New Zealand Nov. 2006
New Zealand Email 1
Well, I made it to the South Island. I'm in Picton, which is where the ferry dropped me off last night. I'm probalby going to head South, though I may stay another night here. I thought I should get out at least one more email why I'm here, and there are quiet a few hikes in the area I can do.
I've found that not making plans ahead of time, I spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about what I want to do. I think I also need a traveling partner - I get lost easily and it would help to have someone else to blame.
So, instead of immediately going to the caves, I decided to go to "Northland", or the northern part of the north island. I wasn't feeling great, and I though I should put off immersion in cold water for a while.
I tramped through some Kauri forests. These are huge trees that have been logged extensively. Saw some trees with a diameter of 10-15 feet. Quite a sight. The drive up north reminded me quite a bit of Northern California, at least in winter. Green, rolling hills - lots of dairy farms. More sheep here than in CA though.
The New Zealanders are incredibly friendly. Very happy to help you and suggest different activities. Most of the towns have 'i' centers - information centers. Thes are incredibly helpful and will make reservations for accomadations or activities for you.
Outside of Auckland, I've been staying in "Holiday Parks". I'm not sure if that's a brand name or a general name. These are sort of like campgrounds, only nicer. You can pull up your RV or car and spend the night. They have hot showers, kitchens, and bathrooms. They also have cabins. Cabins are basically a stand-alone building with a bed or beds. I've been staying in the cabins. They're around $20-25 USD. I brought my tent, but I can't bring myself to use it when it's so much easier to just get a cabin and throw my sleeping bag on the bed.
On with my journey -
After the Kauri forest, I drove to the Bay of Islands. This is a beautfiul bay of, well, islands. Very touristy, for a reason. I took a cruise around the bay. We stopped off on one of the islands for lunch, and I got to lay on the beach for a while. Nice to relax in the sun.
After the Bay of Islands, I drove to the Waitomo Caves. Here I took an all-day journey underground into the caves. Joining me was a couple from England who had been married about a year, and 2 guys from Germany who had just finished up a semester studying in Auckland.
To begin, we drove from town into the hills to our launch point. They had a big rustic building with showers, a patio and barbecue, and storage for wetsuits and climbing equipment. We donned our wetsuits and climbing gear, and set off. We had to walk about 5 minutes and found ourselves poised on a platform overlooking a huge drop into a cave. The cave floor was about 300 feet below us. The guides tied ropes into our harnesses and we bagan to descend. It took about 15 minutes. I would have liked to have gone faster, but we had to descend as 2 groups, and my partners were holding me up :)
Once we reached the ground, we found oursleves in a huge cavern. We began to climb rocks and boulders to reach the point where we could pose for pictures. ( see
http://mngonline.net/pics/nz )
They took more pictures, but for some reason they're not on the cd I purchased.
Anyway, let me describe the trip generally. We had wetsuits, helmets with lights, and a climbing harness. We climbed our way through the large cavern, and into a smaller passageway. Then we jumped in the stream and began to work our way upstream.
The water was cold, but the wetsuits did the trick. There were times when we were walking through ankle-deep water, and other times when our feet couldn't reach the ground and you'd have to grab onto the walls of the cave and pull your way through. The most difficult points came when we were in the water, and the cave narrowed. This created a narrow channel for the water to come through, and you'd be struggling with all your might to reach the next hand hold. We traveled 2km underground, and by the end my legs were almost rubber. It got so it was difficult to just lift my legs.
Other highligs were having everyone turn of their lights, and jumping blind into the water from 15 feet up. We also did a group photo in a small waterfall - this was a highlight because right after this small waterfall was another waterfall with a 20' drop. The current was urging you down this second waterfall hard. We also came into a cavern and turned our lights off. All around us and in the ceilings we saw a constellation of glowing green lights. These are the gloworms. They attrract bugs with the lights, and sticky threads trap the bugs. This was truly a beautiful sight.
After this experience, I was exhausted. I'm still sore from it.
So, I have 1 week left. I hope to see a glacier, and I want to see the Milford Sound and Dunedin. There's a lot to pack into a short time, but I'm having a great time.
I'm glad to see the Dems took over both houses of Congress. It was big news here, at least in the paper. I'm a news/political junkie, so I've been trying to get all the information I can.
Take care, see you all soon,
Mark