Sarah WallockWell, today may have been our most insane adventure yet. From going caving in the middle of winter to see glow worms, to meeting a friend-of-a-friend, who owns a coffee shop in a 9,000 person town in rural New Zealand, I am not sure which part was more shocking! So, Waitomo, NZ, 2 hours south of Auckland, is famous for its glom worms. There are a variety of different tours through the caves such as walking, zip-lining, boating, black water rafting or a combination of activities. I went for the black water rafting as it seemed like it would be the most adventurous and fun choice. (Full disclosure- these photos are from Discover Waitomo, as they discourage you from bringing any cameras into the caves).
We pulled up to Waitomo to discover it was a completely touristy town. Our time in NZ so far has been more low-key and away from almost any other travelers. In some ways, it was nice to talk to others about what they’ve seen and done and in other ways, it just made me more and more thankful for Dylan, his family and our experience so far. As we are staying in a suburb of Auckland, we rarely see other people traveling, especially because it’s winter. In Piha, we definitely saw a few other tourists, but nothing like Waitomo.
We descended into the cave and did some basic rafting/floating/trudging through water. It was lots of fun jumping off waterfalls and floating down the faster rapids. I think even less adventurous types would’ve really enjoyed it. We went through multiple larger caves and eventually saw the glom worms. It was really beautiful. They reminded me of fireflies I’d seen earlier this summer in West Virginia. After a three-hour tour of the cave, my hands were numb and I was freezing! I must’ve stood in the hot shower for a very long time. By the time I turned mine off, everyone from the tour group had left. Next, we headed to Origin Coffee.
My family friend had mentioned that they had some of the best coffee, so as Origin appeared to be so close to the caves, Nick and I headed over for espressos. Turns out, Roger, the owner, knew exactly who my family friend was and they’d spoken on the phone before. Roger grew up in Malawi and has studied the coffee-making process for over 20 years. Not only was his coffee delicious, but the experience was hilarious. He took us to the back office and showed us around the shop. Then we proceeded to have a photoshoot with the roasting machines. Below are some hastily taken photos. We said goodbye to Roger and jumped in the green machine and drove back to Auckland.
After we drove home from Waitomo, we went out for Sarah’s birthday (Dylan’s sister). Later this week, we are heading down the North Island to further explore the area.
