Into a Cave, Darkly

As our time in New Zealand comes to a close, we recently compiled a list of all the activities we wanted to do, places we wanted to see, and friends and family we wanted to visit before we left. First on the list, Waitomo Caves. A hot tourist spot just an hour south of Hamilton, it was one that both Jason and I had passed multiple times in our trips back and forth between Hamilton and Hawera. So, we finally took the “plunge” this past weekend and went down for a chilly three hour cave tour through the dark. After a short detour to the angora knit shop in which we watched the daily rabbit shearing and I purchased some more wool that will eventually get made into a knitted garment, we found our way to the Black Water Rafting shop. Our 1:30pm tour was a compilation of six teenagers all on school holiday, the supervising mother, a Londoner over on holiday, another tourist who was limited in words, and the two of us. A rather jovial mix, we met up with our tour guide who has been leading tours for the last year through the dark caves. After a fitting of wetsuits (which fashionably hung 8 inches below my crouch), jackets, wool thermals, rubber boots, and helmets, we headed out for the cave. First task was a training jump over the “waterfall”. Gathering our inner tubes, we lined up to jump off backwards from a platform some 4-5 feet above the water. After that initial exposure to the cold and wet (learning quickly that closure of my contact-fitted eyes was a must), we tramped down to the cave entrance and adjusted to the dark. Within minutes we were walking and floating under low level stalactites through chillier water admiring the multitude of glow worms adorning the caves ceiling. Interrupted along the way with a few more waterfall jumps and a “lights off” chain float through the most glow worm laden area, which coincided with the location of the tourist ramp for the walking cave inspectors, it was a fabulous trip. However, by the end of the 1 kilometer, one hour float, both Jason and I were happy to leave the chilly waters and unwrap ourselves from the wet water gear. Unfortunately, while the showers weren’t the warmest, the hot tomato soup and toasted bagel at the end were a welcome find.

Check out our pictures on the left.