new zealand day 5: hamilton and waitomo caves

[stormsewer]

I decided to spend the bulk of my last full day in New Zealand in the Waitomo Caves area, about an hour south of Hamilton.



They offer blackwater rafting tours in these caves, as well, though I forgot to bring my swimsuit along and wasn't in the mood for adrenaline that day, anyway. I booked a more sedate tour, complete with tea time. While waiting for the tour to start, I went on a little bushwalk.





The caves are home to a unique species of glowworm. They hang silk threads down from the ceiling and ensare flies that come into the cave (or are born in streams flowing into the cave) . The flies think that the glowworms' light is the light of the sun, fly up, and get caught. It was quite beautiful and peaceful; once your eyes adjust to the dark, the worms give off enough light to make out your surroundings with surprising clarity. The tour guide did some other things that also really made it clear of the amazing range of light sensitivity that our eyes are capable of. Digital cameras have a long way to go before they can get anywhere near that...

The first cave...


Glowworm threads-


Sheep.


The second cave.




More sheep.


After that I really should have gone back, but I stayed to do another quick bushwalk.











This actually reminded a fair bit of Yakushima. Not quite as impressive, but also not swarming with people.

Heading back to Hamilton, I went with my friend to his band practice (he's a drummer in a surf rock band) and wandered around downtown. Then we went back talked and about alien abductions, spoon bending, conspiracy theories, the oil crash, and global warming until the wee hours. Pretty much like we always did. Here's some of his artwork.





Anyway, the next day it was back up to Auckland, and then back to Melbourne. I saw a drive-through liquor store that night.



And the next day it was back to Japan. And here we are. I can't say I was really able to drink my fill of New Zealand while I was there. I'll need to go back sometime and spend a while. Next time I think I might want to start in Wellington and then work my way south...

Backward

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Wow. That new camera catches the scene no matter what the light is like! A smart purchase there. And New Zealand is an excellent place to use it, of course.
-becca

[stormsewer]

Yeah, well I didn't post the pictures that didn't come out well. But the camera definitely does perform quite well under a wide variety of conditions.

[satinworship.livejournal.com]

I delete an amazing amount of fuzzy pictures. What kind of camera do you have?

[stormsewer]

Canon Powershot G7. For me, the ultimate combination of functionality and portability. It suddenly stopped working last week, though, so I guess I get to bust out the warranty.