West Central North Island

I have tended to use a city or town as the title for a blog post, but we drove a lot this day, seeing a number of cool things. As we headed north from New Plymouth, we were passing through a lot of rolling hills covered in grass (and some forest) -

(please forgive the road cones - this was a perfect example of the countryside I wanted to share)

We then started seeing more limestone outcroppings…

… interspersed with cows -

We drove an hour and a half past our ultimate destination for the night, because I really wanted to see Bridal Veil Falls. It starts very innocuously as this shallow stream…

… before plummeting 180 ft over the edge of a cliff -

I absolutely fell in love with this waterfall…

… for a number of reasons. First, there were three different viewing platforms to appreciate it. This view from the middle one was my favorite…

… because when the sun was shining, you got a cool rainbow effect -

Steve captured it well on his phone for this video -

(as usual, open this email in your browser by clicking the link at the end of the post so you can watch the video)

From the viewing platform at the base of the falls, you could see the basalt columns forming the bowl for it.

They reminded me of all those we saw in Iceland and Ireland. The final reason I really loved this waterfall was that it is considered a sacred space to the Maori, so no swimming is allowed. It was wonderful to enjoy the peace and beauty of this unspoiled corner of nature.

The area around Waitomo was our ultimate destination that evening, as I had booked a tour to see glow worms in a cave. This area of the country is riddled with limestone caves, often with streams running through them -

That’s the mouth of the cave we walked in, alongside the stream (on a walkway, staying dry). We wore hardhats with lights on them, but our guide gradually got everyone comfortable with turning their lights off, so he could show us the glow worms -

The glow worms are actually small (about half an inch long) and live on the roof of the cave. The strings are mucous threads they secrete to capture tiny flying insects…

… attracted by the glow at the end of their body -

Again, Steve got a great video for us with his phone. We were sitting in a small raft that our guide pulled along a cable strung above the underground stream. The sound you’ll hear in the next video is the waterfall we came near but didn’t go over. (if you can, watch the video on full screen - it gives you the best effect)

This video just can’t do justice to the feeling of awe you experience when floating silently along in a pitch black cave, with the only light you see produced by thousands of little blue lights on the ceiling and reflected in the river. It was truly magical.

If you get to New Zealand, we would highly recommend the small company we used - Spellbound. (and as you know by now, I almost never tout specific companies)

We finished our day with a picnic, sharing the sunset with the local cows -

I have to close with one last picture of one of my favorite places in NZ -