Waitomo to the Wild Whanganui River
After leaving Mangawhai we headed south and spent some time touring the Waitomo Caves: a huge series of underground limestone caves. The most interesting one was the famous glowworm cave were tiny glowworm larvae emit a blue luminous light in order to attract bugs to their tendrils of web, hanging from the cave top. The cavern with statactites and stalagmites was impressive, with excellent acoustics. Apparently many opera singers and choirs have given concerts there.The tour concluded with a magical ride on boats in the dark with glowworm light overhead. The following day, we toured the huge stalactite cave with some of the stalactites several thousand years old.
Our next adventure was our canoe trip down the Whanganui River. We stayed overnight in the small town of Ohakune, known as the carrot capital of New Zealand and you will see Griz posing with the giant carrot. We were up bright and early the next day to start our 4 day river adventure. As we set off , our canoe rental guide took great care to strap our barrels of belongings into the canoe (something we don't bother doing at home) and gave us a few pointers on how to handle the rapids. With some trepidation we set off, with fast water and gusty winds pushing us along. About an hour into the trip we put the equipment to the test as a gust of wind pushed us into a large log snag, just as we were hurtling through the rapids. Griz managed to keep his cool and found my paddle (which I had forgotten about in the excitement of trying to surface from under the boat), bailed the boat and set us on our way. The rapids and the winds kept us quite busy the first day, and I was terrified to take my camera out of its waterproof case in case we dumped again. We had a great campsite with tree ferns, high cliffs and the sound of rushing water. The next day was calmer and we started to appreciate the huge cliffs, seabirds,goats and even began to enjoy the rapids. Partway through the trip we came to "The Bridge to Nowhere". Apparently, after WW I returning solders were offered free land to farm. However, the steep cliffs and rocky valleys made for difficult farming. By the time the government got around to building a bridge into the area in 1936 all of the settlers had left for more profitable farms and the bridge to nowhere stands forlorn in the wilderness. Tired but happy we concluded our trip and were able to see Mt Ruapehu clearly on our return trip. Now we are spending a couple of days in the town of Wanganui- a laid back Victorian town that had its peak of tourism in the early 1900's when travel down the Whanganui river in steamboats was the major travel and tourist route. Tomorrow we will see the river the easy way- riding a restored steam powered paddle wheeler- the only one in New Zealand .
After leaving Mangawhai we headed south and spent some time touring the Waitomo Caves: a huge series of underground limestone caves. The most interesting one was the famous glowworm cave were tiny glowworm larvae emit a blue luminous light in order to attract bugs to their tendrils of web, hanging from the cave top. The cavern with statactites and stalagmites was impressive, with excellent acoustics. Apparently many opera singers and choirs have given concerts there.The tour concluded with a magical ride on boats in the dark with glowworm light overhead. The following day, we toured the huge stalactite cave with some of the stalactites several thousand years old.
Our next adventure was our canoe trip down the Whanganui River. We stayed overnight in the small town of Ohakune, known as the carrot capital of New Zealand and you will see Griz posing with the giant carrot. We were up bright and early the next day to start our 4 day river adventure. As we set off , our canoe rental guide took great care to strap our barrels of belongings into the canoe (something we don't bother doing at home) and gave us a few pointers on how to handle the rapids. With some trepidation we set off, with fast water and gusty winds pushing us along. About an hour into the trip we put the equipment to the test as a gust of wind pushed us into a large log snag, just as we were hurtling through the rapids. Griz managed to keep his cool and found my paddle (which I had forgotten about in the excitement of trying to surface from under the boat), bailed the boat and set us on our way. The rapids and the winds kept us quite busy the first day, and I was terrified to take my camera out of its waterproof case in case we dumped again. We had a great campsite with tree ferns, high cliffs and the sound of rushing water. The next day was calmer and we started to appreciate the huge cliffs, seabirds,goats and even began to enjoy the rapids. Partway through the trip we came to "The Bridge to Nowhere". Apparently, after WW I returning solders were offered free land to farm. However, the steep cliffs and rocky valleys made for difficult farming. By the time the government got around to building a bridge into the area in 1936 all of the settlers had left for more profitable farms and the bridge to nowhere stands forlorn in the wilderness. Tired but happy we concluded our trip and were able to see Mt Ruapehu clearly on our return trip. Now we are spending a couple of days in the town of Wanganui- a laid back Victorian town that had its peak of tourism in the early 1900's when travel down the Whanganui river in steamboats was the major travel and tourist route. Tomorrow we will see the river the easy way- riding a restored steam powered paddle wheeler- the only one in New Zealand .
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