We checked out of our motel at about 9:30am and drove towards Waitomo to visit some caves. We had a great time yesterday walking around Tongariro National Park, the Land of Mordor.
On our way, there was a scenic lookout point where we had an amazing view of valleys and ricers.
The drive to Waitomo from Tongariro is slightly less than 2 hours. This place is famous for its glowworm caves. There are actually 3 caves where we could visit. We decided to go on all three caves. :-)
Below is the meet up point for our first cave, Ruakuri Cave, New Zealand's longest guided underground walking tour.
The entrance to the cave is artificially created.
First, we journeyed down through the spectacular spiral entrance, and marveled at the softly folding shawl-like limestone formations and crystal tapestries.
According to Maori legend, Ruakuri Cave (rua meaning den, and kuri meaning dog) was first discovered 400-500 years ago by a young Maori hunting for birds. He was attacked by wild dogs just outside the original cave entrance.
At one point, we had a very close encounter with glowworms.
This is our first time seeing the web produced by the glowworm larvae which use light to lure prey into it.
Ruakuri Cave offers a captivating blend of Waitomo's most compelling subterranean experiences.
In one of the sections, there was a pipe sticking out from above. All of us were puzzled until our tour guide explained that if we looked through the pipe, we could actually see the natural sunlight.
There were even fossils found in the cave.
In one of the most beautiful cave chambers, the tour guide helped to take photos for every group.
This cave really leave us open-mouthed, awe-struck and humbled by the sheer majesty of nature.
After spending an hour in the darkness of the amazing Ruakuri Cave, we were finally out in bright sunlight.
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