Waitomo's Wonders

All day on horse through fresh air traveling over green pastures is hard to beat. But I have to admit the serenity of abseiling 100 meters, feeling like you’re going where no else has been, is quite awesome. Both activities are physically challenging, which I enjoy.

Quick Tips:

Jason's New Zealand website enabled me to obtain descriptions for each activity and contact information. Some required a 10 percent deposit to secure a seat with full payment due upon arrival. Car and accommodations were booked the same way. Bring your own food if you plan on staying for a few days and are using public transportation. Groceries are nearly non-existent and the half dozen restaurants don’t offer much variety.

Best Way To Get Around:

Book Intercity coach, Waitomo Wanderer, Kiwi Experience and Newman’s coach ahead of time to take advantage of their discounts, which only need one day advance notice. Hostel and student ID cards can get you discounts as well. Advanced reservations provide the driver with a list of passengers, so that he will be expecting you if you. Be forewarned that there are no bathrooms on the bus although they do make a stop every couple of hours. Food and drink are not permitted which explains why the buses are very clean including the fabric on the seats.

Waitomo Wanderer Bus coordinates with the tour outfitters, so when we were 20 minutes late back from abseiling, they waited for us. And to top it off, we are delivered directly to our hostels in Rotorua. Within Rotorua, walking pretty much gets you where you need and tours pick up at your accommodations.

Both Kiwi Experience and the Waitomo Wander offer discounts to major attractions when using their transportation. They also offer multi-day passes

Juno Hall is about one mile outside of Waitomo Village, just across the street from the Blackwater Café and Caving. Juno is also the location for the horse treks and you can get picked up for Big Red's 4x4 tours as well. These tours are blast because the guide gears the ride to your ability and grins wildly the whole time.

This hostel resembles a ski lodge. A one-story building with several rooms accommodating 40 people in twin to dorm style rooms. There are half a dozen showers, a laundry room, large kitchen and dining room as well as a TV room. Picnic tables and a smoking area are on the deck outside.

Two phones are located inside with prepaid cards available for purchase from the check-in/travel desk. If you come in after office hours a list of available accommodations with a note to pay in the morning is posted. Tours, transportation, and other accommodations can be booked here. Several popular food items and cold drinks are for sale as well. Considering the nearby café closes at 4pm, this can come in handy. Your other option is to walk a mile to the village, as there are taxis or other forms of transportation. Even in the village there is only a mini market and a few restaurants.

There is also a non-heated outdoor pool with inner tubes, a tennis court, and trampoline and outside barbeque. Seems everything is there or available at this hostel and the owners are very accommodating as well as the other staff.

The horse treks here are not to be missed. Gate and length of time are geared to your desire and ability at $20 per hour. Half-day trips are $100 and $150 for a full day. The half-day trip I spent with the owner’s wife while riding the owner’s horse. The advantage to this set up was an excellent horse with absolutely incredible power and speed going up the side of hills and being able to sustain a gallop for extended periods of time. The one and only disadvantage was the lack of ability on my part to continue to hold him back behind the "guide". Realizing this she told me to go ahead. We left her so far behind that I finally stopped at a closed gate for her to catch up to us.

The terrain and lush surroundings were so surreal. An interesting combination of Australian tree ferns close to the ground with towering pine trees above them provided the setting for the narrowly carved out trails. The ground was damp and laden with pine needles beneath the horses’ hooves, but it didn’t slow them down a bit. A variety of purple flowers, among them vinca and butterfly bushes, provided additional color.

The term rolling hills seems to fit perfectly here. Green pastures complete with herds of cows, sheep and even deer make you feel like you are miles away from the ranch which was coincidentally a stones throw from the lodge I was staying at.

The full day trek was at the owner’s other ranch about a 40-minute drive away with even more beautiful scenery if possible and more vertical hillsides. On this ride I let the owner ride his horse while I rode his wife’s horse Bonanza that could have a mind of her own. Returning through a river we had just crossed she made an attempt to jump at the last minute. Silly girl! It was just too wide. She even jumped some of the larger divot-like holes created by pigs scrounging for food. By the time we returned, it was my turn to scrounge for food and retire to bed early for the next day’s adventure. NZ300 full day, 180 half day

Haggas Honking Holes is a caving trip includes rappels, climbing and walking through the stream. The name Haggas comes from the owner of the property who leases rights to use the cave.

Being suited up with wetsuits, galoshes, rappelling equipment and lighted helmets we took a 20-minute walk to where the real adventure began. We had to rappel 30 meters straight down a waterfall while retaining our footing on the slippery rocks while the guide kept slack on the ropes from above. Blind faith keeps you continuing down this waterfall with water pouring over your head making breathing a bit trying as being told to go the end and stand there. You wonder how deep the pool is and what comes next. The pool is very shallow and after unhooking your equipment you crawl through the hole at the end of the falls. You don’t notice it because of the spray and would only find it because you had been told it was there.

After tramping through the stream, careful not to touch the surround stalactites and stalagmites, you come to a very narrow and short slot, which you are lower into via yet another rope. Unhooking from this rope you make a sharp turn left and go down another short slot.

We continue along the stream, carefully not to touch the surrounds and crawled through a few more holes and up more rocks before finally reaching the pathway that would return us to our vehicle. NZ165.00

NZ165

Lost World is primarily a 100-meter rappel into a vast cave. After a good 20-minute walk across a grassy hillside on a narrow path where you are continually hooked up via carbineer, you reach the platform where you begin your decent. The rope is threading over and under the bars in the rappel rack - the middle bars do lift up to do this. More bars mean more friction. These seem to be used in long vertical drops. The carbineer is the locking type for extra safety.

After 30-40 minutes, we reach the equipment room, where we were fitted with coveralls, galoshes, abseiling equipment and helmets with headlights. Two guides verified proper working condition and fit of all our equipment. Ladies were given hair bands to make sure all hair was tied back so as not to get caught in the racks or the around the cables. Basic instruction in rappelling techniques and safety guidelines were presented and off we went.

We walked for about 15 minutes through a grassy meadow before reaching what might be considered a viewing area directly across from the opening where we soon be descending. Oh, to have been able to bring a camera!

Departing the vista point, we followed a narrow path along sides of the cavern, unhooking and hooking our carabineers as the terrain changed. Certain areas only one person at a time could travel as you’re really were holding onto the ropes connecting larges trees to one another.

Upon reaching the metal platform we were divided into two groups of four, each with a guide. This was the maximum number that could abseil at time based on the number of cables. Each of was hooked up, told to lean back from the platform with the balls of our feet still grounded. One at a time we push away from the platform and pulled at the rope below us inching our way down. Having done a little rappelling, I realized the sheerness and length of the descent made the weight so much heavier than I expected. No wonder it took 25 minutes to get down.

The views were breathtaking. Above me I could see the white light shining through the opening we had just passed. Below was a streambed and at eye level for 360 degrees was an amphitheater cavern.

We walked along the slippery path that paralleled the stream until we reached a huge boulder where each of us was photographed with the white light streaming down in the background.

We continued on, winding around stalactites and stalagmites until reaching a completely vertical 30-meter long ladder. The guide preceded us up the ladder to send down the safety ropes to which we would be attached. Each rung was cold, wet, and slightly muddy. This was the most energy I exerted during my entire vacation. But it was worth it. We hiked back to the van enriched, enlightened and exhausted.