On Saturday 19 March 2016, a group of 6 (2 Japanese, 1 Colombian, 1 French, 1 Korean and myself) set off at 8.3O am from Auckland Institute of Studies and headed for the Otorohanga Kiwi House and Waitomo Caves.
Waitomo Caves and Kiwi House – $180 per person, full day tour.
For info and bookings call: (64) 27 223 6655 email: [email protected] or book online:
Destination: Waitomo Caves and Otorohanga Kiwi House
Our first stop was the Otorohanga Kiwi House and Native Bird Park. This is definitely the best place in New Zealand to see Kiwi. There were several there and we had good viewing of them. One in particular, a 12-year-old female Great Spotted Kiwi called Atu, was very active, especially at feeding time when she ran around the area ‘mugging’ the keeper who was trying to feed her. We also walked around the park looking at many native New Zealand birds: kea, kaka, kereru, ruru, weka and many more. The kakariki, a small parakeet, were friendly, landing on us and eating seeds from our hands.
Waitomo Caves
Our next stop was Waitomo where we initially went to Ruakuri Cave and then to Glowworm Cave. Ruakuri Cave offers the opportunity to walk for nearly 2 hours through the cave network, looking at stalactites (the ones which hang from the ceiling), stalagmites (the ones on the ground) and many other fascinating rock, especially limestone, formations.
We could also get close-up to glowworms and easily see them and their delicate threads hanging down which they use to catch food. Ruakuri also has a spectacular spiral ramp for an entrance.
Glowworm Cave, which was the second cave we visited, also includes a short walk, looking at rock formations but the main attraction of this tour is a boat ride into a large chamber which would be completely dark if it wasn’t for all the glowworms on the cave ceiling – a truly impressive sight.
Our final stop was Huhu, a top-notch cafe at Waitomo where we all enjoyed a delicious dinner.
We arrived back at AIS just before 10pm.
