Waitomo Caves

I thought I would not get the opportunity to see the famous Waitomo Caves. Wai means Water and tomo into the earth or something like that. When I come back I speak perfect Maori. Not really.

Whatever my day started at 0600 standing up and getting ready to go to the Harbour and from there with the bus to Waitomo. After a really nice drive, during which I learned more about New Zealand than while spending an entire morning in the Te Papa in Wellington, I arrived at the Caving Company Black Water Rafting. The objective of today was to get into a wetsuit and actually do some black water rafting in a expansive cavern system. Black Water Rafting is not White Water Rafting in Caves. It is really tame floating.

After gearing up we went for a short shuttle ride to the training area, where we tried our first jump with inflated rings backwards first in ice cold water. Yeah, secondary objective is still killing Klaus with stuff he absolutely despises, like cold water.

Next was a ten minutes bush walk. This was the most exercising part of the day. After entering the cave we were walking a while till we reached the first waterfall. Simple drop of may be one meter. The second waterfall was not much higher.

The best part about the caving and floating experience where definitely the glowworms. In Europe glowworms are tiny little flying things. In New Zealand it is the shit of actually flies in their larval state. Still was nice to sea and it did not smell bad. (Simplified like always.)

It was fairly easy floating out of the caves. Somehow I expected more adventure and adrenaline. After Canyoning in Queenstown this was rather too tame.

I arrived back in Auckland half past seven in the evening. Tomorrow I will go north again. The northern tip of the north island and 90 mile beach are waiting. By the way no pictures because the pictures from the rafting where not worth the 20 dollars the company wanted to have.