Waitomo - November 13th

There isn't very much in Waitomo, the town consists of the following:
- 1 Hotel
- 1 Hostel
- 1 Bar
- 1 Information Centre/Museum
- 1 Restaurant/Convenience Store
- 2 Swings

The sole reason for this town to exist is the tourism for their famous caves. The Waitomo are has over 300 caves and is most popular for it's glowworm caves. These little guys hang out on the cave ceilings and shine their butts off to attract food. As silly as it sounds it was one of the most amazing sights. Our cave was pitch dark one second and the next it was completely lit up as if it was the starriest night you could imagine. I have a few pictures but none can really capture the "essence of glow". To get down to the cave I took a tour with Rap, Raft and Rock. They take you on an 100ft rapel into the cave followed by blackwater rafting in inner tubes deeper inside where you get to really take in the show. This is followed by caving your way through some of the narrowest passages I've ever seen, and topped off with a climb out of the caves. All in all we were down below for about 5 hours. If anyone heads to Waitomo I recommend that tour.

The following day I had some time to kill before I took the bus to Rotorua, so myself and Dave from Alaska (who I met along the way) decided to hike the Waitomo Trail which took us through hilly areas as well as farmland.
















Abseil training above ground...The sheep would not shut up. Probably because of my purple tights and white rubber boots. I wore those to the bar later.






























The rapel into the abyss
















Our guide Morgan liked to neglect to tell you when you were about to bail off your tube...Great times!