13th May 2017

It rained all night, and when we rose at 8:15 am, it was still drumming on the roof. By the time I finished breakfast and had a shower, the rain had started to ease, and blue skies could be seen over the sea. It was such a shame that we were heading up the coast, away from the promise of better weather.

We drove north, and the rain picked up again. After stopping to fill up with diesel and grab a sausage roll, we continued our journey to Waitomo under heavy skies.

We arrived around noon and bought tickets for all three caves on offer. Thankfully, Britz had provided us with a free entry for one person, so our costs were halved.

We drove a short distance to the first cave, Aranui, where we met our guide, along with around eight other tourists. Remarkably, none of them were Kiwis; each came from different parts of the world. Caves are caves, but our Australian guide did a great job describing the features, and he made the route through the various chambers quite entertaining.

It was still raining when we exited the cave. We boarded our RV and drove a short distance to our next meeting point and cave, Ruakuri. With half an hour to spare, we made ourselves a cup of coffee. Our Polish guide introduced herself, and we descended into the depths with another eight tourists. Once again, the script was informative, covering the basics of cave formation as before. The highlight this time was the abundance of glow worms in the grotto, which were as mystical as the publicity literature had promised.

It was disappointing, however, that due to the rain and the high water levels rushing through the system, we couldn’t enjoy the promised boat ride. This was also the case with our last cave visit (Glow Worm Cave), as most of the glow worms we were meant to see were visible during the boat ride that should have taken place. Damn the rain!

By the time we left the cave systems, it was 5:30 pm, and the rain had finally stopped.

We hit the road again with darkness beginning to fall and stopped for an hour or so at a small town called Te Awamutu, where we enjoyed an Indian meal. After driving through the dark, we eventually reached our selected campsite for the night, only to face yet another disappointment; it was full.

Using a combination of my phone app and the RV satnav, we found the next nearest option, which was 12 km away, and set off. It turned out to be the side (or rear) of a country meeting hall, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. There were no facilities, so we had to rely on the RV’s resources, but we’ve done that several times on this trip, and it’s no big issue. Jamie, however, does like his evening shower, and that didn’t happen. Damn the rain, where is it when you really need it?

It was cards, ginger beer, and a bed.