Rolling Hills and Glowing Worms

I slept great last night; such a comfortable bed. My body was up by 5am but I managed to get back to sleep for another hour. I don’t mind the early wake up though, I love to get my days started early when I’m on an adventure; gotta maximize that day light! I laid in bed and mapped out my itinerary for the day, down to the hour. My AirBnB for tonight is about three hours away and my first stop of the day a little over two hours away so I want to maximize my time as this will be my only day going through the Waitomo area.

After a hefty room service breakfast and packing up I was on the road by 8:30; only half an hour behind my planned schedule but I figured that hopefully just meant that I let the morning traffic through Auckland subside. I wasn’t as terrified getting into the car and driving backwards this morning but was relieved to get onto the highway and off of the street driving. Reflecting on my previous New Zealand trips as I headed out of Auckland I reminded one of my cardinal rules, put in place after a near situation my first trip, NEVER LET THE GAS TANK GET BELOW HALF FULL! The countryside I am driving though is pretty remote and petrol stations can be hard to come by. This little RAV has Eco mode though so, as annoying as that mode is, this tank should last me at least a few days.

The bright sun cracked through the clouds and I forgot how much more intense the sun is down here. It really is, google it, I’m serious. Due to the location of the islands, the pure air, and a hole in the ozone layer the UV numbers down here are in fact way higher. I really need to remember that; I got the absolute worst sun burn of my life here previously. But I digress…

Getting out of Auckland and into the lush green countryside I felt more and more at ease and at peace. Singing along with my downloaded music at the top of my lungs I drove more and more confidently; even navigating so many road construction areas where I had to navigate between cones. Being out on the open road in this beautiful country just makes me feel like a filly running wild and free over green pastures. Without real incident I made it to my first stop just half an hour past my planned time, but I left half an hour late. And I say without real incident since on one narrow bridge with a large truck in the oncoming lane my passenger side tires mayyyyybbbeee went up over the curb.

Arriving at the Otorohanga Kiwi House I had to navigate parking into a tighter space than I’d like. It only took me about a six point turn to get into it but I did it. The Kiwi House is a conservation center and I was looking forward to seeing some Kiwi and other birds. But upon arrival I was most excited that they had a clean restroom. The Kiwi House was not an impressive looking sanctuary but maybe it would impress me once I got inside. Kiwi are nocturnal so there are dark night rooms for viewing their sanctuaries. I walked into the first and it seemed pitch black but it’s amazing how our eyes, even mine, adjust and in time I could see the full expanse of the room and through the enclosure. I scanned the faux forest floor in search of kiwi and nada. Finally a woman at the other end declared in a loud whisper that one was moving about. I followed her pointed finger and could see a dark shadow. And then I realized that this was not that interesting and I really didn’t care that much. In the next Kiwi room I think I gave it about 20 seconds of scanning before I gave up and walked out. The rest of the enclosures at the Sanctuary felt sad with thick wire enclosures that made it hard to not feel like it was just sad birds in jail. The skink lizard was really the star of the show with how perfectly he posed; such a ham. All in all, I was wildly under impressed by the Kiwi House; I did see a lot of ducks though.

I moved my car down to the main street in Otorohanga and was thrilled to find a parallel parking spot on a corner so I could get in with ease. Goal: find lunch. Walking down the street was like walking back in time. I forget how much less advanced so much of the world is and this felt like I was in a time warp. A woman was going shop-to-shop asking shopkeepers to sell her bath salts and loofahs as a fundraiser for her knee surgery. I went into a little jewelry store and stopped myself from any impulsive purchases. Based on a quick google search of worthy places for lunch I ended up at Turko Kebab and had a delightful kebab plate with a lemon/lime and bitters drink. As a rule I don’t drink soda but this lemon/lime/bitters concoction may be my New Zealand vice.

From Otorohanga it was a quick drive the rest of the way to Waitomo for the main events of my afternoon. First stop, the Ruakuri Caves. My cave tour wasn’t scheduled until 3pm but I arrived just before 1pm and was thankful that they were able to get me into the 1pm group. Ruakuri translates in Māori to “den of dogs.” The cave was found by a Māori tribe hundreds of years ago after a pack of wild dogs came charging out of it to chase them down for their freshly hunted birds. The Māori believed that caves are a way to enter the world and return one’s spirit and energy to the earth after death and used the cave entrance as a burial site. Nowadays there is a man-made entrance, down a long spiral walkway, in order to avoid being in the Māori sacred space.

With a guide, I spent the next 90 minutes wandering through the cave with its stalactites hanging from the ceiling and stalagmites pushing up from the ground. The lighting they’ve placed in the cave amplifies some beautiful creations but, unfortunately, due to the past history of tourism the cave is no longer overly impressive. The cave has been open for tours since the late 1800s and there was a time when tourists could actually break off stalactites and stalagmites to take as souvenirs, sold to them by weight.

In spots blue glow worms lined the ceiling and walls; their dangling sticky webs threatening to get stuck if you got too close. With a light shining on them I could actually see the worm’s body and all the webs hanging down. With no light they were simply blue lights dotting the walls and ceiling.

Walking over a bridge built above the running water beneath, the guide pointed out that we might see the black water rafters as that is an area they flow through. She also pointed out the eels in the water and told stories of how they’ve had to rescue black water rafters before. I am sooooo glad I cancelled that excursion. I do appreciate that she waited until the end of the tour was nearing to tell of other rescue stories necessary in the cave due to flash flooding and how they actually have a number of zip lines installed in some areas now to make rescue and cave evacuation easier. The cave was interesting but by the time the 90 minute trek through was completed I was ready to go; it also smelled like BO in there.

Just past the cave entrance is the start of the Ruakuri Bush Walk, a light 30 minute loop track. It is recommended to do the Ruakuri Bush Walk at night to see the glow worms that live along the limestone but I’m cool with being alone on at trail at night. Daylight hiking is just fine for me. The trail wove through cave entrances and the river that runs through Waitomo and into the cave. Gorgeous rain forest ferns and trees framed the flowing river and stalactites could be seen from a wide cavernous opening. Instead of a full pack I am just wearing a waist pack today and I scared the crap out of myself when my water bottle slide from the straps on the bottom and knocked into my ankles with a loud thud. I felt a little silly about the yelp I let out, momentarily worried that someone was trying to Tanya Harding me.

On the opposite side of the trailhead from the Ruakuri Bush Walk was the start of the Waitomo Walkway. The signage indicated that it would be a 75 minute trek from the start to the Waitomo Cave, the main glow worm cave. I only had about 90 minutes to kill before I’m supposed to be at the Waitomo Cave for that tour so I set a timer on my watch to walk out 45 minutes and then turn around and come back. I didn’t know what to expect from the trail. At the beginning was a set of steps to the river and a bunch of tubes; this must be either the start or culmination of the black water rafting. Again, so glad I cancelled that!

I meandered along the river and the trail turned to tramping with the river on one side and open green pastures of farmland on the other. The forested river and limestones walls became a lesser focus as the farmland spread wide ahead, mesmerizing with the emerald rolling hills dotted with wildflowers. An old farmer looked up, surprised to see me, as he hammered away at his wire fencing. The narrow “trail” led me up and over fences into farmland that allowed passage. I was in awe; the sense of peace cannot be put into words of walking through this lush land, hearing cows and sheep carrying on their conversations, and smelling the sweet air fragrant with honeysuckle and wildflowers. My soul felt so grounded and content. Movement is therapy. You cannot underestimate the value of walking alone in silence and allowing your mind to take you where it wants with no boundaries and no limits; just let your mind wander and see where are you go. I loved where my mind was going.

A mere 40 minutes later I had reached the Waitomo Cave; so much for it being a 75 minute track. I was not lost in the irony that I had just walked to where I needed to be next but had to now go back to get my car. I was happy to turn around and walk back though; I could have spent all day walking through those rolling hills.

With a solid 50 minutes before my scheduled Waitomo Cave tour I was back in my car. I knew there were some more little hikes I could do from the cave area if I could not get on an earlier tour but alas, I was able to change to the next departure when I arrived and only had to wait about five minutes once I got back to the Waitomo Cave. The Waitomo Cave is supposed to be the real star of the show for glow worms. The guide, Corey, explained that his great great grandfather was the Māori man who found the entrance to the cave in the late 1800s. I wonder if that’s actually true. He also explained that there were zero photographs allowed in the cave; adding even ones you take on those new glasses! Hah, guilty, I totally have those “new glasses” and have been using them to take pictures all day! He added that yesterday someone was caught taking pictures with those “new glasses” in the cave and was asked to leave because he refused to delete them. This caught my attention, so the problem is that he refused to delete them? This made it seem less like the light and potential flashes were a problem and more like a commercial greed issue.

But again, I digress. Corey led the group into the cave and I was sad to see how developed they had made it. Large swaths of the cave floor is covered in flooring, rails installed in numerous places, it felt like too much had been built up. Corey explained that they sometimes have 200 person concerts in there because of the near perfect acoustics. As he sang a beautiful Māori song to demonstrate, I was equal parts appreciating his song and considering how they can’t care that much for the integrity of the cave as those vibrations from concerts cannot be healthy for the delicate minerals and formations. He also explained that glow worms are actually maggots but nobody would visit if they called it the glow maggot cave. Fair point. The tour culminated with a short boat ride in the cavern lake that led to the original mouth of the cave that his great great grandfather had discovered and entered through in 1889. It was cool to see all the glow worms but I was again ready when the tour was over.

From the car park there was a sign for a 15 minute track to the Waitomo Lookout; seemed like I might as well squeeze it in real quick before getting back in the car. The next sign I saw said it was a 25 minute track, then a couple minutes later the next sign indicated a 10 minute track. Confused I kept going through the little forest trail and then out onto the edge of farmland and up about 15 flights of steps before being pointed across a narrow ridge to a small platform lookout. It maybe took me ten minutes to get there and I was glad that was all because as beautiful as the scenery was, the lookout was of the same type of farmland I had just indulged in on the Waitomo Walkway. To make it worse, there was a mini zipline platform and sign advertising the Waitomo Zipline tours; so tacky.

Back in the car about 6:30pm, I was keenly aware of the time. My AirBnB is down in Piopio, about 45 minutes away, and the host already warned me that I wouldn’t be able to find food down there and should stop on the way. I needed to go by a grocery anyways for some road trip staples (always be prepared to make a PB&J sandwich!) so I figured I would just grab a few things to make dinner so I could get to my AirBnB before dark. Driving with ease amongst the roundabouts I reflected on how simple but how very effective the words the Aussie drilled into my head on the plane were, simply “keep left, look right.” As I approached each roundabout I repeated that phrase to myself, sometimes out loud, and found myself navigating with ease.

As I neared Piopio I had sense of familiarity; have I been here before? Isn’t that the gas station that I pulled into 5 1/2 years ago when I was running on fumes and had been terrified for miles that I’d run out of gas at any moment? Isn’t that the golf course that had sheep all over it and stags in the next pasture. Yup, there are sheep on those fairways; that’s it. I have been through this town before! As I turned off the main road and was getting closer and closer to my AirBnB, more seemed familiar. The cliffs, I remember those cliffs, I had driven by to see what the hype about them was because it’s where they filmed The Hobbit. And the Mangaotaki Bush Walk that I wanted to do tonight but was running out of time; I’ve done it before! As all the points of familiarly came back to me I was suddenly there; my navigation informed me that I had arrived and sure enough I was in front of my AirBnB, Ripples Retreat, surrounded by sheep.

Pulling into the gravel drive the sheep near the fence raised their heads to judge me harshly. Ripples Retreat is a beautiful tiny cabin built amidst the green pastures with the little river flowing just steps out the door. It’s absolutely lovely.

Unloading the car I heard a commotion of sheep and walked back around the drive to see what the ruckus was about. The gate on the farm across the street had opened, it must have been automatic because there was no person to be seen, and hundreds of sheep were running out of the pasture and onto the road, fat little sheep just running as fast as they could to eat the roadside weeds. I am sooooo glad that this gate had not opened five minutes earlier; the thought of driving down a road full of sheep is terrifying.

Ripples Retreat is modern yet cozy. I was pleasantly surprised to open the fridge and find a little tray that included two fresh pastured eggs. Turns out those eggs came in handy since what Ripples doesn’t have is an oven so my dinner idea was off the table. Instead, a couple scrambled eggs over some rice and a side of salad was a meal time champ.

It’s hard to believe that I was in Auckland just this morning. I didn’t know if New Zealand would hold the same magic for me as it did in 2018 but in just a day I’ve already confirmed that it does.