“Legend says, when you can’t sleep at night, it’s because you’re awake in someone else’s dreams.”
~ Anon
I like that!
I am invincible
... MOST of the time.
My weekend has rocked! It was busy, busy, and even MORE busy! I had a VERY successful day at Browns Bay Market and a great night away at Waitomo
.... where the glow-worms live!
In addition, my Sharks ran in a humungous number of tries to win their match against the Rebels. I DIDN’T get to see the match but received reliable updates from fellow rugby fanatics.
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| My market in Browns Bay |
My ever-fanatical rugby-loving friend Carol is once again participating in the Virtual Super Rugby Competition and will be more than delighted that they won. She, for some unfathomable reason, picked the Brumbies to win against them last week ... and was RIGHT! How does she do it.
Our night away took us from the Waitomo Glow worm Caves to the Roselands Angora Rabbit farm and finally to the Kiwi House in Otorohanga.
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| The Visitors Centre that arose from the ashes after a fire burnt down the previous one in 2005. It's an amazing structure and won one ofNZ's top architectural awards in 2011 |
Waitomo is the gateway to a world of limestone formations and living lights in a series of magical underground caves. Waitomo is a Maori word which roughly translated means ‘the stream that flows into the hole in the ground’. The thousands of living lights in the caves are caused by a species of glow worm that’s unique to New Zealand.
I had wanted to abseil into the Black Abyss, an extreme adventure into Ruakuri Cave, but the escapade with the Submarine Simulator in Wellington made me think twice about pre-booking it.
First I needed to know that I could face the caves without fear.
I couldn’t.
The tour takes you into an underground network of caves and passages before ending in a boat trip through Glow-worm Grotto. We joined the tour and had the usual pep talk before entering the tunnels .... no photos, no video, no smoking, no touching the limestone formations. The tunnels were narrow and low and the minute I couldn’t see the sky I felt the panic well up inside me .... and had to get out.
The tour continued without me.
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| The entrance way to the restaurant at Roselands |
Thank goodness I didn’t book to do the abseil. This fear floors me. I’ve never been a fearful person so to be incapacitated by something so irrational baffles me. I’ve jumped out of an aeroplane at 12000 feet for goodness sake, but I’m unable to go a few feet underground without panic overwhelming me. Elevators don’t bother me .... it just doesn’t make any sense.
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| I like these sheep ... they're not noisy! |
Lunch and the venue it was at made up for the glow worm disappointment. The food was yum and the venue beautiful. We were joined by a tour group of Asian tourists, few of whom could speak English. It was entertaining watching the tour guide interpret the wishes of the tourists to management.
Lunch AND a show!
We met a rather raucous Spur Winged Plover at the Kiwi House. He frittled along in front of us, pausing occasionally to fluff up his wings and display his spurs whilst making a whirring sound. I’ve no idea if he was threatening us or if it was a courtship display.
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| Look at those spurs .... he must be quite lethal in combat! |
He wasn’t at all fearful and seemed to enjoy his photo shoot!
As with the Kiwi and a lot of other NZ birds, he’s an Aussie import ... albeit a recent one.
His nickname, because of his raucous behaviour is “Noisy Australian”.
It suits him!
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| It's not often I get up CLOSE and PERSONAL with a Kingfisher |
I don’t think the hound and the fur-ball missed us too much though I’m NOT sure what mischief the hound’s been up to. I WAS a little taken aback this morning when a complete stranger walked up to the hound at the viewsite and said
“Ah ... it’s Chocolat
... and she’s got a new friend!”
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| Love the movement of his wings! |
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| Callum's favourite .... Tuatura |
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| Red-headed Parakeet |
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