Team America

The wait payed off and we were able to descend into the Ruakuri (Maori for 'den of dogs') Caves. The story goes that Maori hunters chased a pack of dogs into these caves 400-500 years ago, thus the name. The Black Water Rafting Co. has been tubing through the caves for about 20 years. We signed up for the Black Abyss - a combination of abseiling (New Zealanders use the German word for down rope, vice the French word we use; rappelling), tubing, jumping (off small ledges), flying fox, and climbing up small waterfalls within the caves.

We spent about 3 hours playing in the caves led by two guides in a group of seven. Luckily the group we were part of was a bunch of tour guides in training for Kiwi Experience buses. For three weeks they ride around New Zealand trying all of the tourist attractions and learning about the area so they can be good tour guides. They were a rowdy group fond of nicknames and quickly dubbed us Team America. We were treated to several renditions of the theme song from the movie and several F#%K eahs to boot. If you don't get the reference, I highly recommend renting the movie Team America.

We both had a blast in the caves and made it out safe, but exhausted. The group was able to move quickly, so we were able to accomplish a lot of extra ground than the average group. The water was very cold, but they brought coffee, tea, chocolate, and hot Gatorade (which makes for an interesting hot bath when poured down the back of a wetsuit). We both felt that it was well worth the wait. Oh, I almost forgot to mention the glow worms. Although not actually worms, the caves are famous for the insects that give off a relatively bright bio-luminescent glow. While floating down the caves on our back it was almost as if we were looking at a clear night sky. During the larval stage, their waste interacts with oxygen to create the light in order to attract insects to eat. They spend 6-7 months in this stage before becoming winged insects themselves, mating, and then dying about two days later. Pretty sweet life.

From the caves, we jumped back into the car and drove a couple hours to Rotorua - known mostly for skydiving and Maori Villages. Didn't get a chance to skydive, but we did go to a "traditional" Maori Village for a steam cooked dinner. It was entertaining, educational, and interesting to see some of the native customs - dancing, singing, etc. We were part of a huge group of tourists and it was obivous that the 'villagers' were a bit burned out on the performance. So it seemed a bit of a canned show. Still, worth the visit.