North Country, New Zealand

Have you ever been on a long travel journey and started to feel immune to it; to the restaurants, the sights ("oh look another cathedral"), even the grandeur of some of the most beautiful natural scenery? I found a cure for that immunity when I visited the Waitomo Caves with the Legendary Blackwater Rafting Company in Waitomo (see http://www.waitomo.com/black-water-rafting.aspx).

I traveled by bus from Auckland to Waitomo and as luck would have it the bus dropped me right at the Blackwater Rafting Co. headquarters: talk about convenience! I was reminded again at how fine-tuned the tourist industry is in NZ! Arriving just before lunch for my tour at noon gave me time to grab a bite that the Blackwater Rafting Co. cafe ("The Long Black"). Not just convenient but a huge and delicious meal: highly recommended!

The tour itself was phenomenal - one of the best travel experiences I've had. Off season when I traveled and there were only 3 in my group so that is always nice. We received much more personalized service as a result of our small cohort. It was myself and two young lads from Norway...being young they tended on the silly side but I enjoyed their enthusiasm and sense of adventure. The guide was happy to allow us to take on additional challenges and I found myself becoming more adventurous by being around these two fellows. After getting all dolled up in our none-too-attractive wet suit and gear, we started by climbing into the caves and then up through a waterfall. It was rather insane and I had to shimmy on my belly through the first waterfall then rock climb up the chute (this is an example of "extra" adventure that we were privileged to enjoy being a small, able-bodied and young group). Truthfully I was a bit freaked out by the close quarters of the cave-rock-waterfall climbing and felt mild panic setting in. Our guide was incredible and sensitive and checked in with all of us after this little stint...I indicated it was a bit too extreme for me and he was extremely conscientious and respectful of this and tailored our future activities accordingly. Even with the mild panic, it was totally worth it and totally fabulous. The best; however, was still to come. You find yourself climbing, swimming and floating through caves and waterways and jumping off small ledges into pools of water. But the glow-worms...the glow-worms...how can you describe it?! What an incredible sight. It is an unbelievable experience and not to be missed. The entire roof of the caves was lit up with tiny pinpoints of light - it looked like thousands of tiny Christmas twinkle lights - IT was perfect and I'm so glad I had a chance to see it in such a unique way. At one point we all linked up in our tubes, turned off our head lamps and just floated and admired the bioluminescence. Awesome: in the true sense of the word. I could describe more but you must experience it first hand and put your own words to the journey. It's well worth the trip to the little town of Waitomo.

For me, traveling in September, it was three hours of freezing cold, wet and damp, but what can I say: it was worth every glacial second of it. Other details: there is more than one type of tour you can participate in. I chose to do the black labyrinth tour; however there is a black abyss tour as well which includes an abseil portion. The black labyrinth tour was about $100 (consult the web for up to date pricing) and included a lovely hot shower, hot soup and bagel at the end of the journey.

With unusual-sounding tour options like, "TuMu TuMu ToObing" or "Haggas Honking Holes" you might wonder what you are getting into when you book with Waitomo Adventures (http://www.waitomo.co.nz/). I can't speak for all of the adventure options they offer but I can definitely recommend the 4 hour, 100 m "Lost World" abseil adventure. I did it, I loved it and I recommend it to anyone fit and healthy enough to enjoy the experience.

In booking this adventure, I had been promised a "magical" and unique experience: the abseil is twice as high as all the other Waitomo caverns. I was cautious (i) I'm a bit afraid of heights and (ii) it cost $225 (check website for current pricing). But I came to experience and I didn't want to miss this opportunity. I'm so glad I decided to partake. The 100 m rappel is gentle (to quote the company's advertising) and pretty awe-inspiring. You get the feeling that not everyone has seen *this* part of New Zealand. There were glow-worms in the cave that we crawled through (though they do pale (pun intended) in comparison to the Blackwater caves glow worms which I enjoyed on my Black Water Rafting Co. tour. Emphasis on this Lost World trip is definitely on the abseil portion of the day: sunlight streaking from above as you slowly drop yourself down into the dark and prehistoric feeling cave below. What they *don't* advertise in the brochure, of course, is that what goes down must also come up - and there is a 100 ft. vertical ladder climb to get back out of the cave. It's metal and in September, was a freezing cold, arm-breaking-off-due-to-fatigue climb. Truthfully, the ladder portion, from my perspective, was terrible. Scary and painful. The combination of muscle fatigue and frigid metal - I thought I would fall for sure...which of course, may be melodrama since I didn't and I'm here to tell the tale. I have to take away one star for this reason (the ladder) but it's still a great way to spend $200 and 4 hours of your time and it is worth it nonetheless!

They don't allow photography which is annoying but they conveniently (ahem) provide a photo service, meaning they will take your picture for you and offer you a package you can buy at the end of the day. Obviously you will want to purchase this because you will feel extremely proud of your extreme athletic prowess and will want proof of your accomplishment. Don't expect too much: my photos were of fairly poor quality but at least I have them to keep.

Other important points: that you will need a certain level of fitness to complete this adventure but my guide was helpful and instructive and you need no abseiling experience whatsoever.