The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Any More

This morning, we were particularly glad not to be sleeping in tents. The night started wet and finished very windy; a few tents lost their peg bags, broke some poles, etc. A lot of very tired looking people on the bus today. We decided extra sleep was worth more than breakfast – it seemed the right decision when the alarm went off.

First stop after about 90 minutes was Mokau. The butcher’s shop opposite the coffee shop had a sign in the window claiming to be Mokau’s ‘Home Kill Specialists’. I had a cashew nut cake for breakfast and we had flat whites of course.

The wind had threatened to blow the clouds away earlier but the rain was back again. We stopped in Te Kuiti to pick up supplies for lunch and a few other necessities – yes Pinot Noir.

First activities of the day were at Waitomo, options were black-water rafting – underground floating – glowworm cave walks and a nature walk. We chose the underground walk. Van our driver – really – took us a short way into the country to the cave entrance, then it was about 150 steps down into the depths. The caves have solar powered remote-controlled LED lighting so Van can switch the lights on and off to show more or less of the caves and glowworms. The worms look like tiny points of blue light on the ceilings. They use enzymes to generate light, the same way that glo-sticks work. The worms are gnat lavae, they hang themselves from cave roofs in a web of sticky thread. Their glow attracts insects who get caught in the web and eaten. At one point in the cave, the lights were turned off completely and we walked with one hand on the handrail with only the glowworms to guide us – it was a very strange experience. Van demonstrated the lighting used by the earliest visitors in the 1890s, first candles and then burning magnesium.

Once we emerged blinking back into the light we were given a cup of herbal tea to refresh us.

Our picnic lunch was enjoyed sheltering under cover of the local rugby club bar.

Back on the road we passed a hotel complex that has a boat, an old plane and hobbit burrows for its rooms.

Uneventful drive to Auckland this afternoon. Google suggested we’d be at the hotel by 17:30 but we hit some traffic on the way in and didn’t arrive until 18:30. Auckland feels like the roads haven’t expanded to manage demand.

We had about 15 minutes in our room to shower, change and hit the town to meet some friends for a very tasty local beer and a very good curry. Nice evening all round topped off by a final Pinot Noir. The barmaid that served us recommended a few wineries to try when we’re in Queenstown. The Black Caps are on TV in a one-day against South Africa, not sure where they were playing but it looks more like Bexley Cricket club than an international venue.