May 19, 2014
The kids slept in until about 7am. Pretty good for it being around noon for their bodies! We readied the campervan and headed out on the road to Waitomo to see the glow worm caves. The drive was beautiful with a hint of fall still in the air and on the trees. The scenery reminded us very much of Sonoma county. At the Waitomo Caves, we took a tour 35 meters beneath the ground. We first toured the caves and got to see lots of interesting stalagmites and stalactites. The tour company had put decorative lighting in some parts of the cave so some parts gave a truly domestic glow while other parts of our walk were in almost all darkness. At the part that they call the Cathedral, the whole tour sang Jingle Bells to test out the acoustics. At Christmastime, they have a Christmas concert in this part of the cave. That would be an unforgettable concert! Then we headed to the glowworms. First the guide took us to a part of the caves where we could see some of the glowworms from a spot standing and looking across the water. She explained that the worms were actually the larvae of an insect and the bioluminescent light was used by the larvae to attract prey. The prey get stuck in the sticky rope hanging from the ceiling. (Which, thanks to our careful study before the trip, we already knew : )) I love watching the kids faces when they see or hear something that we learned about before coming on this trip. It seems like it takes on a whole new meaning to them! Then we got on a little boat and floated out on the water to look at the glowworms. The guide turned off her flashlight and and floated in complete darkness and silence. Looking above us at the top of the cave revealed a mysterious universe. The entire top of the cave was covered in tiny lights that looked liked stars. It really looked like a picture of the universe with millions and millions of stars shining brightly. Matt said it reminded him of the beginning of the Peter Pan ride in Disneyland when you fly over London in the dark. We weren't allowed to take pictures of the glow worms, so we bought postcards to remember what they looked like.
After Waitomo, we headed to Rotorua with me behind the wheel. Driving on the opposite side of the road wasn’t too bad, but I did not enjoy driving the camper van. I am sure I will drive again, but I won’t be volunteering for the job! We stopped along the way to take in some of the beautiful countryside.
In Rotorua, our first stop was at Rainbow Springs to experience kiwis. There was an encounter we hoped to go on, but it is not hatching season for the kiwis so we didn’t get to go on the encounter. We did, however, get to see kiwis in their dark enclosures. Kiwis are hard to spot as a tourist because they live in the bush and are nocturnal. We were thrilled to see the kiwis! They really are super cute birds. Their feathers almost look like hair, they have very long bills with noses attached at the end of them, they have big, round bodies, and long legs. We watched them for awhile as they scurried around looking for food. We also got to see kea (parrot like birds) and tuatara (lizards).
From here, we rushed to the Polynesian Spa to fit in a dip in the thermal baths. When we pulled up to the spa, the first thing that assaulted our senses was the smell. The sulfur, makes the pleasant rotten egg smell, of course. Amazingly, we kind of got used to it after awhile. As for the baths, there were four large rock pools overlooking a lake. Each of the pools was cooled to a different temperature. We had fun going from pool to pool and playing. There was a separate family pool where most of the kids go, but that one was a regular pool so it wasn't a true experience. Our kids were the only kids in these rock pools and they were on good behavior, but were still the most rambunctious things around. I am not sure how appreciated the loud Americans were, but we had fun!
After the pools, we headed to a traditional Maroi hangi. The experience was great. They had Maori warriors come great us in the traditional peace offering way. Then we got to watch traditional Maroi dances and games. The highlight of the night was getting invited on stage. The girls got to learn a dance with the poi balls and the boys did a haka dance. Carolina was all smiles on stage. Connor was excited to make scary faces as part of the dance. After the dances, we enjoyed the hangi. The whole experience was very similar to a luau, but this one was a perfect length for the kids and an much smaller setting so they were very much able to enjoy it all up close. After the hangi, we got to go to the geyser on site while it erupted. It was so steamy and dark that we could hear the geyser, but couldn’t see the spray of water. The coolest part was sitting on some nearby stone sitting areas that were heated by the steam coming from the vents within the rocks. Some of them were so hot that you had to move after sitting on them for a short length of time.
In Rotorua, our first stop was at Rainbow Springs to experience kiwis. There was an encounter we hoped to go on, but it is not hatching season for the kiwis so we didn’t get to go on the encounter. We did, however, get to see kiwis in their dark enclosures. Kiwis are hard to spot as a tourist because they live in the bush and are nocturnal. We were thrilled to see the kiwis! They really are super cute birds. Their feathers almost look like hair, they have very long bills with noses attached at the end of them, they have big, round bodies, and long legs. We watched them for awhile as they scurried around looking for food. We also got to see kea (parrot like birds) and tuatara (lizards).
After the pools, we headed to a traditional Maroi hangi. The experience was great. They had Maori warriors come great us in the traditional peace offering way. Then we got to watch traditional Maroi dances and games. The highlight of the night was getting invited on stage. The girls got to learn a dance with the poi balls and the boys did a haka dance. Carolina was all smiles on stage. Connor was excited to make scary faces as part of the dance. After the dances, we enjoyed the hangi. The whole experience was very similar to a luau, but this one was a perfect length for the kids and an much smaller setting so they were very much able to enjoy it all up close. After the hangi, we got to go to the geyser on site while it erupted. It was so steamy and dark that we could hear the geyser, but couldn’t see the spray of water. The coolest part was sitting on some nearby stone sitting areas that were heated by the steam coming from the vents within the rocks. Some of them were so hot that you had to move after sitting on them for a short length of time.
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