Executive summary by darmansjah
Located in the King country on the North Island is Waitomo, which looks like a simple town
above ground, but beneath it lies an extraordinary system of subterranean
rivers and limestone caves. Over 300 caves have been mapped, featuring acres of
stalactites and stalagmites, all illuminated by thousands of native glow worms.
These can be viewed in a sedate and claustrophobe friendly way, such as a
walking tour and boat ride through the ethereally beautiful (but rather
unimaginatively named ) Glow Worm Cave
(US$50; waitomo.com). for the more
adventurous, there is black-water rafting – a combination of caving, jumping
down waterfalls and floating through underground waterways, with a Milky Way of glow worms passing
overhead (US$93, including wetsuit, helmet and other equipment; website as waitomo.com). A quick two-minute walk from
the cave’s visitor centre is the Waitomo Caves Guest Lodge, with cabins set in
a garden and views of the countryside (doubles from US$100; waitomocavesguestlodge.co.nz).
No comments:
Post a Comment