Friday 24th Feb. Otorohanga (18 degrees)

 Leaving our rustic accommodation we headed for our next stop, the Waitomo Caves. We had booked a walking tour of one cave (The Ruakuri Cave) for 3.30pm so although the drive was only predicted to take 3 and ½ hours, we were a little cautious due to the weather damage to the roads and any unpredicted hold-ups we may encounter. Despite constant drizzle and at some stages heavy rain, the drive to Waitomo was uneventful and we had time for a couple of stops, coffee at Whiritoa beach and then Tamahere for a bakery stop, near Hamilton. We decided looking at the homes and facilities in this area that the rich and famous must live here. We arrived at the Waitomo Caves with plenty of time to look around and have lunch. Our afternoon tour of the cave was wonderful. Easy access with a spiral ramp leading us down into the caves. Not only did we see the beautiful, stalagmites and stalactites but also the glow worms. This tour took over an hour and half to complete and was well worth the money. By the time we finished it was time to head to our accommodation which was only a 10 minute drive away. We have another tour booked tomorrow morning which is a boat tour of the caves with the beautiful glow worms in it. I don’t think the constant rain will spoil this as it’s in a cave and this didn’t affect our tour today. We really can’t complain as we’ve been so lucky with the weather.  

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