It's Still Raining

Tuesday 21st January

Well it's still raining and we got up to a very soggy day. Our first night's sleeps in our van wasn't bad, nice and cosy and warm, but the pillows are awful, so a trip to The Warehouse is called for, as soon as.

We are still heading North, but have decided to have a look at a couple of cave systems not far away, before we set off. The first one called the Glow Worm cave and the second The Arunai Cave. The whole area is riddled with about 130 lime stone caves, some you can walk into like the ones above, others you can cave dive, abseil into, sit on rubber rings if that is your wish, and swim through them, and some potholing, none of which we wanted to try. We were happy to wander through them.

The first one you walked through and then got a small boat which took you through a huge cathedral cavern, where the ceiling was covered with glow worms.... it looked like a fairy palace. Aaaaah. We couldn't take any photos here. The second was just beautiful, I can quite understand where the ancestors got their stories from, and how this has transformed into tales such as the Lord of the Rings.

They reckon there are still hundreds of caves to be discovered. Some are sacred places where people were buried, so of course you cannot visit them... fascinating place.

We set off for Wanganui from there and have to say I had a terrible day's driving. It was pelting down all day, I drove over a mountain so took for ever coz of the windy roads, and the top it all the windscreen wiper wasn't working properly kept slipping out and making the most horrible screeching noise. I was tearing my hair out and tired and grumpy by the time we reached the camp site at Bulls. Needless to say the minutes we got there, the rain stopped. Hurrmph. 

But I do have to say that even in the rain the scenery was lovely, the hills green, with farms and fields everywhere. Can't wait to see it in the sunshine and when the scenery gets more dramatic.

                                            Our home and a grump Rod as it is still raining

                                                        Steamy, wet and hot rain forest

I demanded a large glass of red wine immediately.

We had another night in, as we were in the middle of nowhere by a lake, it was lovely, quiet and I made a great spag bol which I have to say was very nice.