We set the alarm for late (9am) -- you can't really get a lie-in in this job -- pressed snooze a lot, faffed around and left after the 11am check-out.
We continued further into the boonies to Te Waitere but it's a blowy overcast day, the tide is out so there's not much to see or do. We head back to look at some of the features on the road back to Waitomo.
First stop, Marokopa Falls. We trundle down the path that goes from grassy hill as the top to subtropical at the bottom. You turn a corner and, wow! I did a wow and turned back, too slow to get my camera rolling, to see Helen do the same. Expecting a simple stream falling a few feet, you get a 15m wide, 25m tall very evenly spread waterfall. It's a great view and a real surprise if you're in this neck of the woods.
Next stop, Piripiri Caves. Hamish, back at the lodge, had said many people descend in trainers and come back saying it's a disgrace that it's open to the public -- ropes, boots and lights a minimum. We follow the path, turn a corner and all you see is a big black cave. We're not going in there! Your eyes adjust and you see a few steps going down so you follow in and the first cave becomes apparent. A big old thing with stalactities, fallen boulders etc. and a couple of flights of steps before you need professional help. As with the glow worms last night, my camcorder shows nothing -- not enough light. I try the "low lux" setting and unlike last night I get a good picture of the cave although it reduces the frame rate to about four a second -- any movement takes a few seconds for the camera to refocus etc..
The third stop is the Mangapohue Natural Land Bridge -- home of the glow worms. We go in and actually spot a glow worm in daylight, recognising the signature bead-chains used to trap midges etc. for food. We carry on past where we stopped last night [it was very dark!] and [a mere] eighty yards later the natural bridge appears. Of course, in practice, it's the only bit of a limestone cave's roof still standing. 20m [long] and 10m across (and 30m up in the air) it looks, well, like a bridge and had we braved the drips [and the dark] last night the glow worms must have been very impressive indeed.
A few more detours later and we stopped for nice lunch at Te Kuiti followed by a sheep-heavy walk through the park at the back. Having booked accommodation in New Plymouth we felt we had plenty of time to make the journey. We only just made it in time. A slightly twistier, slower journey than expected. I dozed off for most of it, naturally.
The lay of the land has changed on this west coast to another variant of hill, grass and tree that is consistent withing the region and yet different to elsewhere. Hard to describe, as if you hadn't guessed.
Shoestring Backpackers, yet another BBH hostel, we haven't stayed in a YHA since Opotiki, is visually very appealing, nice large wooden decorated rooms. It's hard to tell if this is the original decor (how old are New Zealand houses?) or an expensive redecoration.
We head down into town and get sandblasted by the strong winds blowing in from the sea before tucking into some Thai food. It should be noted that the poor visibility has meant that we haven't seen Mount Taranaki (2518m) even though we're only 25km from it.
Shoestring Backpackers, New Plymouth S39.05871 E174.08080 Elev. -14m!
Copyright 2002 Ian Fitchet. All rights reserved.