doddling around: Waitomo

We're resting after a great first day, re-tidying luggage, and getting ready for bed; so let's see if we can make this blogging thing stick. I suspect the posts will get shorter and less detailed as we progress and learn which bits aren't worth thinking about, but a big part of the purpose is to remember details like how dirty a motel is, so I hope not. Start from the beginning.

Eddie and Cherry met us for dinner at Redwood Grill, and then took us to the airport. They'll be checking in on the cats while we're away -- thank you!

SFO to AKL

The flight was pretty good -- probably the best scheduling we could have asked for. We left SFO a little later than the scheduled 10:45pm Saturday and arrived AKL on-time (7:45am Monday). We slept away 8 hours of the 13-hour flight. Yes, it was medically-assisted sleep.

First glimpse of New Zealand

Customs was quick and very friendly. They are also really thorough to match their strict reputation. The customs agent checked the soles of Mike's hiking boots for obvious signs of soil. They may have a lot of rules, but their clear explanations everywhere make it feel legitimate and worth the trouble. They love their agriculture and they don't have certain livestock diseases that other countries have, so let's all try to keep it that way. That's how it came across. Not that they want to pick on people.

Disembarked our place (left) with a mobile staircase and bus

Driving to Waitomo

Picking up the car from Avis was fast and easy. It was surprisingly fast. I don't think it was Avis-specific speed. The other agencies had booths in the same area and nobody had a line. We actually still ended up taking our sweet time at the airport so that we could stretch and mentally prepare for the drive. We grabbed coffee at McDonald's and sat around letting it cool off and chatting to set expectations for the drive. Then we set up the new GoPro and all the cordage that is required of any car ride we take, and took off in our Malibu. No, not a Chevy Malibu. A Holden Malibu! It's got a hot black leather interior, but besides that, I think I like it. All the bells and whistles you would expect, plus a few more: bluetooth, usb ports, back-up cam, blind-spot detection, and navigation (even though we didn't pay extra for it). The weather was wonderful, sunny with fluffy clouds, and about 10 minutes of drizzly rain. We could always see patches of sun.

This is my husband

We drove an hour before making a pit stop in Huntly because that coffee went right through me! Then it was another two hours before we made it to the motel. The Glowworm Motel is right off the main road, and next to a petting zoo which has Li'l Sebastian's brother out front, grazing. The motel isn't super easy to find, but that meant we got to make a U-turn next to a judgmental ostrich, which is as cool as it sounds. The motel is definitely a motel. You park your car right at the door, and the kitchenette and bathroom are old linoleum. It's spacious and there is a nice lawn out back that all the guests share. There are bugs and the place could use new paint and floors. It may not be polished and modern, but I'm pretty pleased. There is some sort of sheep on the other side of an overgrown fence near the main office that says hi to everyone that pulls up the driveway. We can't see him, but he sounds big and friendly, or maybe lonely. We checked-in with the nicest receptionist -- pretty sure she's the owner. She went over a map with all the interesting sites, not just big commercial things, she was making sure to point out free landmarks and cultural exhibits that are good photo ops or information. We just settled in, cleaned up a little, and headed right back out.

The main office at Glowworm Motel. There's our car!

Our room

Li'l horse

Glowworms!

The cave tour we chose was with Spellbound and I'm so glad we did. The group of 11 was led by Ross, who has the appropriate sarcastic quippy sense of humor you expect of good tour guides. He deposited us at the top of a short hike, at the bottom of which he met us and took us through the first cave, which was half walking, and half raft. The rafting is not an action-packed rafting trip down rapids; it was a big stable raft which everyone sat in, with all lights and screens turned off, while Ross slowly pulled us along ropes secured into the cave walls. It was really gorgeous. Stunning. I had been trying to lower my expectations because I knew there was no way it could look as nice as the photos online, but I was wrong. However, if you're reading this, then you should get your expectations down! As we walked back out the cave, we re-encountered the entrance and it was pretty cool to see how it seemed like the points of light had doubled but it was just our improved night-vision catching up with reality.

In the Spellbound minibus

Walking down to the first cave. Mike's playing with his new toy.

Ready to go in

Silk strands

Tiny green lights

Mike with a few of the lights. This photo was too difficult.

The second cave was less glowworm and more cave. We learned about the rock formations and saw where the ceiling suddenly changes because we crossed a fault-line. There were a few skeletons -- cow, goat, and moa. We also saw where channels of air currents from the surface came down to the cave. You would think that we felt it, but it was something to see because that's where the glowworms in this cave are found. They trap insects in long strands of silk. In the first cave, it made a lot of sense that they were all above the water. In this second cave, the glowworms were clustered high overheard in the air vents where bugs get sucked down into the current and through the cave. At the mouth of the cave is a slight breeze from the exiting of all the air.

Heading to the second cave.

Entrance and formation. We saw cliffs outside that looked like massive versions of this.

In the second cave

Moa skeleton

After spelunking

It was a great tour. In between caves, there was a break for tea or coffee (or cocoa) and socializing/questions. I would highly recommend Spellbound, but while we were in the cathedral portion of one cave, Ross did mention something that sounded pretty great about the bigger, more famous Waitomo Cave tour: in the cathedral of Waitomo Cave, there is a choir that will sing carols at Christmastime; and on the tours, the tour guides will sing and invite any guests who want to sing to belt one out and bask in the awesome acoustics.

Dinner

Dinner at HUHU Cafe right across the street was hipster and delicious. Mike had the Crispy Pork Hock, Sour Apple & Herb Salad, Palm Sugar, Chilli Dressing; and I had the Lamb Shoulder Rack, Harissa-Roasted Pumpkin & Kumara, Mint Yoghurt, Hummus. They were both incredible. We had local beer and cider. We also got the garlic rewana because I always want to try interesting cultural foods and Mike loves bread. I had never heard of rewana; it's a Maori sourdough and next time we see it, we're going to try it without the garlic and parmesan so that we can really taste the bread. Mike pointed and laughed at the Huhu Chalet (with its silly glass door and many windows, sitting right in the cafe's parking lot).