This morning saw us heading for Waitomo. Not having been to this part of NZ before it was a surprise that the scenery was so dramatic and alpine. At one stage we passed along the gorge through which the river Waikato flows into lake Whakamaru. It is full of steep hillsides covered in pine forests punctuated by cliffs and rocky outcrops.
Arriving just after midday at our motel we left our bags there and went to see the caves at Waitomo. There are three main caves and we chose the ones discovered by a Maori called Aramui while hunting with his dog which found a pig and chased it into a previously unknown cave. That was 1910 and it has been open to visitors ever since.
Home then for another takeaway, this time Chinese.
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- The gorge at Whakamaru in the centre of North Island
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- Some sort of maintenance vesel in the dammed lake Whakamaru.
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- Beware Falling Objects!
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- The main entrance at Waitomo Caves
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- Demonstration of the translucent nature of limestone.
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- Spectacular photos being captured.
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- Our party progresses through the caves.
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- Each of these smaller stalactites is over 10000 years old.
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- Interesting formations!
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- Is it me or does this ostrich look blind?
No Gollum in sight in the caves then? What spectacular rock formations in the cave. You seem to be going from the heights to the depths! And yes, the ostrich does look as though it has a sight problem.
What great photos! We remember these caves well. Are you going to publish
a calendar (or calendars!) using the best of your photos?