Waitomo's Caves

I will admit that, while I was excited about many of the things I have done so far, I was really excited about this particular activity. I have done rafting in the past, but black water rafting was going to be a first for me. I couldn’t help, but wonder what it would be like to do rafting on an underground stream. Second, I couldn’t wait to see the glow worms and Waitomo is definitely the place to see them.

We opted for the Legendary Black Water Rafting Company to explore the caves on a tube.

Black water rafting was definitely different. It was way more relaxing, except maybe when it came to jumping down the small waterfall. The water was relatively cold, but still comfortable while wearing a wetsuit. 

The glow worm were amazing, it really did look like a starry night in the dark of the caves when all our headlamps were off. 

Our guides were young and lively, sometimes saying improper things, but then again, sometimes improper is so fitting to the situation.

I will try to loosely quote the summary given to us by one of the guides: “Basically, you bunch came all the way down here to watch carnivorous, cannibalistic maggots with bioluminescent poo who, upon reaching adulthood, shag until they die.”

And, somehow, this appears to be a very fitting description for the glow worms. The maggot which hatches first will indeed eat the eggs surrounding it, since there are no other food source available to it at that moment. By eating its unborn siblings, the glow worm will get the nutrients necessary to produce a sort of silky fishing line, not unlike the strands of a spider web. The glow worms are not bioluminescent per say, it is their poo that light the darkness. In this way, when an insect gets washed down the caves it will try to fly up thinking the lights are stars and by doing so will get caught on the fishing line cast by the maggot and thus become its next meal.

When it is time for the maggot to transform, it will go in cocoon and come out as a mosquito-like insect with no mouth to feed. At this point, it has a life expectancy of two days. The male will copulate for almost 48 hours straight, before falling asleep from exhaustion and dying. The female will have to find an adequate spot to lay its eggs and will eventually die of hunger.

Albeit in a morbid way, it is fascinating isn’t it?

I'm sorry there are no pictures for this post, I'm still waiting for the shots from my travel companion of the time.

Hangi

While in Rotorua, New Zealand, we signed up for a Maori experience. It reproduced several elements of the Maori culture, including the welcoming ritual of members of another tribe, and displayed some of the skills, such as fighting and weaving. This was followed by a hangi meal, quite a feast, and some traditional singing and dancing.

This was another amazing experience, especially since I’m interested in the status of first nations in Canada and aboriginal people abroad.

I was quite surprised by the situation of Maori people in New Zealand and I think we could really use their example for Canada. I would love to repeat the Maori experience, but with a first nation of Canada. What would I not give to gain insight into their culture. However, I do believe this is not an option for now.

The Maori people I saw were actually really charismatic and proud. I do not wish to generalize, but that was my observation. I did not feel, in New Zealand anyway, that the Maoris were treated as second class citizens. There was something really refreshing about this I suppose.

I don’t know if it is because Maoris are particularly skilled at managing their resources or if they have a strong inherent social fiber.

However, one thing that bothered me was the role of women that seemed to be upheld for tradition’s sake. The feminist part of me rebelled at the idea that women were still limited in what they could do for the simple reason that they are women. I know it might be a simplistic interpretation, but it was still somewhat bothersome to me.

Maori culture, just like for first nations in Canada, deserves to be discovered and not just for the cool facial markings, feats of arms and intimidation techniques. The experience leaves you feeling like you have just brushed the surface on this subject, which is probably true.

I do plan on reading more about the Maori’s culture and history, and I would love to have the chance to sit down and have a one on one discussion with tribe members. I have so many questions left unanswered, like what is the status of homelessness and alcoholism in Maori population? Which fields of competency fall under Maori’s jurisdiction? Are Maori pretty much integrated or apart from the rest of the population?

Hell’s Gate

“Do not be afraid; our fate cannot be taken from us; it is a gift.”
― Dante Alighieri, Inferno

Hell’s Gate, aptly named so by the Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw, was a very foreign sight for me. First there was the constant smell of sulfur, reminder of the underlying volcanic activity of the region. While the temperature of the air was excruciatingly warm, it couldn’t beat the temperature of the different bodies of water and their dangerously acidic content, some at temperature surpassing 100 degrees Celsius and at a pH of 1 (pH in the range of sulfuric acid).

 

(Excessively hot water made for steamy pools.)

There was not really much life going around that specific area, with its stones turned yellow from sulfur deposits. I was more specifically impressed with a pool that was around 6 meters deeps as well as a mud volcano.

 (Stones had yellowish and redish coloration.)

The mud volcano actually is continually growing and erupts at a frequency of approximately every six weeks, when it projects mud at a radius of about 5 meters. As fascinating as I find this, I was glad it didn’t erupt as I was standing beside it looking on.

(Mud volcano)

  

We finished our visit with mud and sulfur baths. While it left my skin soft, my eyes did not agree with it. Don’t worry, I did have better sense than to dunk my head underwater, but the the fumes were quite enough to irritate my eyes and force me to leave. I spent the rest of the day reaching for the eyedrops bottle and avoiding sunlight. While the baths had a very clear relaxing potential, it didn’t work for me (seems like one in ten persons will react the way I did). However, I really loved the walk through the thermal springs’ park and would highly recommend it, even though my clothes smelled like rotten eggs for a few days afterward and I had to buy ammonia to wash my bathing suit. 

(Yes, this mud is actually boiling)

I should also mention its traditional value for the Maori's community, where they used

the water for different purposes, including healing their battle wounds. However, as you walk the trail, you are not constantly reminded of this fact. There are of course a few explanations of the names of the different pools, but they do not beat you over the head with it. So as you walk around the place, keep in mind that this is an important place for the Maoris and it is full of significance.

Oh and do stop at the carving workshop. It's a nice way to finish your walk and it makes for a nice token to bring home.

(My very impressive carving of a kiwi)

Rotorua

We mistakenly made our way to Rotorua thinking it was close to the Waitomo Caves and that it would be a good base to explore from. Sadly, we were wrong… We bused from Hobbiton to Rotorua to then go to the caves, while the caves were actually much closer to Hobbiton. I beat myself a bit on the head for this since, when I travel, I really dislike spending unnecessary time in transit.

We couldn’t go to the caves upon arriving in Rotorua (we could only go the next day), so we decided to explore the village. Now I wouldn’t qualify this place, despite how touristy it is, as being welcoming. I'm not sure if we just arrived on a bad day.

First, Wifi was not accessible. Every free hotspot seemed to be down. Then, I tried to stop at a restaurant and buy a coffee (I didn’t even want a coffee) just to be able to access Internet, to sort out an accommodation problem in order to finally put down my heavy bag. The restaurant staff insisted I needed to buy a full dinner to be able to check my emails. It was three in the afternoon, needless to say I was not going to buy dinner yet. So I decided to move on, really wondering in which alien place I had just landed. I could understand if the connection was bad, had to buy a coffee to use the Internet or had to plain out buy Internet time, but I had never heard about having to buy a complete meal in the middle of the afternoon to gain access. This seemed more alien to me than the town just not having Internet at all.

What really got me though, was the reaction of a patron of that restaurant. She kept checking her purse, not bothering to hide the fact that she thought we’d try to have a go at it and steal it. I have rarely been this humiliated in my life. Yet, I swallowed everything that went through my head, I didn’t want any trouble. I think I will always hold a certain amount of despise for this unknown woman who did not even have the decency to attempt to hide her contempt, simply because I had a backpack rather than a suitcase on wheels. It's not easy being on the receiving end of preconceptions...

By this point, I was ready to leave this unwelcoming place behind. That’s when I found the backpacker hostel “Cactus Jack”. For little money you could buy a relatively good amount of high speed Internet. We ended up renting a private room, which was not too expansive. We dropped our bag and already we were feeling a little bit better, knowing we had a place to sleep for the night and to store our luggage as we went about. 

Despite this bad start, we did manage to make the most of it and went not only to the Waitomo Caves, but also to a Maori dinner experience and to the thermal springs named Hell’s Gate. You will be able to read about it soon.

Hobbiton

We left Tasmania and landed in New Zealand, more precisely in Auckland. We spent a day walking around Auckland before heading on. Sadly, we were not able to go to the Observatory that night to watch the stars as it was cloudy. I was quite disappointed as I was looking forward to stargazing. However, exciting news: our next stop was Hobbiton! You know the set where the scenes of the Shire from the Lord of the Ring and the Hobbit trilogies were filmed?

 It was truly something else to walk around this fictional hobbit village for a day.

 

 

First, it was unbelievable to see the landmarks seen on screen, most notably Bilbo’s hole and its oak tree as well as the party tree (to which we owe the selection of the site during scouting). 

Then, you could only marvel at the amount of details that came into play. The oak tree (which was not an oak tree to start with) to which about 200 000 fake oak leaves were individually attached (the leaves ended up fading before filming, so they had to each be individually painted by hand), the hobbit hole doors – no two were the same – and each little accessory meticulously placed. 

 

Finally, there was the sheer beauty of it all. The gardens were all maintained as if people were actually living there. I, for one, could totally have imagined myself living peacefully in this idyllic setting.

And there's the Green Dragon Inn, where you can actually come in to have a bite and a drink.

 

Here is a sneak peak of the inside of the Inn.

This is a visit I definitely recommend to every LOTR and Hobbit fans out there.