Black Water Rafting...WOW!

Up about 8:00, showered, breakfast, then drove down to The Black Water Rafting Company (http://www.blackwaterrafting.co.nz) and checked in. My trip doesn't leave until 1:00, but it includes a free pass to the Museum of Caves, and wanted to get the pass and go this morning. Got my pass, then drove back to the DOC and walked through the museum. It's a display about the Waitomo region, why the caves form here, and about glowworms, etc. Quite interesting.

Then drove down the road to Aranui Cave (a pay-to-see cave) and did a short (30 min) walk to see the Ruakuri Natural Tunnel, an amazing limestone formation. An underwater river combines with an above ground river, and then flows into a HUGE cavern, heading back to the dark underground. Way cool!

Then drove back to the hostel, stopping at the Glowworm Cave parking lot (another pay-to-see cave) and did a short (10 min.) walk.

Back at the hostel, made lunch, had a bowel movement, so I wouldn't have to go in the cave in my wetsuit.

Left for the Black Water Rafting Company for my caving adventure. A bunch of teenagers from Stratford on a school trip, plus one of their teachers, are my group. 8 of us in total, plus two guides.

We got suited up in our bathing suit, then a thermal top, a very thick wet suit, booties, gloves, and a helmet with a lamp on it. Then into the van and taken to the upstream portion of the Ruakuri river cave system.

First, we got some lessons on abseiling, how to fast, slow, and stop. Then we started. They asked who wanted to go first, no one else volunteered, so I did. We abseiled straight down a vertical shaft, 35 metres in the darkness, before getting to the bottom. This was scary! I've never done anything like that before.

Once everyone got down, we climbed over some rocks, through a short tunnel, then "flew" down to the river on a flying fox. Cool! As we flew down the wire, we turned our lights off, to see the glowworms zip by on the ceiling.

Then we were served tea/coffee and a piece of cake, then we grabbed an inner tube and jumped into the icy cold water. We pulled ourselves upstream by a rope attached along the walls, then we "made a train", sticking our legs underneath the armpits of the person in front of us, then we floated downstream, with our lamps off, as one of the guides pulled us along, talking about glowworms. It was just like staring into the starry night sky, except the glowworms (which aren't worms at all, they're larvae of flying insects) are greenish in colour. Little specks of light littering the ceiling of the cave.

Then we ditched our tubes and walked, swam, floated, and at one point, waterslided (waterslid?) through the underground river. Many spots were tight squeezes and very low ceiling where we had to submerge our whole body (brrrr!) up to our chin, in the water, to get through.

We stopped at one point and were hand fed chocolate, as we stood knee deep in the 10 degree water, shivering!

And the best was yet to come!

We scrambled up a fast flowing stream running through a small chute, to a small cavern. We all squeezed into the cavern, waist deep in the water, as Lou, the female guide, explained that there were two ways out. One was the boring, easy way, the other was the fun, exciting way. Of course, we all chose the exciting way.

We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into!!!!

The chute we were scrambling through was only wide enough for one person at a time, so we had to go up single file, and was often not tall enough to stand upright, plus, we couldn't see where we were stepping, because of the water. So, somewhat blindly, we scrambled single file up the chute, fast moving water swirling all around. I was 2nd from the last, and all we could see from the back end was that up ahead was a small pool of white-water, and the first few kept disappearing around the corner of the tight cavern, one at a time. I still remember the reaction of the guy in front of me, when he got close, and peered into the small pool/cavern. (BAD WORD ALERT!) He simply said, "Holy F*ck." I still couldn't see what he saw, but my adrenaline was running at an all time hight at this point. I finally got close enough, looked around the corner and saw a waterfall. An unbelievable torrent, smashing down from about 3 metres above, through a whole in the ceiling. And we had to climb up and through the waterfall. We sat shivering in the swirling pool, watching each one try to get secure hand and foot holds before moving another painfully slow step up. One guide, can't remember his name, waited at the bottom, the other, Lou, remained half way up the waterfall, helping each one place our feet and hands, as she precariously straddled her legs on the walls on either side of the waterfall. It was unbelieveable!!! When I got "on deck", noname guide pulled me over in the chest deep water, right in the splash/spray of the waterfall and yelled at me (had to yell, the waterfall noise was incredibly loud) to watch what's happening, so I'd know where to place my feet. That was all fine and dandy, if only I could see anything! The spray from the waterfall was blinding. Next up was me, and I climbed into the waterfall and started my ascent, using the foot and hand holds recommended by noname guide. When I got up to Lou, I remarked to her that this is one of those things that I just can't believe I'm doing! AFter getting up to Lou, she guided me the rest of the way, slowly, as I faced the momentum of the falling water. I crawled through a small rock spot, where the rest of the group sat waiting in the waist deep water, the look of horror in their eyes! It was quite a sight!!! You could tell they were terrified. And freezing cold too. No one said anything, except me, I exclaimed how amazing it was! They didn't laugh or agree. Lou came along and ushers us forward, further up the tiny river conduit, where we finally see daylight!!! But, to climb out, we have to climb another waterfall!

We made it out fine, but freezing. I was actually not too bad, after a while the wetsuit started to perform, warming my body slightly.

THIS WAS BY FAR THE BEST, MOST EXCITING, MOST EXHILERATING AND DANGEROUS THING I'VE DONE IN NEW ZEALAND!!! This was dangerous, in my opinion. Bungy jumping and white water kayaking are safe, compared to what could happen here. One misstep while walking along the riverbed (which was very uneven) could mean a smashed face or broken arm or leg, or a slip while climbing up the waterfalls could have a serious detrimental affect on your health and well being! And, you're stuck in a vast cavern if you need medical attention! I felt safe and sound bungy jumping and kayaking. I didn't feel that here, I was truly scared doing this! But it was worth it, it was amazing!

I think we spent about 2.5 or 3 hours underground. We got back to the office about 5:00, undressed, had a not-hot shower, then soup and bagels (all included in the price).

What I would have given to had had a camera in there. Trying to describe what we did just doesn't do it justice. Words cannot explain it.

While I was away, the Kiwi Experience bus pulled up to my hostel. I've got roommates tonight! Got back to the hostel about 5:30, used internet, wrote in journal, made supper, then figured out my plan for tomorrow, then to bed.

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.

Most Excellent Drives!

Up about 8:15, showered, breakfast, checed out. Left Wanganui about 9:30, filled up with gas and drove up the Whanganui River Road, which follows the Whanganui River up to Pipiriki, where it turns east to Raetihi. It's a pretty hairy road, one lane most of the way, over half of it is gravel. Lots of boulders and rocks that had fallen from the cliffs, and some slips in the road. One big slip that I was scared to drive through. It had been built back up with soft mud and was rutted and muddy because of all the rain, and I was sure I'd get stuck if I went through it. But I had no choice, so just gunned it, and I heard the bottom of the car scrape the road as I drove through the ruts.

Quite a scenic drive. The whole trip from Wanganui to Raehiti is only about 100knm, but it took me more than 3 hours because of the slow pace. Got to Raetihi about 12:45 and turned north on SH4. Stopped at a picnic area just north of town and made jam and peanut butter sandwiches and ate them on the road. Stopped at The Last Spike, the spot where the last spike was hammered for the rail line between Wellington and Auckland.

Continued north to Raurimu, where the Raurima Spiral rail tunnel tunnels through a mountain in order to gain altitude to reach the plateau above. I stopped at the lookout in town, and couldn't see diddly squat of the dumb tunnel or rail line. All you could see in the distance was some power lines that presumable ran alongside the rail line.

Then north, finally getting Taumarunui. I called ahead and booked a room at a hostel in Stratford and got gas. From here, took SH43, the "Forgotten World Highway", another scenic route, east towards Stratford. WOW! I must say, this is the best, most scenic highway I've drive yet!

The highway cuts through/along the Tarangakau River gorge, with huge cliffs on either side. Tons of roadside waterfalls, boulders and rocks on the road from small rockslides, unbelievable vista's, thick forest, twists and turns.

After leaving the gorge, there's the Moki Tunnel, a one lane tunnel cut under the mountain, instead of going over the top. Then Joshua Morgan's grave, the surveyor who pioneered the road through the gorge and over the mountain ranges. Stopped at Raikohua Falls. At the turnoff to the falls, the farmer had a whole bunch (2 or 3 dozen) pigs skins stuck on the fence. I got out to take a picture, and the hides reeked!

Passed by a town, Whangamomona, which foro some reason, reminded me a lot of Chicken, Alaska. Then the highway topped over 4 mountain ranges along it's route.

I made a lot of stops and took a lot of pictures on the journey. It's only 150km, but took me over 4 hours! So twisty and turny and so much to stop and see, and I know I missed a lot of the sights.

Got to Stratford about 6:00, checked into the hostel, Taranaki Accomodation Lodge. I used to be a home for trainee nurses, and definately has a very institutional feel to it. Hardly anyone here, surprising because of the ski slope on Mount Taranaki/Egmont. I have a twin room all by myself.

Unfortunately, I can't see the volcano today, way to cloudy and rainy. Hopefully tomorrow. Apparently it looks quite a lot like Mount Fuji.

Went to Subway for supper, then to New World for groceries (less than a week left, have to be careful with my groceries), then back to the hostel, figured out a plan for tomorrow, wrote in journal, the read.

And I read, and I read, and I read. The book is amazing. Some of the things that happen in the plot blew my mind, and I had to finish reading it, I couldn't put it down, I had to finish it that night, just to see how it ended. Very cool ending!!!! I finally went to bed after midnight, and then laid awake thinking about the book for the next hour.

Big Drive Day

Up at 6:00, the guy sleeping beneath me kept coughing loud all night, and I didn't get that great of a sleep. I went to the shower, and it had no cold water (!) at all, and it was too darn hot to get under, so I gave up and went to another shower room. This one was the opposite, barely any hot water, my shower was barely warm, but decided to stick it out instead of trying another shower. Had breakfast (free), then to the ferry terminal at 7:00, checked in and gueued and waited for the ferry.

Ramped onto the ferry about 7:45, and the ferry left promptly at 8:00. I read the whold trip, getting about 2/3rds of the way through book 3 of the trilogy. If it seems like it's taking me a long time to read them, well, they're big books, and I'm a slow reader!

Got to Wellington about 11:20, and drove north on SH1, stopping at one of the suburb cities for gas and KFC, then to Bully. From Bully, took SH3 to Wanganui. Crappy day, low, dreary cloud and rain. Got to Wanganui about 3:30. SH1 north of Wellington is the first highway in NZ that you can actually maintain a speed of 100kph!!!

Checked into the Tamara Backpackers Hostel, walked around downtown for a while, then back to the hostel and had supper, then decided to go to a movie, and saw Phone Booth. What a bizarre movie. Very, very original. A realtime movie too, the whole story unfolds in the 1.5 hours of the actual movie. Very good. It's about a guy who answers the phone in a public phone booth, and it ends up being a sniper who threatens to shoot him if he hangs up. Neat!

Back to hostel and to bed about 10:00, tired from the early wakeup this morning and the crap sleep I had last night.

Last Day on South Island

Up about 8:40, showered, breakfast, packed and left about 10:00. Drove rtto Nelson, stopped at internet, McDonalds and booked ferry from Picton to Wellington at 8:00AM tomorrow morning. Left Nelson and drove to Pelorus Bridge Secnic Reserve and spent a few hours doing a couple of hikes. Then continued on to Picton, got there about 4:00, checked into The Villa, the same hostel I was at last time I was in Picton. As you may remember, this hostel has free apple crumb at 7:30, and the last time I said the apple crumb "was to die for". It wasn't particularly good this time, it kind of tasted like it had some veggies in it! Ick!

I'm feeling blue again, I realized this is my last day on the south island and there's a good possibility I may never, ever be back again, in my entire lifetime! I felt a lot like I did when we left Laos.

I watched TV and read until about 10:00, then to bed.

I need to comment on the Kiwi's dumb sinks in their bathrooms, and many of their kitchens. They have separate hot and cold faucets, so you either have to wash your hands in boiling hot water or ice cold water! It sucks!

Abel Tasman

Up at 7:00, showered, breakfast, then waited for the van to pick us up (me and a Japanese girl, who's doing the same trip today). Picked us up at 8:20 and took us to Ocean River and we got suited up in wetsuits, lifejackets, booties, etc. There's six of us on the trip, me, two guides, and 3 Japanese girls.

The water taxi boat picked us up at the office and took us to the water, got launched and took a quick boat ride up to Anchorage. At Anchorage, we disembarked from the water taxi and pullled three double kayaks out of the storage shed and packed everything into them. I lucked out, I got paired with the one Japanese girl that actually knew how to paddle a kayak!

We kayaked from Anchorage to a great golden sand beach (all the beaches in Abel Tasman are amazing golden sand beaches) and had a tea/coffee/cookie break. Then kayaked out around Pinnacle Island and saw a few seals and cormorants/shags, then into a lagoon and up a river a short way to a swing bridge that trampers on the Abel Tasman Coastal Walk have to use to cross the river. Then back out and to Torrent Bay beach and had an amazingly good lunch tortilla's with fried beef and ALL fixings. It was sooo good, I couldn't believe I got such a great meal. I ate like a pig, because there was lots of food, and what wasn't eaten was going to be thrown away. My arms were killing me!

Then kayaked back to Anchorage and got the 3:30 water taxi back to Marahau, lounged in the hot tub at the office for a bit, then they drove us back to our hostels about 5:00.

Had a simple supper, as I was still quite full from that humongously grand lunch.

Me and the Austrian girl (Miriam) played some chess, she beat me in a game, then we decided to go to the nearest town, about 20 km away, and get a bottle of red wine. We were the only ones in the whole hostel, other than a few people using the campsites.

We drank wine, played cards and chess. We got to bed sometime aftermidnight.

I remarked to Miriam that I had said something about her in my journal, I had put in there she was "a good chess player for a girl!" She laughed and insisted I change it to just "a good chess player!"

Abel Tasman

Up about 7:30, showered and made an awesome breakfast, hashbrowns, bacon, eggs, toast and tea. I did good today, and didn't burn anything.

Packed everything in my car, then called Thai Airways and changed my departure date back to Sydney from Sept. 5 to Sept. 12. Gives me an extra week in New Zealand!

Drove up to Marahau, a town at the edge of the Abel Tasman National Park, and at the head of the Abel Tasman Coastal Track, one of NZ's Great Walks. Checked into The Barn, a barn converted into a hostel. The dorm section is very cool, it's in the main part of the barn, so very large, and we sleep pretty much on a big shelf that runs most of the length of the barn. Every three feet or so is a piece of wood that separates your bed from the next bed. There are essentially two sleeping shelves, one below and another one quite high up. I was the coolest dorm I've been in yet! Only two other people in the dorm rooms, two girls, one from Austria, the other from, hmm, not sure. They also have double and twin rooms (as most hostels do), and campsites for those with campervans, and the best thing, they have teepee's, if you want to sleep in a teepee, you can! Cool.

The hostel is perhaps a kilometre from town, so drove into town and stopped at Ocean River kayaking, and booked the Golden Sands and Lagoons kayak trip for tomorrow, $133.

Went for a walk along part of the Abel Tasman Coastal Track, walked for maybe 3 hours. Then back to the hostel.

Had supper, played chess against Miriam, the Austrian chick. She's a really good chess player for a girl! We played three games. To bed shortly after 10:00.