (mosquito relative). It attaches itself to cave roofs and produces around twenty or thirty mucus and silk lines which are like fishing lines in order to attract midges and flying insects. Once caught the glow-worm then draws in the line to eat them. The glow comes form the acids inside their stomach from the insects they have digested and the males have a stronger glow to the women. During mating season the glow-worms turn red and the tour guides pointed out that there are red lights on our helmets so we quickly moved on before we got up close and personal with a glow-worm.
After this lecture it was time for another jump followed by everyone in the group turning off their lamps and joining together to form a “slippery sausage”. We then flowed downstream while admiring the glow-worms in their fully glory. As everyone was too relaxed we tried to get the group going with renditions of “Fly Me To The Moon”,” Dancing In The Moonlight”, “Row, Row, Row, Your Boat” and (not sure how to type this) “Uggy, Uggy, Uggy. Oi, Oi, Oi”. It worked and some of them couldn’t stop laughing at our antics. One in particular was in hysterics at Gary’s “You want the truth? You can’t handle the truth” and my “Marko - Polo” lines.
One big last jump was to be made before we paddled and weaved our way through the Stalagmites and Stalactites of the cave.
We quickly ripped off our wetsuits and legged it to get to the showers first. After our boiling showers it was time for the free tomato soup and toasted bagles that were promised. Most of the group left after a beagle and a cup of soup but us being the true backpackers that we were got our moneys worth and were the last to leave.
We got a lift to the nearby museum which is where we were getting the bus back to Rotorua. The most interesting thing in the museum was the cave crawl simulator where you had to crawl through a small crack in the wall to the other side. A few photos were taken and we were on our way back to Rotorua.
We had a four hour wait back in the hostel before our two bus hour to Taupo at 11:25pm so we decided a buffet of Pizza Hut was the best option.
As we awaited the bus to arrive Tom realised he had forgot his runners so he had to sprint back four blocks to the hostel. He arrived back just in the nick of time and looked wrecked to say the least. After forty minutes on the bus the driver informed us we had a fifty minute wait at a petrol station and our destination was only twenty minutes after that. We passed the time by kicking around the football outside and impatiently waiting for the driver to return. When we found our hostel the lights were all off and there was no answer on the door so a quick phone had to be made before we got the four bed dorm we had looked forward so much all day.
On our agenda tomorrow: A 15,000FT SKYDIVE!
We stumbled into the bus and were told that the caves were a two and a half hour bus journey away. I for one got absolutely no sleep on the bus because the seats were so cramped. Some lucky fecker who got on the bus before us had the whole back seat to himself to lounge on! We were a bit envious to say the least. Once again the essential travelling device, the iPod, got us through the journey.
When we arrived at our destination we had a bit of time so we grabbed some real breakfast. Conor got the best meal on the menu, the bacon and banana pancake which sounds disgusting but watching him eat it made me probably the most jealous I have been on this trip so far. It made my toasted sandwich look like a piece of shit!
Before entering it was time for us to squeeze (and I mean really squeeze) into our wetsuits, fit into our helmets equipped with headlights and don our waterlogged rubber boots. Gary described putting on the wetsuit to Robin Williams disguising himself as Mrs. Doubtfire. I immediately thought of Ned Flanders comment “It’s like you’re wearing nothing at all” from The Simpsons. Playful smacks of each others arses, funny dances and group photos followed.
Our first mission was to find an inflatable tube big enough to fit our bums and leap backward into freezing cold water. Tom was the first to jump and his girlish screams didn’t make us look forward to our jumps too much but we all got the job done. The water was an icy ten degrees!
After this training process it was time to head into the caves but not before a few quick photos taken by tour guides Stew and Vicky. The caves themselves are located on private property and the rafting company pays the land owner to use the caves for these expeditions. As we headed into the caves our attention was brought to the blue-green type glow of the Glow-worms and we were informed about them
A glow-worm isn’t really a worm at all, but the matchstick-sized larval stage of a fungus gnat (mosquito relative). It attaches itself to cave roofs and produces around twenty or thirty mucus and silk lines which are like fishing lines in order to attract midges and flying insects. Once caught the glow-worm then draws in the line to eat them. The glow comes form the acids inside their stomach from the insects they have digested and the males have a stronger glow to the women. During mating season the glow-worms turn red and the tour guides pointed out that there are red lights on our helmets so we quickly moved on before we got up close and personal with a glow-worm.
After this lecture it was time for another jump followed by everyone in the group turning off their lamps and joining together to form a “slippery sausage”. We then flowed downstream while admiring the glow-worms in their fully glory. As everyone was too relaxed we tried to get the group going with renditions of “Fly Me To The Moon”,” Dancing In The Moonlight”, “Row, Row, Row, Your Boat” and (not sure how to type this) “Uggy, Uggy, Uggy. Oi, Oi, Oi”. It worked and some of them couldn’t stop laughing at our antics. One in particular was in hysterics at Gary’s “You want the truth? You can’t handle the truth” and my “Marko - Polo” lines.
One big last jump was to be made before we paddled and weaved our way through the Stalagmites and Stalactites of the cave.
We quickly ripped off our wetsuits and legged it to get to the showers first. After our boiling showers it was time for the free tomato soup and toasted bagles that were promised. Most of the group left after a beagle and a cup of soup but us being the true backpackers that we were got our moneys worth and were the last to leave.
We got a lift to the nearby museum which is where we were getting the bus back to Rotorua. The most interesting thing in the museum was the cave crawl simulator where you had to crawl through a small crack in the wall to the other side. A few photos were taken and we were on our way back to Rotorua.
We had a four hour wait back in the hostel before our two bus hour to Taupo at 11:25pm so we decided a buffet of Pizza Hut was the best option.
As we awaited the bus to arrive Tom realised he had forgot his runners so he had to sprint back four blocks to the hostel. He arrived back just in the nick of time and looked wrecked to say the least. After forty minutes on the bus the driver informed us we had a fifty minute wait at a petrol station and our destination was only twenty minutes after that. We passed the time by kicking around the football outside and impatiently waiting for the driver to return. When we found our hostel the lights were all off and there was no answer on the door so a quick phone had to be made before we got the four bed dorm we had looked forward so much all day.
On our agenda tomorrow: A 15,000FT SKYDIVE!
Be good,
Mike
Mike
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