Ngaherenga campsite - Waitomo

Turen gik videre mod de kendte Waitomo Glowworm caves. Ormene lyser op i grotterne, når det er mørkt, for at fange insekter. Her var vi først på en rundvisning inde i grotten og derefter med en lille båd for at se rigtig mange glowworms. Man måtte dog kun tage billeder til slut, hvor der var knap så mange at se. Glowwormen lever i 11 måneder og reproducerer sig omkring 120 gange i løbet af den tid. Når der er helt mørkt, ligner det lidt, at man kigger på en klar stjernehimmel.

Det havde regnet hele dagen, og vejrudsigten viste mere regn samt lidt blæst i løbet af natten. Vi bookede derfor en campsite, hvor vi kunne sætte vores telte op, da det ikke lignede, at det ville blive alt for slemt vejr.

Vi havde begge lidt af en off-dag og havde brug for at slappe af, hvilket vejret også kun var til. Vi fik vasket tøj, og om aftenen begyndte vi at omplanlægge vores oprindelige plan for de kommende dage, da det regner for meget til virkelig at nyde vandring samt teltcamping i øjeblikket. Vi springer derfor en af de mange nationalparker over og tager mod Hamilton i stedet. Vi besluttede os derudover for at forlænge vores billeje med et par dage, da Aviaja flyver fra Wellington og til Sydøen på tirsdag, og derefter kører jeg tilbage mod Auckland. Vi tager derfor et par dage med afslapning og forhåbentlig godt vejr de sidste dage, vi er sammen i løbet af weekenden samt starten af næste uge.

Da vi sad i køkkenet på campingområdet, kom to fra receptionen ind, som vi havde mødt ved check-in, og sagde, at der var varslet kraftig storm med tordenvejr i løbet af natten, og at de ikke ville lade os campere i teltene, da de ikke følte, det var ansvarligt mht. vejret – varslen var først kommet hen på aftenen og blev måske ændret til en kategori rød-varsel. Vi blev derfor opgraderet til en lille hytte og skyndte os at pakke vores telte ned. Det skulle vise sig at være rigtig sødt af dem, eftersom der var meget kraftige vindstød, regn samt tordenvejr. Da vi stod op næste morgen, var der, hvor vi tidligere havde vores telte til at stå, under vand, så vi havde nok endt med at sove i bilen, hvis ikke vi var blevet tilbudt hytten. Men så var vi nok ikke kommet væk derfra til morgen.

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The trip continued to the famous Waitomo Glowworm Caves. The worms light up in the caves when it’s dark in order to catch insects. First, we joined a guided tour inside the cave, and afterwards we went on a small boat to see a huge number of glowworms. However, we were only allowed to take pictures at the end, when there were fewer to see. The glowworm lives for 11 months and reproduces around 120 times during that period. When it is completely dark, it almost looks like you’re staring at a clear night sky.

It had been raining all day, and the weather forecast showed more rain and some wind during the night. Therefore, we booked a campsite where we could set up our tents, as it didn’t seem like the weather would get too bad.

We both had a bit of an off-day and needed to relax, which the weather also perfectly suited. We did some laundry, and in the evening we started to replan our original route for the next few days, since it’s raining too much to really enjoy hiking and tent camping at the moment. Therefore, we are skipping one of the national parks and heading to Hamilton instead. We also decided to extend our car rental by a few days, as Aviaja is flying from Wellington to the South Island on Tuesday, and after that I will drive back to Auckland. So we are taking a few days to relax and, hopefully, enjoy good weather during the last days we have together this weekend and at the beginning of next week.

While we were sitting in the kitchen area at the campsite, two people from the reception came in, we had met them during check-in and they told us that a strong storm with thunderstorms was forecast for the night. They said they wouldn’t allow us to camp in the tents, as they didn’t feel it was responsible considering the weather, the warning had only come in that evening and might even be upgraded to a red alert. Therefore, we were upgraded to a small cabin and quickly packed down our tents. It turned out to be incredibly kind of them, as there were very strong winds, rain, and thunderstorms. When we woke up the next morning, the spot where our tents had been standing was under water, so we probably would have ended up sleeping in the car if we hadn’t been offered the cabin. And then we likely wouldn’t have been able to drive out the next day.Read more