Waitomo caves
Igna not only booked our bus ride to Waitomo but dropped us off at the bus stop quite early in the morning before heading to work. A sleepy ride there and we arrived with plenty of time to unload our bags at the hostel, have a little snack and even read before our ride came to pick us up for the pending adventure.
We arrived at Rap Raft and Rock to find a group just returning from a tour and another young couple waiting to go out on the next with us. The returning group looked happy and reassured us the trip would be fun and well worth it, not that wee were too worried about it but it's nice to hear they were satisfied since its not what you'd call a cheep experience. We had heard from so many people that it was worth the money so decided to take the plunge. Literally, after riding to what seamed like nowhere, gearing up with wetsuit, hot pink pants and harness we walked down to a cluster of trees in the middle of a slopped pasture. We were informed that the area was riddled with caves bellow and the openings to them usually are where a random bunch of tres are growing out of it. Off a platform we repelled down about 90 meters Into a dark wet cave with a river running right through it.
The walk up stream with tubes in hand was quite easy an well lit with our head lamps attached to helmets. Our informative guide, Simon with his British accent and good sense of humor kept us entertained until he had us set the tubes aside and turn off our lights in the pitch black space around us. I"m sort of nervous in the dark still like once of those childhood fears I've never gotten over. We could see the glow worms above and around us just barely lighting our space until BAM! All shocked from the random loud noise we could all of a sudden see the glow worms a million all around us almost like the night sky from the middle of the ocean with no light pollution. Simon had smashed his tube in the water supposedly heightening our flight or fight sense which opened the blood vessels in our eyes to see them more clearly. It worked cause the whole cave lit up to where we could even see each other's silhouettes.
These "glow worms", exclusive to Southern Australia, New Zealand and the Cook Islands were something spectacular beyond description all glowing together in a dark wet space. Up close they're just worms with slimy webs hanging from them to attract food in the form of other bugs and other glow worms. Cannibalistic little buggers but they don't live very long once the 6 month larva/worm period is over. They basically have one day in the form of little flies to mate as much as possible and at this point don't have mouths big enough to eat anything so why not just have a lot of sex!
Back to the tubes the 5 of us floated down the river in the dark again passing the spot we repelled down and going deeper down stream into the cave. After our thrill ride on tubes we walked farther and deeper, scaling rocks, crawling through small spaces and even going through holes under water that opened up to other parts of the cave. Stalactites and stalagmites hundreds of years old reminded me that i'm such a small part of this fascinating eco system I live in for only such a small amount of time in retrospect. Right before turning around we asked Simon for one last photo but unfortunately he couldn't "have evidence" of taking us as far as he had gone. The four of us were apparently far more ambitious and fit than most of his groups so he took us farther than normal. The five of us had a great time laughing most of the way out. We were so glad we got a good small group that we got along with and a really fun guide. Well spend money in our eyes!
Off to Abel Tasmen National park for a 3 or so day kayak adventure!
Monday, November 28, 2011
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Family in NZ
Tauranga
After a 5 hr journey our arrival in Tauranga was welcomed by friendly faces and warm hearts of family long lost. Philip and Natalie were so kind to pick us up and introduce us to the area with a picturesque walk up and around Mnt, Maunganui from which we could see a 360 degree view of the Bay of Plenty. This also happens to be the spot Philip chose to propose to his beautiful bride almost a year ago which makes it that much more special.
This vast bay was still recovering from an oil spill caused by a freighter taking a short cut and run-a-ground spilling out not only loads of oil but much more cargo including people's personal items being shipped. The ship is still out there and they project it'll take about a year to get it all cleaned up. Apparently the crew had been partying the night before and by morning there was no turning back, literally.
The best meals are made by "mom"! A short ride to Te Puke took us to Tannic Igna's where she had a lovely spread made for the family's Sunday dinner with steak and real South African "worse" grilling on the brai filling the whole neighborhood with that distinct smell initiating a rush of memories of my childhood . Thanks to Marie's diligence and love for bringing family together we were actually sitting around the table with "family" in a far off land with an indescribable feeling of love and acceptance . Finding how we all fit in together and where we belong was a riot with uncle Lukas' humor intertwined. And by the end we knew how and where I came from and were my dad fit into the whole mix of past family not speaking for one reason or another.
We couldn't have asked for better tour guides and a more enjoyable experience the next day. Philip and Nat took us to Hamairana Spring by recommendation of Igna and we were so happy we went. Just along side the Rotorua Lake up a little stream walk through Redwood trees we found a beautiful spring of sweet crystal clear water gushing from the earth. At one point it was even bubbling from the ground agitating the sand above where the trout were swimming in the clear blue water. Absolutely beautiful and so sweet to the taste.
This ares of the country is filled with kiwi fruit farms that are unfortunately being attacked by a disease that still has no cure. A lot of the crops are having to be burned out and since it's still so new theres a lot of uncertainty of what they'll do next season.
New Zealand is known for having more cows and sheep than people so how appropriate that they took us to a dairy farm just outside Whakatane run by Nat's sister and brother-in-law. Even a thrill ride on the back of a truck holding on for dear life up to the top of a mountain for a spectacular view of the valley to the ocean and outlying islands in the Bay of Plenty. I could have stayed for days exploring that area and the extremely kind people. We returned to the Meyer house to cook the family a meal of delicious curry, and when I say "we" I mean Craig cooked an I chopped. Dinner table talk turned to South Africa and the current condition which of course has Craig's eyes big and beady with fear. Uncle Lukas continued the chat after everyone went home which left me with a feeling of strange homesickness and Craig wondering if our pending visit really is a good idea after all. South Africa still may not be the safest place to live but it's where my family lives and I tried to reassure him as much as possible that it's safe when you're with people who know where to go and where not to.
Thank you to every one of our Kiwi family for your absolute kindness and open armed hospitality. We had an inspiring time visiting and feeling your sincere love! And thank you Marie for your love of family and the importance of generational connection. xoxo
After a 5 hr journey our arrival in Tauranga was welcomed by friendly faces and warm hearts of family long lost. Philip and Natalie were so kind to pick us up and introduce us to the area with a picturesque walk up and around Mnt, Maunganui from which we could see a 360 degree view of the Bay of Plenty. This also happens to be the spot Philip chose to propose to his beautiful bride almost a year ago which makes it that much more special.
This vast bay was still recovering from an oil spill caused by a freighter taking a short cut and run-a-ground spilling out not only loads of oil but much more cargo including people's personal items being shipped. The ship is still out there and they project it'll take about a year to get it all cleaned up. Apparently the crew had been partying the night before and by morning there was no turning back, literally.
The best meals are made by "mom"! A short ride to Te Puke took us to Tannic Igna's where she had a lovely spread made for the family's Sunday dinner with steak and real South African "worse" grilling on the brai filling the whole neighborhood with that distinct smell initiating a rush of memories of my childhood . Thanks to Marie's diligence and love for bringing family together we were actually sitting around the table with "family" in a far off land with an indescribable feeling of love and acceptance . Finding how we all fit in together and where we belong was a riot with uncle Lukas' humor intertwined. And by the end we knew how and where I came from and were my dad fit into the whole mix of past family not speaking for one reason or another.
We couldn't have asked for better tour guides and a more enjoyable experience the next day. Philip and Nat took us to Hamairana Spring by recommendation of Igna and we were so happy we went. Just along side the Rotorua Lake up a little stream walk through Redwood trees we found a beautiful spring of sweet crystal clear water gushing from the earth. At one point it was even bubbling from the ground agitating the sand above where the trout were swimming in the clear blue water. Absolutely beautiful and so sweet to the taste.
This ares of the country is filled with kiwi fruit farms that are unfortunately being attacked by a disease that still has no cure. A lot of the crops are having to be burned out and since it's still so new theres a lot of uncertainty of what they'll do next season.
New Zealand is known for having more cows and sheep than people so how appropriate that they took us to a dairy farm just outside Whakatane run by Nat's sister and brother-in-law. Even a thrill ride on the back of a truck holding on for dear life up to the top of a mountain for a spectacular view of the valley to the ocean and outlying islands in the Bay of Plenty. I could have stayed for days exploring that area and the extremely kind people. We returned to the Meyer house to cook the family a meal of delicious curry, and when I say "we" I mean Craig cooked an I chopped. Dinner table talk turned to South Africa and the current condition which of course has Craig's eyes big and beady with fear. Uncle Lukas continued the chat after everyone went home which left me with a feeling of strange homesickness and Craig wondering if our pending visit really is a good idea after all. South Africa still may not be the safest place to live but it's where my family lives and I tried to reassure him as much as possible that it's safe when you're with people who know where to go and where not to.
Thank you to every one of our Kiwi family for your absolute kindness and open armed hospitality. We had an inspiring time visiting and feeling your sincere love! And thank you Marie for your love of family and the importance of generational connection. xoxo
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Photos
We've switched to Picasa since it's far more compatible with the Ipad and less frustrating in every way! There's now a link to the right that you an click on to see some of the photos we've been able to download slowly but surely. Enjoy them and look forward to a more organized system soon enough!
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