NZ: Day Three: Learning From Damian

I was up bright and early ready for our big day of sightseeing, not only were we going to visit The Shire, we were heading south to Rotorua via the Waitomo Caves. It’s safe to say we were both feeling a little giddy as we packed our stuff, met Hazel for a quick breakfast and checked out.

 

I was glad it was only a short walk to the bus stop, I seemed to have accumulated a lot of extra weight – must be the snacks! After filling out water bottles, we were surprised to find that we were also provided snacks (chocolate cookies) and a bottle of water from the tour company. With our luggage safely stored below, we climbed on up and chose our seats towards the back of the bus.

 

With all 52 people finally onboard, our driver introduced himself and explained our itinerary as we rattled down the highway. Damian was incredible, I could have listened to him talk all day about nonsense, his voice was like honey. As it was, he actually had so many interesting things to tell us about the history of Auckland and Maori culture on the North Island. It didn’t feel like a boring history lesson either, he was engaging and funny and so knowledgeable.

 

After two hours on the bus, I did sneak in a cheeky forty-winks, we arrived at Alexander Family Farm - otherwise known as Hobbiton! The movie set was originally supposed to be temporary, and after filming the Lord of the Rings trilogy was set for demolition. Seventeen “hobbit holes” remained, and small tours started around the farm. When Peter Jackson returned to film The Hobbit, the farmer asked to have it made permanent, and so was promised the best set ever. We were excited to get to appreciate the forty-four beautifully crafted and extremely detailed Hobbit Holes seen in the movies.

 

We had arrived a little behind schedule, and so it was straight onto the tour of Shires Rest with our guide, Locky. I couldn’t believe the detail on the unique holes, down to moss on the picket fences. There were even gardens with wheelbarrows, a table and chairs, and washing hanging out on the line. We were enjoying guessing the occupations of the residents by what was shown out front, or by peeking around the iconic circular doors.

 

We were slowly making our way through the lush countryside along Bagshot Row, taking endless amounts of photos along the way. Bag End, the home of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins (and I guess Samwise Gamgee too), was incredibly well preserved and looked just as I had envisaged. It also had quite possibly the best view of Hobbiton, across the lake and over to the Green Dragon. Not having actually seen the movies (eek), I was experiencing Hobbiton in a unique way. I had of course been reading LOTR in order to prepare for this special day and was loving how well the scenery matched my imagination!

 

The main reason the Alexander Farm had been scouted in the first place was thanks to its isolated spot, at no point during our tour did we see a power line, a road, or any other modern eyesores on the horizon. There was also the Party Tree by the lake, which was found integral to the beginning of the first film/book. The one natural thing that did have to be constructed was a fake tree next to Bag End. This had two thousand hand-crafted leaves painstakingly threaded on individually so they would flutter in the breeze. I have to say, if Locky hadn’t pointed it out I would not have known it wasn’t real!

 

Continuing our walk down to the lake, we passed Sam’s house, with another beautiful garden and gorgeous bright yellow door. Crossing over the bridge on the way to the pub, we passed one of my favourite buildings – the working water mill. We also had to stop for a photo on the delivery cart before heading into the Green Dragon and ordering a pint.

 

Entering the most renowned inn of the shire, I was astonished by the decoration. The stunningly detailed carving of a dragon over the bar was designed and carved by a Maori elder. The three of us were amazed when we were actually allowed behind the bar for a photo. I had the ginger beer, which was really rather lovely. We found a table by the fireplace to enjoy our drinks and mess around with any props we could find, walking in and out of the door as different characters. We’re just that funny.

 

All this walking had made me very peckish, and I was glad when it was time to walk to the Party Marquee for a buffet lunch. We still had to wait once we were seated, but luckily it wasn’t long before our table was called up and we could pile our plates high. The food looked delicious, and I loved the labels all written in the Hobbiton font. The attention to detail throughout made me so happy. As did the hot drinks on tap and the array of desserts available – of course I had to try one of everything!!

 

All too soon we were back on the bus to head out of the valley to the gift shop. And what a gift shop it was! It was wall to ceiling of official memorabilia, a super fan’s dream come true – all they could ever want. They sold everything from box-sets to Hobbit feet slippers to posters to branded ales, magnets, books, maps, clothing… you name it, they had it. Obviously, this did include a very special jewellery cabinet holding the ‘one ring to rule them all’. I asked the shop assistant if I could have a look at the Ring; it was solid, surprisingly heavy, and was even inscribed – and she let me try it on!

 

With our purses considerably lighter, we reunited with Damian and continued our journey to the next stop: Waitomo Caves. I tried so hard to stay awake this time but woke up as we pulled into the carpark. The visitor centre was an attraction in itself, designed to reflect the curves of the River and contours of the land, it was really something. It was just inside here that we met our Guides: Rain and Aunty Pam.

 

Waitomo Cave has been open to tourists since 1889 after exploration, and discovery of the Glow Worm Grotto, by Maori Chief Tane Tinorau and English surveyor Fred Mace two years earlier. After nearly 100 years of being run by the government, the land was finally returned to descendants of Chief Tane in 1990.

 

Rain and Aunty Pam were indeed descendants and were incredibly knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the cave and its surrounding landscape. Due to the fragility of the limestone structures in the caverns, we were unable to take any photos during our tour. I heard a few grumbles at this, but I was actually glad to be able to concentrate on the talks and descriptions without constant camera flashes distracting me.

 

And so off we marched, down into the cave where we were soon surrounded by stalagmites and stalactites. Rain called some of the interesting limestone formation “modern art”; pointing out a family portrait, SpongeBob and Gary, and Bob Marley to name but a few. It was amazing to see the varied shapes and sizes, the most impressive was The Cathedral. It was the largest cavern, with the best acoustics, so much so that it had been a venue for big name concerts over the years.

 

Now was our chance to learn more about glow worms (or titiwai), and the four stages of their life cycle. I actually found this fascinating, so thought I would share. Glow worm eggs are tiny brown balls stuck to the cave ceiling by the female adult that hatch into larvae after about three weeks. The larval stage is the longest, lasting up to nine months (!), starting at a few millimetres long, they slowly grow to the shape and size of a matchstick – displaying a bright blue light throughout. To feed, the glow worm hangs down dozens of sticky threads which are used to trap any insects that fly towards their bum light. Similar to fishing, they sense the vibration of their prey and reel them in to either suck out the juices or eat the entire body. Yum. Next is the pupal stage (transformation time) and after two weeks of hanging in a case of its own ‘skin’ it emerges as a gnat. During this time, male lights eventually go off so that the females can attract a mate by glowing brightly. By the time the female emerges, she could have tens of lads queueing up for a chance. These fungal gnats only actually live for two/three days; the first few hours are spent drying out, then it’s time to mate to ensure the survival of the species. The females spend hours and hours laying their eggs, one at a time in clumps of fifty. With no mouth now to feed and refuel, this uses all of their energy and they die soon after.

 

At a viewing point, Rain showed us where to look to spot a small group of larvae and their feeding lines. We crouched down and peered into a crevice in the cave, to see a few bums glowing in the dark, and lots of the silk-like threads dangling. Walking back through the Cathedral, we walked down further into the cave to an underground river. We waited our turn slippery steps lit by a single torch, as Aunty Pam described how the boat, and pulley system that operated it, had been used for as long as she could remember, possibly since the first tours in 1889! Once everyone was seated, we were pushed away from the bank and the light was switched off.

 

I actually gasped. I could barely believe my eyes. It was such an incredible sight! There were thousands upon thousands of glow worm surrounding us like stars. I honestly could have cried, how lucky were we that this place had been discovered so long ago, and protected so that we now had the privilege of being able to visit the amazing creatures that called this grotto their home. Extraordinary.

 

Knowing their short life cycle made it even more poignant for me, and I could only hope that the drastic changes in our environment wouldn’t negatively affect the population in the future. Unfortunately, flooding could wash away any glow worms low on cave walls, while the atmosphere must still be quite moist to prevent the glow worm from drying out, a delicate balance.

 

We bid Aunty Pam and Rain farewell as we reached the end of the line and clambered out of the boat onto the bank. Walking back to the gift shop through the mossy forest was beautiful, the birds seemed so loud after the silence of the grotto. We treated ourselves to a green screen photo book, with a wonderfully cheesy picture to remember our visit. We then also had to say our goodbyes to Damian, as he was returning to Auckland, and transfer all of our belongings to a smaller bus.

 

Our new driver wasn't a patch on Damian, he barely said a word. Ben was asleep within minutes, but I actually managed to stay awake for once, and used the time for a bit of blogging. We arrived in Rotorua around 6pm, we quickly checked in to our Base Hostel and were glad to find we had a great room, with a balcony to boot! We desperately needed to stretch our legs so, after a quick freshen up, wasted no time getting straight back out to explore.

 

Rotorua is famous for its geothermal activity, a side effect of which was the sulphur aroma that hung in the air like a long-overdue fart. It was surprising how quickly we became accustomed to it. Right behind the hostel was Kuirau Thermal Park, where we were soon surrounded by bubbling, steaming, and - of course - smelly lakes. Walking over boardwalks and between fenced off pools shrouded in mist, it was all very atmospheric. In fact, as the night grew darker still, I felt like I’d stumbled into a horror film.

 

As we re-traced our footsteps back to the hostel, we noticed something that stopped us in our tracks. The sunset had added another layer of mystery and awe to the park. The glowing red horizon made the pools look like they were on fire! We ran up the hill (and yes, I did actually run this time) to get a better view of this gorgeous event. We watched the red sky, and its effect on the mist that enveloped the area, until the temperature dropped significantly, and it really was wise to head inside.

 

We met Hazel back at the hostel and, after telling her about our evening’s adventure had to grab a jacket and show her the park. It was hard to see the different colours of the pools now, and we sure were glad we had visited earlier. We then all headed to the massive Rotorua Lake together, it was a bit too dark to see across but the glittering lights reflecting in the water was still very pretty. We walked back along “Eat Streat”, opting to get some cheaper food back at the hostel bar.

 

Lava Bar was indeed cheap, and not too busy for a Tuesday night. We bought one of everything from the snack menu and had a really salty fast food feast, complete with a pint each (water for me obviously). After a long day packed full of learning and exploring, we definitely deserved the pig-out. We barely lasted much longer, all feeling extremely tired, we agreed to meet for a lake sunrise, and took ourselves off to bed.