Jan 4, 2011
Waitomo is a small town in New Zealand; it has a population of about 300 people. Driving through the town took under a minute. I know because I did so, not realizing until I was in the next town. I saw the sign that said "Waitomo" but I never saw the town. That's because from the surface there isn't much to the place. I believe there was maybe one bar and one restaurant. And a gas station? Forget about it. But those who drive through Waitomo and scoff, ascertaining that there is absolutely nothing to do there are fools, for beneath the surface lies the most incredible bunch of glowworm caves. Laura and I are no fools, which is why we made it a top priority to go to Waitomo and view this unique, natural wonder.
Us girls decided it wasn't enough to simply look in the caves. Instead, we opted to participate in the Black Abyss Tour run by the Legendary Black Water Rafting Co. The tour was advertised as being the "choice for natural born adrenaline junkies everywhere." We were pumped. The tour began at 8:00 a.m. First, we met our two experienced caving guides, Corin (a male Kiwi) and "B" (a female Kiwi). Both were awesome, really energetic and knowledgeable in all things caving (a fact that put my mind at ease). Next, we went out back to gear-up. This was quite a process. First, we had to wiggle into a still damp wet suit. Not the most pleasant sensation. Then we put on wet suit socks, a wet suit jacket, and a pair of rubber boots. Lastly, we threw on a safety harness and helmet, equipped with our very own light. The outfit was bulky and difficult to move in, but I still adored it because I secretly felt like I had joined an exclusive super hero team- like the Incredibles or X-men! If only. I did join a team, a team of clueless tourists who had no idea what they had just signed up for...
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| Geared up and ready to go! |
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| The caving crew: includes 4 boys from boston and 2 native kiwis |
The 5 hour Black Abyss Tour went a little something like this:
A) We went to the cave: We squished our bulky bodies into the van and drove a distance to the entrance of the Ruakuri Cave.
B) We learned to abseil: Outside the cave we were instructed on how to properly abseil. Abseiling, or rappelling as it is also commonly referred, is the act of descending down a rock using a rope. This was something neither Laura nor I had ever done before and were eager to try. We practiced on a hill that had ropes attached to a plank at the top. One at a time we would walk ourselves down the hill (a small one, might I add) getting the hang of how to use our left hand to slack the rope to go and use our right hand to break when we wanted to stop. On the hill, abseiling was as easy as learning to ski on a bunny slop. It was no big deal, and by the end of a few practice runs I was bored with it. But this does not mean that you are ready to go up to the top of the mountain and tackle the expert ski course. That, however, is precisely the sort of transition we made going from the practice hill to actual cave entrance.
C) We abseiled into the cave. One by one, us inexperienced tourists walked to the edge of a plank where Corin attached our safety gear to the abseiling rope. Once secure, he instructed us to sit back and hang- hang 11 stories above the floor of the cave the lied beneath us. By this point my heart was racing. It was time to abseil. Only this scenario was nothing like the practice one outside. Outside, the hill was a gentle incline that you could securely place your feet on for a balanced and controlled walk down. Not to mention you could dig your foot into the dirt and grass for added support when needed. By contrast, the cave was a straight drop down. There was no incline whatsoever. And the hard, stone walls were covered with water making for a slick, slippery surface. In order to "abseil" successfully down the cave my legs needed to be perpendicular to the wall, but this was nearly impossible given its wet surface. Additionally, it was pitch black in the cave which made it incredibly difficult to see where I was placing my feet. Thus, instead of gently walking myself down the cave wall as I had practiced and envisioned, my attempt at abseiling resulted in my slipping and sliding 40 meters to the bottom. Most of my time was spent trying to keep myself facing the wall (rather than the black abyss that was behind me) so that I could more easily slide down. I was desperate to get the the bottom and touch solid ground again. There were multiple instances when I was tempted to just let go of the break and let myself fall to the bottom where B was waiting to catch me. It would have been much quicker and less anxiety-producing. Eventually, to my great relief I reached the bottom. I'm glad I can check that one off my bucket list and never do it again.
D) We whizzed down a flying fox: Yup, to get from point A to B in the cave we took a flying fox. You know, those zip-line swing thingies. Now this was my idea of fun. I loved soring through the air in the pitch black cave. I would have been content doing that for the entire length of the tour.
E) We took a snack break:
F) We went black water rafting: I envisioned this being something like white water rafting in the blackness of the cave, a high-action, fast-paced turbulent activity. This, however, was more like tubing in a lazy river. The scariest part of the whole bit was getting from the rock ledge into the water below. We had to stand on the rock edge holding the big, black tube in place behind us, and then jump a couple meters into the water landing on top of the tube. The temperature of the water was a shock I was not prepared for. It was freezing! As you know from my experience at surf camp, I strongly dislike being in cold water and go to extreme lengths to avoid it. But now, being stuck inside a cave, there was no where to run and hide. I had no option but to endure being submersed in the ice cold water as we pulled ourselves through the cave along a rope attached to the wall.
G) We viewed the glowworms: This part was super cool. Everyone linked themselves together so that we made one straight chain. Then Corin pulled us through the cave while we lied in our tubes looking up at the cave ceiling that was covered in thousands of tiny glowworms. They looked like a brilliant, starry night sky. In the black stillness of the cave it was absolutely spectacular to stare at. We came to learn later that the glowworms weren't even worms at all, but maggots. Waitomo may not have many residents, but the ones it does have are smart and they knew that maggot caves didn't have quite the same ring to it as glowworm caves did. And so they refer to the caves as glowworm caves as an advertising ploy to lure outsiders in. We also learned what part of these magnificent maggots glow. Any guesses? The answer is their poop. Yes, maggots have shiny shit. Or feces. Or whatever you want to call it. I joked, "That's some cool shit!" Because it literally was. I'm sure people in earshot rolled their eyes, but I couldn't tell because it was so dark so I will continue to think my comment was clever and funny. Oh, and we also learned that the maggots dangle shiny threads to capture prey, and when they do they pull them up and suck their brains out. There might be a few other steps in there, but that's the basic gist of it.
H) We swam and stumbled through the cave: This is the part of the tour that they left out of the online description. I read thoroughly over the website numerous times, and no where did it say that we would have to spent a significant amount of time swimming through icy cold cave water in the dark. Had I read that I may have thought twice before signing up. But no, the Legendary Black Water Rafting Company left that teeny, tiny bit out, which I find perplexing since we spent the majority of our time doing just that- swimming, wading and stumbling through the frigged cave waters. Of course by this point there was no going back now. The only option was to persist onwards. Miserably. I tried to keep high spirits and a positive attitude, but it was hard to do when I was slowly losing feeling of all parts of my body. When we weren't swimming we were walking knee-deep through the cave. However, this was even more difficult because a) the water in my boots may them so heavy it was difficult to lift them, and b) the cave floor was terribly uneven and it was impossible to know where or what I was stepping on. We literally were walking blinding through the caves. Our guides named this leg of the trip "The Drunken Path" because we were wobbling side to side and even falling over at times. Not exactly what I had in mind.
I) We had another snack break: Thank goodness! I needed this badly. Nothing like a cup of hot orange juice (which I had never had, but was just what the doc ordered) and a big hunk of a chocolate bar. My tank was almost on empty, but this filled me right back up.
J) We climbed two waterfalls: That was the only way out. The exit hole was high above, and to reach it required climbing over and through two powerful falls. Fortunately, this was easier than it looked and with a hop, skip and a jump I was over the falls. There, before me in the distance was a light. I crawled and scrambled towards the light until finally the exit was before me. I hoisted my still numb body out of the hole and onto the earth outside. The sun shined brightly and warmed my entire body and soul. I gulped in the fresh air and my lungs breathed with delight. It was pure bliss.
K) We disrobed and ate: Well, first we had to walk a mile or so back to headquarters in our bulky wet suits. But once back at camp, we changed, showered and were given a warm bowl of soup and a bagel.
I know that it seems like I had a terrible time. But really I had a blast! Yes, there were moments when I was anxious, scared, cold, uncomfortable and grumpy, but through it all was an underlying feeling of joy and excitement. It is an experience I will always cherish.
Once warmed and fed, Laura and I hopped into Madame Vitz and set off an a 7 hour drive to Wellington where we were scheduled to catch a 2:00 a.m. ferry to the south island.
