New Zealand Part 1 : June 13 - 24

Taupo : Monday June 19, 2006

Extreme sport number three is complete! And we lived to tell the tale (which is even better). We woke up to cloudy skies and rain. It was going to be a very busy day so we were out the door by 7:30. We had to drive across the island to the Waitomo Cave district. We had reservations for the Black Water Rafting tour at 11:00 am and it was a 2-3 hour drive. Once again the scenery was spectacular and green. We have come to the conclusion that New Zealand is a cross between Vancouver Island and Ireland. Despite the scenery however, the gravol and the early hour did everybody in, and soon Brian was driving by himself as the rest of the family caught an additional 40-60 winks.

True to form we pulled into the offices of the Black Water Rafting Company early. Like 90 minutes early. We had just missed the early tour by 10 minutes. Brian and Brennan were doing the rafting tour while Deb and Sierra had opted to do the more conventional cave tour. The Waitomo district is literally honeycombed with caves, many of which are interconnected by large streams and violent rivers. They are most notable for their glow worms. These tiny fly larvae dangle thin strands of gluey, silky fiber from the cave ceiling. They catch and eat insects in these strands while they are in their larvae stage. During this period, they emit a bioluminescence from their tail end that gives the “Glow Worm” their name. The conventional tour involved a 30 minute tour through the cave proper to view the formations and a 15 minute boat ride along an underground lake to view the large glow worms that rest on the ceiling of the large caverns. Deb and Sierra thoroughly enjoyed their time in the caves. Sierra was particularly impressed with the way the glow worms looked like stars when the lights were turned out. She also liked the general rule their guide identified “all caves have an elephant formation!” Sierra was reminded of a poem she read on the wall of a pub in England It goes like this:

I wish I was a glow worm

Because a glow worm’s never glum

For how can you be sad

When the sun shines out your bum?

 

Following their cave tour the girls went to the “Shearing Shed”. This shed however had nothing to do with sheep. Rather it specialized in shearing Angora Rabbits. These incredibly fluffy rabbits originally hailed from the Pyrenees. They are raised in the region for their incredibly soft fur which is shaved off them 3-4 times per year. If they are not sheared, they will die from overheating. The rabbits are taken from their hutches and tied onto a small rotisserie contraption, with their front and hind legs tied together. They are then sheared with normal sheep clipping shears. This is a kiwi method; the Germans who developed this line, use scissors. Unfortunately it takes the same length of time to shear 1 rabbit as it does to shear 23 sheep! Just too many folds in the skin I guess.

The boys had a very different caving experience. They started their day climbing into very cold and very wet wetsuits, booties and helmets that were equipped with small halogen lights. This tour was pretty small with only 5 clients. Despite the small number there were 3 guides that would accompany the group. We were warned at the start of the tour that the water was very high and the flow stronger than normal. They had cancelled two tours the day/night before because the water had reached the roof of the cave in a couple of places. This message sure got our heart racing, and after our experience with sledging we were taking these warnings more seriously than before.

Our group hopped into the van for a quick trip to the Aranui cave. Before going into the cave proper we had to find the right sized tube. The generally accepted test was to squat down and put your ass through the tube hole. If you could wedge it in up to your knees and middle back it was a good fit. Next up was the test entry which involved walking out onto a small wharf (3 feet off the water) and jumping backwards into the water. I am sure this was just a trick to get us into the icy cold water. It was going to be a frigid trip!

It was back into the van again (this time armed with our tubes) and we were off to the put in spot. A short walk took us down to a small stream that was flowing into an even smaller hole in the ground. This is where our trip really started. After crawling and climbing down a couple hundred of meters through water and over rocks things started to get interesting. We had lost all the light from the cave opening and our stream had begun to merge with other flows. The light from the helmet lamps allowed us to see a few feet into the cave but that was about it. There was nothing but the sound of roaring water and darkness. The guides finally stopped the group and helped us “mount up” onto the tubes. Looking around it looked like we were on a giant underground lake even though there was a significant current pull in the water. One of the guides floated towards the wall then immediately disappeared into the darkness. “Follow his light” we were told. What light, we wondered. As we floated towards the wall we began to see the glow from the lead guide’s lamp. There was a very small passage under the rock up ahead. It was about 6 inches above the water and 5 feet wide. Basically the float started by sinking our tube down and working our way through the cavern with our ears in the water and our noses scraping the roof. This went on for about 30 meters until suddenly the float opened out into a high roofed narrow canyon.

As we waited for the others to clear the low ceiling, the guide explained that this was the spot that always closed down the cave. The day before the 6 inch clearance hadn’t been there at all. Once everybody was brought together the guide had us turn off the lights. We immediately saw small dots of light all around us. It looked very surreal like we were in the middle of a star field! We were surrounded by glow worms. We could actually see them once the lights were turned back on again. Very very cool!

The roar of the water was very loud now. As we mounted up, two guides went up front. We were hitting the rapids now, with nothing but our head lamps. We were told to ride the tubes over the first set of rapids, to look for the lights of the guides and to paddle like hell towards them. Under no circumstances could we go past them. The guides were supposed to snag us and spin us into an eddy before we hit “The Waterfall”. All of us but one made it safely to the snag point. It was a fun ride. One person however capsized in the rapids and had to swim down. The waterfall was 6-7 feet high. The guides stood you up on the lip of the waterfall with the tube located around your middle to you wouldn’t let it go. They indicated that there were rocks up to 4 feet out from the base, so the trick was to jump as far out as you could. When you surfaced you had to make a grab for a rope on your left side. Brennan went first with perfect execution. You could hear his shout of glee above the roar of the waterfall! Nothing like a little bit of adrenaline to get you going. All of us made it down safely.

The base of the waterfall opened into a very narrow and deep canyon that had been etched over the years into very bizarre shapes and tunnels. This was where the labyrinth got its name. At this point the tubers all linked up to form a long chain. The tough stuff was behind us. From here it was a nice slow float through the bizarre scenery that looked like something out of a Dr. Seuss movie. We did about half of it with our lights out, floating along and admiring the glowworms that formed millions of stars and galaxies above our heads. Soon we began to see light in the distance, as we neared the exit. We had to climb down a small waterfall but soon we were back on dry land, above ground. Everybody was freezing by this point, and the adrenaline was starting to bleed off. It was very different than sledging but the dark and the water made it no less a thrill. It was fantastic!

After a complimentary shower, soup, and bagels we felt almost human. We met up with the girls and headed back to the cave. This time it was to try to find the hiking trail that followed the river around. This was a short 30 minute hike by the caves and through tunnels and temperate rainforest. It had been voted one of the top 5 short hikes in New Zealand and it was spectacular! Sierra especially liked how the huge rapids would come rushing out of a hole in the ground for a couple hundred meters before rushing back underground in another hole. It was certainly one of the best short hikes we had been on during our trip. It also allowed us to get a few photos. Brian couldn’t get any in his float trip because the water was too high and no photography was allowed on Debbie’s cave trip.

The rest of the afternoon was spent driving down to Taupo in the center of the island. It was about 2.5 hours away and we pulled into our hotel (The Reef Resort) around 5:00. It was another great find, sitting on Lake Taupo just at the edge of town. The lake was formed by a huge volcanic explosion in AD 186 and white pumice stone (it floats on water!) still covered the beaches. This is considered the trout fishing capital of a country famous for trout fishing. Everything about the town seems to be about fishing, from its huge fish statues to all the advertisements for guides etc. After reviewing some options, Brian set up a guided trip for the day after tomorrow. Depositing the kids in the hotel room with cable TV, Brian and Deb headed out for some groceries and pizza (the kids found out that Hell Pizza was a chain). Dinner was delicious and everybody went to bed stuffed. The room cost about $120 USD per night for the 4 of us and came with a kitchen and a heated thermal spa. It offered spectacular views across the lake of the huge dormant volcanoes that showpieced Tongariro National Park. That will be our destination tomorrow.

Tuesday, June 20, 2006: Taupo, New Zealand

We were up and going by 8:00 today. After yesterday’s winds and rain, the sky was incredibly blue with not a cloud to be seen. Temperature wise it was cold, hovering just above the freezing mark. The mountains to the south were covered in snow.

Tongariro National Park is the largest park in the North Island. Three active volcanoes (Ruapehy, Ngauruhoe, and Tongariro) form its nucleus. This is also the site of several of the Lord of the Rings locations. Mount Ngauruhoe was the famous Mount Doom where the ring was formed and finally destroyed, and the plains surrounding it (Plains of Gorgoroth) formed several of the scenes. Mordor, Emyn Muil and Ithilien were also in the park boundaries. Brennan was in seventh heaven!

On leaving this morning, our objective/hope had been to tackle the Tongariro Crossing. This 17 km hike leads across the base of the mountains and is often described as the best one day hike in the country. We knew quickly however that the hike was out as we entered the snow line and found that the highway that stretched down the east side of the park was closed for snow. Not to be deterred we headed down the west side. The views were incredible! Everywhere along the road, people were pulling over and stopping to take pictures. At first we found this rather odd. We didn’t know there were so many tourists down here this time of year. It wasn’t until we spoke with one of them that we were told that the views we were taking for granted were a rare occurrence. The mountains are almost always shrouded in clouds and the amount of snow on them was exceptionally high. These were the best views of the mountains in the last several years.

While we felt privileged to see the views, we were still disappointed that the hike was out. The snow was just too deep and the temperatures too low to engage in a long hike. We did see people heading off towards the trail head but they were in serious winter gear. Many of the roads to the traditional trail heads were also impassible with snow and ice, and on the few we did head up we encountered vehicles backing down. Having to be satisfied with just the views we turned back around to the small town of Turangi at the south edge of the lake. Along the way we came to Lake Rotopounamu. This is known as the Greenstone Lake in English and is located 20 minutes off the highway. This was a 2 hour hike that took us along the rainforest and the lakeshore. It wasn’t Tongariro Crossing but it did the job!

We arrived back in Taupo in the early afternoon. With several hours of daylight left we opted to head north of the city. Our destination was the Lava Glass Blowing studios just 12 km north of town. The blowers here used a special acid etch and the various pieces were gorgeous. The prices however were out of this world, and while Deb was chatting up the proprietor, Brian beat a hasty retreat back to the car. We escaped without any purchases (just barely).

Next up were the Huka (“Foam”) Falls, just 9 km north of town. The Waikato River channels through a very narrow gorge at this point before pouring over an 11 meter high waterfall. Over 64,000 gallons of water flow over the edge of the falls every second. This was an awe inspiring sight! It might not have been the highest set of falls, but it was certainly the one of the most powerful we had ever seen. This is also one of the most visited natural sites in New Zealand. You can also catch jet boat rides up the river here. The rides take participants right up to the falls before roaring back down the river swerving just inches away from the walls.

After the falls we headed back into town and did a bit of souvenir shopping. We had become quite captivated with watching rugby during our time in Australia and New Zealand. The All Blacks were New Zealand’s national team and we had already caught several of their games. Brennan was particularly impressed with their Haka dance at the beginning of the game. We finally found a shop that sold the jerseys, but were immediately put off by the prices. $140 for a shirt seemed like a lot of money! We will keep looking however and we are certain we will find one somewhere else.

As nobody was too hungry, dinner tonight was noodle bowls. After settling down for the evening, we had our first big accident with the computer. After spinning around to help Deb pull out the sofa bed, Brian caught the power cord of the computer and pulled it crashing down onto the floor from the desktop. After some very tense minutes we finally determined the computer still lived. We had damaged the one USB port that the wireless mouse was plugged into but other than that we escaped unharmed. We breathed a big sigh of relief. This computer has served us incredibly well and we are very dependant on it. It does everything for us and has been through a great deal of abuse during this trip. It is a Fujitsu Lifebook and we would purchase another one in a heartbeat! Tomorrow I Fish!

Wednesday, June 21, 2006: Taupo, New Zealand

Today was fishing day! That meant while Brian got up early to meet his guide, the rest of the troop got to sleep in. After looking into all the options, Brian decided to go with Peter Wilton (wiltonflyfish@actrix.co.nz and www.wiltonflyfish.co.nz ). Peter is a local guide with over 40 years experience on the local rivers. It was a wonderful day. It was a half day trip into cold water, in the middle of winter but it was still fly fishing in one of the most spectacular settings in the world. It had been a year since I had been fly fishing and unlike normal dry fishing that I was used to back in Canada this was upstream nymphing and wet fly fishing. The local fishery had been stocked over 120 years ago with brown and rainbow trout and they grow big here. During the winter the fish tend to migrate up the rivers to spawn, before returning back to the lake. The rainbows can grow up to 10 lbs in the rivers.

After getting some great tune up lessons on how to deal with the slightly different rigging, we hit the river in a serious matter. In total I managed to snag 3 large trout (3-4 lbs) over the 5 hour period. I even got pictures, and didn’t have to risk my life to get a thrill! There were other people fishing the river, but we seemed to have the most luck. It must have been the guide. Peter did a great, great job and I would highly recommend him to anybody in the area.

I arrived back at the hotel shortly before 3:00 (we went slightly longer than 5 hours) only to find it empty. After spending the day shopping around town (for some replacement gloves), Deb and the kids had headed out to catch The Da Vinci Code at the local theater. Sierra had spent the last day blasting through the book so that she could go to the movie. By all accounts it was a great time.

Tomorrow we head off further south to Wellington. Hopefully the road passes stay open otherwise we will be faced with driving the much longer way around. After two days in Wellington it will be onto the south Island for some more fun and adventure! ( NEXT PAGE )