InsaneJournal

New Zealand Day 3
I'd meant to get this done before bed last night, but well... it didn't happen.



We woke up in the morning to a pretty cool fog off to the north and relatively clear skies elsewhere.  After dressing and packing and what not we tried to check out but well, they weren't at the office so we turned in our key and went to breakfast.  I had cereal that was more nuts than anything else but also really good.  We then tried to stop at a local cultural center where they advertise local weaving but they appeared to be closed.  That pushed us on to The Legendary Black Water Rafting Company where we planned to do cave tubing.  Do to the hour we got there, we actually were able to take the 11:15 tour instead of the 12:00 (also thanks to Clue's decision making powers).  Our guides were Josh and Lloyd, both of whom were a lot of fun.

First up was the prep... this meant getting dressed in wetsuits, crash helmets and spelunking boots.  You'll love the photos when I get them up, we look sooo stylish.  Next was the drive over to the cave itself where we picked out our tubes, learned to do 'the eel' and jumped off into a small creek to teach us how and to make sure our tubes were the correct size.  Then it was off to the caves.  With the boots on, we walked down a rather steep set of steps cut into the trail and it felt rather like walking with hobbit feet.  At the entrance to the cave, we climbed down into a waiting chamber to adjust our eyes and get a safety briefing.

Then the adventure started and OMG was it amazing.  We scooted through a very low tunnel and then to the waterfall we had to jump off to start the real adventure.  The glow worms on the ceiling were and amazing site and the tubing itself was a lot of fun.  The water was cold, but not as bad as I expected and the wetsuit did quite the job at keeping in the warmth.  It is something I'll likely never do again, even if I return to New Zealand but I am extremely glad I did this tour.

We finished by getting out of the suits, taking a hot shower and enjoying tomato soup and a bagel at the gift shop.  Then it was off to Rotorua.  The drive was yet again amazing.  The countryside here is just incredible and I would love to be able to afford property and come visit it on a regular basis.  In Rotorua we had a lovely dinner at the Fat Dog and then spent far longer than we should have finding our hotel.  Downtime was had and then sleep.

Today is exploring Rotorua and New Years (yes, it is New Years Eve here already), so geothermals, here we come.