Ruakiri Caves And Glow Worms

Another visit in the Waitomo Caves area was Ruatiri, a limestone canyon, full of caves and cave features plus the usual, interesting bush. Later that night--the cyclone was running late--we drove back to see the glow worms on the canyon and cave walls. Glow worms really don't photograph that well, but I did get one or two decent shots. We had seen plenty more during our 2008 visit to the North Island.

Glow worms, I surmise, are an acquired taste...

Te Kuiti

While staying at Waitomo Caves and the hostel there, we also visited Te Kuiti, "The Shearing Capital of the World;" and also the marae (Maori community) there.

Juno Hall, the AYH hostel at Waitomo Caves

Perhaps it was just a slow day for the PM, or maybe he was a really big fan of
glow worms...

We missed the Shearing World Cup by only a few weeks...

Gigantic Monument to the Unknown Shearer

All the shearing world records; most held by Kiwis, of course

The marae community hall

Interior

Porch carvings

And ceiling

Woodlyn Park

So news of the approach of Cyclone Lusi convinced us to seek shelter, that is, more shelter than our tent, and so we drove inland to Waimoto Caves, the glow-worm capital of Earth, and its AYH hostel. We got the last room available, a double, en suite. Pretty fancy for us. But before the cyclone's projected landfall (or by-pass, as it turned out), we explored some of the area's other eminent attractions. Perhaps foremost among these is Woodlyn Park, one of the world's ten most unusual motels, so they said, where you can spend the night in a) a railroad car, b) a ship, c) an airplane, or d) a Hobbit hole. I swear I am not making this up. If none of these suit, you can always attend the Kiwi Culture Show. Or simply buy the place...

Not making this up

Really

The RR car

The aeroplane

The boat

The Hobbit Hole; two suites; each suite is $285 per night, for two

Dang, we missed the show

Not surprisingly...

But another unforgettable experience

Three Sisters 2014

After the White Cliffs, we drove further north to an area known as the Three Sisters. One parks on the river by some baches--Kiwi for beach-houses--and then walks down the river banks to the beach, where there are cliffs, arches, seastacks, caves, Moeraki-type globe boulders, but not very many people. It was still low-tide, sort of, and the crashing surf was definitely coming our way, but we waded out and got to see most of the incredible scenery there. One of our better outings, ever. We tented that night on the river, at one of the few free campsites we have encountered--along with a dozen others, mostly RVs. Oh yes, the ground here is mineral-laden, especially iron...the sand sticks to magnets and there are big iron globules hanging in the cliffs.

White Cliffs

One of the thrills of touring New Zealand--outdoors New Zealand--is walking low-tide paths. We drove on past New Plymouth and the refineries (!) and such and north to the White Cliffs scenic area. At high tide, the cliffs come right down to the sea. At low tide, a strip of gray beach appears and permits quite a long walk past the cliffs and to a stream. We did this hike at a falling low tide. Later in the day, we did the Three Sisters on a rising tide. Quite a bit more adventuresome...

We were pretty sure it was a falling tide

Third or fourth geology class we've run into on our outings; New Zealand has a lot
of geology