Rome Around the World

Picked up ‘Long Black’ coffee and some donuts at a local weekend market stall then wandered south of Rotorua for a morning swim in natural hot stream of Kerosene Creek. We managed to beat the crowds and so got a chance to wade in the heated water to ourselves in the peaceful wilderness near a small waterfall.

Refreshed, we headed back on the road for about an hour to the downtown of Taupo, on the edge of the largest volcanic explosion ever - although 26,500 years ago. On the way we stopped at Craters of the Moon and Huka Falls. The city has an very walkable downtown district, so we ordered some Thai take-away and then meandered through some shops while it was being prepared.

Armed with lunch we drove on to a small spot where we could look upon Tongariro National Park. There are three peaks: Mount Tongariro, Nguruhue, and Ruehpa. It is very quickly apparent which one was the primary `Mount Doom` in Lord of the Rings. The youngest, Mount Nguruhue has a single cone and a nearly perfect overall conical shape, and a very dark shell. When we first arrived clouds obscured the peak, but while hiking the short Ridge Track the clouds cleared and we were awarded stunning views of the volcano.
Corrie felt it necessary to offer her ring to the mountain. No more ring to rule us all? But like Isildor, I prevented her from giving up the power - or was I Gollum?

While driving through the hills of lower North Island we were struck by our constant problem of having to stop and enjoy the spectacular views as we crested hillsides and descended ridges. It really is getting difficult to get anywhere in a reasonable amount of time.

It was getting late and we still had a way to go on one of our heavy travel days. Late afternoon we headed back on Route 4 South, stopping to have a bit of fun shopping for food, wine, and essential supplies at a ‘Countdown’ and ‘the Warehouse’. One such supply was a quick water boiler and coffee for that morning fix. It was then a straight-shot to Wellington for the evening.

One of the “must-dos” of New Zealand are the glow worms of Waitomo. In caves and darkness, the glow worms emit a soft blue glow that fills the walls and ceilings like stars in the sky - thousands little points of light. What’s deceptive is that when you shine a light on them you see the long, nearly invisible tendril they drape down to catch small insects, like a spiders web. Glow worms are also fascinating in that they are in this larvae stage for 1 year, and then metamorph into moths for just 1 day and then die. Not quite a good growing to life ratio.

However, what you don’t hear about is that the Waitomo Caves are over-commercialized, especially during high-season of Summer (Christmas to end of January) and they follow more typical safety measures and also just more factory lines.

After some investigation by Corrie, we found Nikau Caves, a 1km cave tour given by a family on their own private land. The caves have been known about by the native Maori for hundreds of years, but local owners discovered and navigated passage through the caves in the 1950’s. The caves were then opened up to the public (via private tour) about 12 years ago.

Getting to Nikau Caves is half the fun, as the maps are not great, and the roads are very rural and mountainous. We imagine the only people on them live somewhere on the western coast south of Auckland, which probably isn’t many. It didn’t take long for us to see more sheep than we had people. The whole trip is about 1.5 to 2 hours (with stopping for lots of pictures along the way) from Auckland.

Pulling into the home of the owners it is definitely a working farm. There is a pile of lumber to be used for making fences, and the father, Phillip, is busy with some gardening and then heading out to shear 100 sheep today. Watching him shear sheep demonstrates the practiced ease that years of doing a difficult task can do. He folds and bends the sheep - flips it and twists - and within 3 minutes as completely shorn the sheep of its coat and sent it on it’s way back out to pasture and to grow some more wool.

While waiting for the group to gather, Corrie and I enjoyed a nice cup of tea with the family and also with a neighbor who brought her son and some exchange students to go on the tour. One of the sons, Andrew, is our tour guide today and outfits our small band with helmets and torches (flashlights). He explains the importance of trying to maintain and conserve the state of the cave system by not going off the path and not touching anything more than necessary. The construction of the stalagmites and stalactites takes hundreds and thousands of years, and a finger brush or bang can destroy a lot of the effort.

We then head off along the hillsides to the cave. This experience definitely has a much more natural feel to it. There aren’t railings, ropes, signs, or warnings. There was no “release form” or anything. Just names and an explanation and we’re off spelunking.

Nearly right away we get a chance to see and observe some glow worms. In fact, they’re everywhere and the only creature (besides a small crawfish later) that we see within the caves.

The entire experience was thrilling. The best part being a 10m belly crawl in 5-inch deep water through a passage perhaps a meter in diameter. Not only that, but at one point you have to do a Z-maneuver around some blocks. Just make your body long, stick your belly in the water to the ground, and do a commando crawl and it’s actually fairly easy. If just a little nerve wracking and an effort in keeping oneself calm.

The 1km trip took a little over an hour. I wonder if it would be possible to use some sort of ground-penetrating radar, or low-frequency transponders in an underground-GPS for location and mapping.

Exiting the cave was climbing into a pocket of a tropical rainforest set in a small cavity of the hillside. The large Nikau Palms, after which the caves are named, dominate the area.

After saying goodbye to the family, we wandered off in search of a LOTR site - Weathertop - located in the hills to the north.

We found ourselves with an extra day in the Auckland area and decided to investigate the Tasman Sea (western shores) of New Zealand. It’s only 30 miles by road, but took us a little over 2 hours since the roads are narrow and windy as they climb and descend the mountains. Of course, add to that the fact this is our first day driving “British Style”, on the left side of the road, and so are a little nervous whenever a car flies by us.

Kura & Omanawanui Tracks

The hike itself of the Kura Track begins in a car park where you must first cross some pastures and then enter a sub-tropical forest that reminded me of Puerto Rico. The area is covered with both conifers and palm trees - which seems to be an odd mix, but also makes both Corrie and me rather giddy. The ferns also come in a varied range of sizes and shapes.

After a 1km tramp through the valley, and fording several streams, we began our ascent - though somehow got lost on the trail at one point and we missed the expected waterfalls. At least GPS saved us from wandering too far off the trail.

However, it’s when you cross back over the road onto the Omanawanui track that the views really start getting worth the hike. Along the way you skirt Manaku Harbor with glimpses of Paratutae Island and Awhitu Peninsula.

Following the 4 hr, 6.6km tramp we took it easy and soaked our toes in the Tasman Sea and squished the black sands of the beach.

We flew in direct from San Francisco to Auckland - quite the nice flight!

We’re now staying at Freemans Bed & Breakfast near downtown Wellington and about to head out to do some hiking on the west coast in Piha and the Waitakere Ranges.