Glow Little Glow Worm

Actually they are maggots not worms, but who would willingly want to go into a cave full of maggots. It was the best day ever.  We were up early and on the bus by 8.  The traffic was difficult but nothing compared to the traffic coming into the city crazy, 1.5 million people and growing every day, but I digress. We drove south west with a stop at Pirongia for a break.  I found the Bowler Hat Park with a version of the story of how peace was negotiated between the Maori's and the British in the 1870's.  From there we went for a wonderful lunch in a beautiful garden off the beaten track in the middle of farm country. I am going to come home looking like a blimp at this rate.

After lunch it was a short drive to the Waitimo Glow Worm Caves.  The cave is a fair walk in with several staircases.  The stallagtites are lit up and it was a good cave but the best part was when we descended in the dark to the underground river where the glow worms lit up the ceiling. They were just magical. Then the guide crowded us all onto a boat and took us up river. It was completely quiet and the glow worms filled the ceiling like the milky way all along the route.  They also reflected off the water and it was other worldly. It felt like a long time but maybe 20 min to get near the exit except the water was high from the rains and our boat was being pulled against the current. We were heavy with extra people and the boat wouldn't move properly.  Our guide was a tiny older Maori woman who had to get one of the men to hold onto the cable and get us back into position.  It wasn't dangerous and I liked being able to stay in longer but she was embarrassed having made a joke that she had just started working the day before. If we had come the day before we wouldn't have been able to go down the river at all as the water was so high it covered the exit.  I think this will be one of the top highlights of the trip.

The cave was discovered by a Maori guide and an English explorer in the 1870's. Maoris didn't go into caves except to bury their dead and thought that the spirits of the ancestors lived there. It took a lot of courage for this guy to go in. When they found the glow worms he was terrified and sure that they were the spirits of his ancestors.  However the two of them eventually set up a successful tourist business until the government confiscated it took over management.  One hundred years later the Maori's decendents challenged the decision in court and won and the tribe now owns and fully operates the business. Pictures weren't allowed, maybe are best remembered in the mind anyway.

From there we did a direct run to Rotarua and arrived at suppertime, another buffet with a choice of eight desserts, half of them chocolate.  I went for a walk after dinner, found a lovely big rose garden, over 12,000 steps today but I probably needed double that.  Will have to load pictures of the drive down later when I have better internet reception.