Monday January 10th

The mental alarm clock kicked in at 645 and I awoke and did some typing and picture sorting. I logged on to the wireless internet of the hotel which was free for 30 minutes and emailed like mad trying to get a few things posted before everyone was up and about.

The alarm went off at 8am and no one stirred at all until I opened the curtain a crack and the torture began. We got up and packed and filled the car with luggage before 9. We checked out and headed south and west towards Waitomo.

 
The drive was again simply outstanding as this time we were inland for about two hours driving through range after range of mountains and rolling hillsides covered with immense forestry in most areas with occasional bits of farmland scattered in between. There were heaps of sheep and cattle in any area of grazing land and surprisingly both the cattle and sheep were in paddocked areas crammed quite tightly for periods of time until the grass was eaten down before they were moved to another.

We drove past a few meat market factories that dealt with lamb, mutton, cattle and goat. We also drove over a couple immense dams that created hydroelectricity with many overhead lines travelling all over the country. We wound our way through the countryside eventually ending up at Waitomo around 11am.  We had until 1 pm until our tour of the caves, so we went and did the tour of the Glow worm cave first and got it out of the way.

Our tour began at 1130 with quite an odd fellow as our tour guide. He led us down the stairs into the deep cavernous areas with huge stalactites and stalagmites all around. The acoustics were quite amazing and the lighting that had been installed gave an ominous glow all about the place. After 30 minutes of various portions of the caves, we wound our way down to the glow worm cave. We sat about 15 people in a boat that was pulled along by ropes attached to sections of the cave walls. When it was pitch black, the ceiling of the cave came alive with thousands of green glow worms sparkling like stars in the sky. Each glow worm created a long singular string web that hung down from the ceiling. When a bug flew into it and stuck to it, the worm descended down it, devoured the bug, climbed back up and created a new web to hang down with hopes of catching the next bug. Not being able to see the web in the darkness, it looked rather amazing on the postcard and photos that were available after the tour was over.

We wrapped up at 1240 and had to hustle to our next cave 5 minutes down the road. We waited in the parking lot for a guide to appear and take us up to the cave. As we entered, it was pitch black and we had to get used to the light for a bit before entering. Suddenly the lights were turned on and we were able to see amazing sights of the millions of stalactites hanging from the ceiling. We toured into the cave for almost half an hour stopping to take many pictures along the way as the different types of lighting in many areas made for ominous views that was absolutely stunning.  We got a family photo taken inside and the boys thoroughly enjoyed the tour. About an hour later, we were out and headed back to the main area for a bit of lunch.

We ended up in a backpacker’s pub eating a burger and chicken nuggets. It was quite delicious and affordable. We went back to the gift shop and left some more money with those kind folks as it was imperative we help keep the economy going while we are here. The temperature had risen to the low 30’s and it was quite warm to say the least. We got the air conditioning on full blast and headed back out to the main highway to head north to Auckland.
Again the roads were very narrow and windy for the first 90 minutes, but then we hooked up onto a 2 lane freeway that straightened out and I was able to drive 120 km/hr for over an hour for the first time in 3 weeks of windy roads! It was very exciting! Not so much for Krista and the boys who were zonked out for over an hour but the peace and quiet was a nice gift as I sped through the New Zealand countryside.

As we approached Auckland, the traffic got considerably congested as we were seeing the beginning of rush hour and cars were everywhere. With around 1.2 million people, it is a bit bigger than Calgary and there are serious numbers of commuters everywhere. We made it through the city and out the north end and headed towards the ocean. We stopped for a snack at the toll station and had to pay a couple tolls for our travels down the main highway in the next couple days. The boys got out and ran around at the outdoor playground while I paid the tolls.

We hopped back in the car and half an hour later we rolled up to our cottage by the bay where we would be staying the next 2 days and 3 nights. Helen and Grant and their 4 kids were waiting for us with supper ready to go so after some quick greetings amongst us all, we sat down to a heaping plate of pasta and ham and a beer-a great way to end the day of travel. Helen and Krista have been friends for over 35 years and have kept in contact with letters/emails for this long. We had last seen them in 1999 while on our honeymoon in London where they were holidaying with their 1 year old Rose who is now 12! The kids have a couple friends staying the week so all in all there are 8 children about!

After supper, we went for a walk on the beach while the tide was out and the kids all climbed trees and walked in the muck of the ocean. It was a great evening and sunset. We had a quick hot chocolate and visit and called it a night. We got the boys settled in their separate rooms of our bach – short for bachelor pad – a separate building just back from their cottage – just a few bedrooms and no running water. The boys had a busy day and hopefully will sleep in tomorrow but I’m a bit doubtful….