Waitomo Glowworm Caves and Huka Lodge

We woke up early on Monday morning and headed South to Waitomo to explore the glowworm caves. Our tour guide, Ross, took us through two different caves. The first we walked through, the second we rafted through. The glowworms are larva that are about 4 centimeters long and glow from their bottom in order to lure insect prey. At the very beginning we stood in pitch black as the guide told us about the worms. As our eyes adjusted to the dark, what was once sheer darkness slowly turned into a celestial display on the little worms covering the ceiling of the cave. As our eyes adjusted more, the river underneath was revealed reflecting the worms overhead. There were millions of them and looked like stars in the sky. They were truly a wonder to see! The guide only gave a short time at the beginning for people to try to take photos and then forbade the usage of digital screens in order to allow everyone's eyes to gain night vision. Our little digital camera struggled and was not able to capture even a fraction of the vision. You truly had to be there!

Special thanks to: Michelle, Justin, Kurt and Des for funding the tour!

After, we headed to Lake Taupo to stay at the luxurious Huka Lodge. We saw lots of sheep on the drive. What a beautiful country we're in! The roads are narrow and constantly winding through the steep countryside.

Special thanks to: Robyn, Josh, Ian, Clay, Allison, Steve, Mary, Ethan, Jill, Chuck, Anna, Kyle, Katie and Ryan for funding our awesome red Toyota Corolla rental car!

We were greeted with "bubbles" (champagne) and friendly ducks upon our arrival to the Huka Lodge. Cam attempted fishing the river, but no luck landing anything. We ended the night with a delicious 5 course dinner on the deck of the lodge overlooking the Waikato River with a bright moon in the sky.

Special thanks to: Tony and Tippy for our stay at the lodge!

We are unable to upload photos right now do to slower internet, so creative writing will have to do.