2 - 3 May
New Zealand is famous for many things and naturally glowing worms are one of them. The network of caves under the town of Waitomo was created by water running through the soft limestone. We had the option of Black Water Rafting (Tumu Tubing) or Spellbound which was described as 'cruisy and suitable for grandparents'. In fact, this was the one and did and I thoroughly enjoyed it particularly as I was joined by Hannah (UK) and Frank (Ireland). We had the chance to wander around the dry caves looking at the stalactites and stalagmites before taking a boat around the wet caves to look at the glowing worms. They look like fairy lights until you get up close and see the webbing dangle down. What makes them light up is vibration and once your eyes get used to the dark, you begin to see more and more and....more! Spectacular.
From here we headed across the Bay of Plenty to Mourea, the home of the Ngati Pikiao people who are the sub tribe of the prominent NZ Iwi of Te Arawa. We were greeted by one of the members of the tribe who performed a powhiri (traditional welcome) including standing in a line and tapping each other using your nose on the other person's nose. You certainly could call it a nice ice breaker, before we dropped our bags off at the Whareniu (Maori Greeting House) which is where visitors sleep when attending a funeral, meeting or family occasions. No food or drink is to be consumed in the house as a mark of respect to their ancestors who's pictures are on the facing wall. After dinner, we enjoyed learning about the local culture through a show before the guys took part in a Haka and the ladies used a pue (Pom Pom) to perform a dance. The loser had to do the washing up from dinner. Thankfully we won! I really enjoyed being a part of this Maori family for one night and learning about their fascinating culture.
Update: I'll post up the video of us dancing when I can!
Next stop: Rotorua
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