Up To Waitomo

Up about 9:00, slept in really good. When I got up. Mt. Taranaki, 2500 metres, was visible. Went and showered, and when I got back, clouds covered it, except for the very tip top. Went and had breakfast, and as I was eating, the mountain cleared again, I ran and took a picture.

Left about 10:00, and drove up to Jackson Lookout (?), part way up the mountain for a grandiose view of the dormant volcano. As I came back through Stratford, I remembered that I wanted to hear the glockenspiel. Stratford has the only glockenspiel in NZ, and three times a day, it recites lines from Romeo and Juliet. (As an aside, many of the town streets are named after characters in Shakespeares plays.) I missed the 10:00AM recital, and couldn't stick around for the noon one.

Drove to New Plymouth, got there about, got there about 11:30, found an expensive internet place and updated my journal, then hit Burger King for lunch and left about 1:00, heading north along the coast on SH3. As I moved away from Mt. Taranaki (also known as Mt. Egmont), you could see in the distance, the other volcanoes near Taupo. A neat view.

Stopped and took pictures of the White Cliffs, seaside cliffs that are white, not unlike Dover.

Kept driving, and at one town, not sure which one, turned off because I saw a sign for a waterfall. Drove 20km to the waterfall. Waitanguru Falls, very spectacular! It was nice to get out of the car for a short walk anyway.

Back the main road and got to Waitomo, famous for it's caves and caverns and glowworms and adventure caving. Checked into the Kiwi Paka YHA, brand new place, very nice, if a little expensive at $22. I'm in a dorm room all by myself for tonight. Booked for 2 nights.

Then booked an adventure caving trip for tomorrow, called Black Abyss. It involves abseiling down into the cavern, then doing some black water tubing and seeing glowworms and some rockclimbing. $140. It's 4 or 5 hour trip, 2-3 hours spent underground.

Bought some milk, made supper (grilled cheese), then watched TV. "Magical World of Disney" was on (when was the last time anyone watched that?), and they were showing "Marry Poppins"! I've never seen it before, so I sat and watched it, not letting anyone turn the channel for three hours! AFter that, went for a walk outside. Sure is quiet in Waitomo, can't hear anything outside.

Then to bed.