North Island

Waitomo

We drove two and half hours south from Auckland to reach the town of Waitomo, one of two places in the world that has glowworms (they are also found in Tasmania). Glowworms are not really worms, but just maggots that are bioluminescent! The first day we arrived we met up with the people from the Expedition and went to the local bar, Curly’s. The following day was our first outing where we went to Ruakuri Cave and went on a rafting tour to see glowworms. So sweet! They look like greenish-yellow stars on the ceiling. Then Sunday, we went to a “Kiwi Culture Show” at Woodlyn Park, where there is also a “Hobbit Motel” built into the ground, and a boat and plane for lodging. Volunteers helped saw a log, sheer a sheep (I helped with that one), and we were entertained with a possum, dogs, sheep, and a huge cow (that’s not the proper name, but, yah). Afterwards, some most people on the trip decided to participate in another caving trip. This time is was focused on rappelling down into a water cave. It was raining and the waterfalls inside the cave were huge. We went down 250ft! Out first rappel down a waterfall was 65feet. Crazy cool  There were small caverns you had to crawl through and parts we climbed up a bit. It’s really hard to describe but was completely fascinating. Also, because of the rain, the water levels in the cave were higher than they normally would be in the summer and the waterfalls were gushing!

Rotarua, Taupo, Tongariro

After packing and cleaning up the Marae, we drove south to Rotarua where some people chose to Zorb (also known as rolling down a hill in a big, plastic ball). I find myself not saying “no” often on this trip and of course participated. You can either go as a single, or up to a group of three; we were offered a group rate and so I went with two other people. Super great! It was kind of like taking a hot tub down a hill. You dove through this hole and then they released you down. We tried to stay standing up and run as it was rolling downhill but fell almost immediately and rolled away around in the water. It was much more satisfying than I expected! Then we went to the Rangitaki River and went white water rafting; my first experience and it was really fun! The scenery was beautiful and the rapids were awesome. I’d love to get into it more back home. Fortunately, the following day, the weather was beautiful and we did the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, an 18.5km hike that crosses Mt. Doom (known for being in the 2nd Lord of the Rings movie, which I have yet to watch). The highest point is at Red Crater (1886m). The change of scenery was incredible changing from a vast volcanic area to a lush forest. Afterwards, there was a sign for a waterfall at our campground and a few of us went to go find it. The trail disappeared and three of us, Cody, Dash, and I, ended up walking down the shallow (freezing) spring for about 30minutes where we came upon a 20ft waterfall. Totally unexpected but awesome to find!

Rangitikei

We drove to Rangitikei and found another campground. It's been a bit of a free day (thus finally having internet!) and we are going to go rafting tomorrow.

All and all, this trip is AMAZING. I cannot believe how we much cool stuff we do, all the time :)