New Plymouth and Waitomo
Mt. Taranaki, a dormant stratovolcano and the second highest point on the North Island, sits towering over the town of New Plymouth, my next destination. I decided to take the longer route, directly south from Tongariro to the coast then along the coast up to New Plymouth, so that I could see more of the countryside. I made one stop at the very southern end of Tongariro National Park to see Mangawhero Falls, one of the most popular waterfalls in the park. The falls became rather well known after being used as a location for the Lord of the Rings (the scene where Gollum is fishing in a pool in Ithilien). The road to the falls was a typical, climbing, twisting and turning narrow road, which by now I was very comfortable with. The falls were easily accessible from a small nearby parking lot and since it was early in the morning, I had the area to myself. The 28m waterfall and small pool at its foot were very picturesque. After spending a little time there I got back in the camper van to head back down the hill and continue my journey. (I actually did not have to use any gas for about 10km on my return, instead coasting down the hill the whole time!)
Mangawhero Falls- should look familiar to Lord of the Rings fans…
As I continued south out of the park, the topology of the countryside remained dramatic. Severe, sharp and deep folds in the landscape, carpeted by lush green grass, left me with the impression a giant fist had grabbed the land and crumpled it up like a ball of paper before throwing it back down. Like most of my drives around the country, I desperately wanted to stop and take pictures to capture the beauty, but the roads, narrow and winding, did not allow it. Also, like other parts of the country, sheep and cattle dotted the hills, regardless of the steep slopes. I really enjoyed the drive! After about one and a half hours, the hills softened, transitioning to the gentle rolling profile that I had seen in other parts of the North Island; I was approaching the southern coastline. I stopped in Whanganui to get gas before turning west towards my goal. Forty-five minutes later I started to get my first glimpses of Mt. Taranaki (see featured image).
An example of the countryside as I drove south out of Tongariro.
The lone mountain towers over the flat plains that surround it. I had to drive around the mountain to get to New Plymouth and I was constantly distracted, trying to get views from different angles as I skirted around it Eventually I found myself in New Plymouth, a town of slightly under 100,000 and a major economic hub for the region. The city sits on the coast and is also popular for its beaches and coastal walkway. I found my campground easily, located on a beach just north of town with easy access to the walkway. After getting hooked up, I decided to stretch my legs and walked along the beachfront walking path south towards town. Evern though it was early evening, because of the warm weather (low 70’s), the beaches were crowded with people swimming, sunning and surfing. Surfing is apparently a popular sport; at one point I passed a class of students learning the basics with their parents watching from the shore. I was not the only one out enjoying the sun as I passed other walkers, joggers, and scooters along my walk.
I planned two days in New Plymouth and the weather report indicated my second day would be dominated by rain so I decided, even though it was cloudy and overcast when I woke the next morning, to do a hike. Better cloudy and overcast then rain! The hike to Pouakai Tarns, on the slope of Mt. Taranaki, was supposed to provide wonderful views of the peak but I doubted I would see much due to the low clouds that were hugging the top of the mountain. Nevertheless, I headed to the trailhead – the weather was only going to get worse the following day. The trailhead was easy to find, a short walk from the parking lot, which when I got there around 9:30am was already crowded with cars. Several hikes started from this area so I had no idea how many people were going to be on the path.
View from near the top looking down into the valley where I had hiked up from. The clouds were hugging the mountain.
Mt. Taranaki is in there somewhere…..
The trail was easy to follow as it was all boardwalk and steps. So many steps….The path basically was “up” the whole time—two hours of “up”. It never stopped. Sometimes the stairs were steep and at times the steps were staggered such that it took a few paces to reach the next rise, but the predominate direction was “up”. Eventually the trail, which slowly wound around the mountain while it climbed, broke out of the rainforest that covered the lower part of the slopes into an exposed landscape dotted with small bushes. An overlook provided a view of the surrounding area, blocked slightly by the low clouds I had been climbing to meet. When I reached the exposed area, the wind picked up and a solid mist surrounded me so I pulled out my rain jacket and kept going. Before reaching the Tarns, the trail led to a hut, available for overnight camping for those embarking on the three-day circuit hike around the mountain. My hike up had been busy, with people passing me (in both directions!) and I found a large group of people having lunch in the hut. At this point I was completely in the cloud, with no view whatsoever anywhere- not unexpected but still a bummer. I sat in the hut for a bit, warming up and snacking on some trail mix and cheese I had with me, enjoying the protection of the hut away from the cold and buffeting wet breeze. Looking out the window into, well, nothing, I decided to abort going to the Tarns (another 20 minute walk) and head down the mountain. It took me a little over half the time to go down as it did to climb up…..
Stairs! You can see how steep the trail is- look at the tiny person down near the bottom. He was not that far away from me.
After the intense workout from the hike I decided to treat myself to a nice lunch/dinner and after doing a bit of research found a micro-brewery in New Plymouth that looked promising. The beer and lamb short ribs were excellent!
After a day of hanging out in the van reading, having flashbacks to the cold and wet weather I experienced in the South Island, I headed out to my next, and final, stop with the camper van, Waitomo. Waitomo, a small village with a population of around 1300 people, is famous for the glowworm caves that blanket the area. I had visited one in 1990 and was eager to repeat the experience but with a visit to a different cave. The campground was in the middle of the village, which consisted of four or so buildings—all in some way related to touring caves or supporting tourists who came to tour caves. I got a great rundown of the different cave tours when I checked in to the campground. There were a lot of options—hike through a cave, tour in a boat, drift through a cave on an innertube, whitewater raft through the cave, etc. I picked a tour that was a three-and-a-half-hour excursion combining walking and inner tube travel; essentially it was a caving tour and a bit sportier than some of the others.
The next morning I drove to the family farm where the cave was located which included traversing 10km of a narrow gravel road. The tour size is limited to six guests but our group was only four people, the other three being locals who finally decided to explore what was essentially in their backyard. We got kitted out with thick dry suits, hard hats with lights, and rubber boots then set off for the 10-minute walk to the cave entrance. I had my glasses on a croakie to ensure I did not lose them if for some reason they fell off. After the obligatory “before” picture at the entrance, we climbed down 40ft ladder that had been installed in a vertical shaft. I was first, so at the bottom I stepped aside, grabbing the guide rope that was attached to one of the walls. I waited in the large chamber, standing in about an inch of water, until everyone descended, our guide coming last.
The large chamber with some great formations. (Our guide brought lights to stage the photo)
The adventure began! Our guide moved up front and, holding on to the rope with our left hands we followed him down a narrow channel, weaving around rock formations that blocked our path. After a bit we came to the first of several tight passages that we would negotiate during the tour. The first passage had two potential paths—one where it was possible to crawl, the other where it was necessary to slide through on your belly. One person took the crawling path, the rest of us chose the more difficult route. As we emerged on the other side of the constriction, we were in deeper water, and it wasn’t long before I had water in my boots. (We had socks on—I brought my merino wool socks I had bought in the South Island.)
Even though we were walking in deeper water, the footing was still precarious as large rocks were hidden in the depths. I moved carefully and kept a hand on the wall when possible, to help with balance (after the constriction there was no rope). We encountered several other constrictions that required contortions to get through, including one where it was necessary to go sideways through a small space then lean back and float on your back through a very low ceiling. Once through that area, I was fully treading water and swimming for a bit until the water became shallow enough to stand. Yes, the water was cold and the first shock of it entering my suit caught my attention but the wet suit was thick enough that my body heat soon warmed the water and I did not notice (until the next surge of cold water got in…..). At one point our guide had us put our hand on the shoulder of the person in front of us, turn off our lights, and he led us through the dark passageway. We were surrounded by glow worms and I was impressed at, collectively, how much light they were throwing off as I could see faint outlines of people and walls.
Standing in the water (did not have to swim at this part). The wet suit worked really well!!
I have no idea how long we were in the cave before we came to a section where they had inner tubes staged for us to climb on. Once mounted and laying across the inner tubes, we hooked our feet under the arms of the person in front of us, turned off our lights, and our guide pulled us through the main channel of the cave using a rope that had been affixed to the wall. This was a very special experience, sitting in the dark, the only noise from water rushing through a distant chamber, slowly moving through a vast canopy of glow worms populating the ceiling and walls of the channel. But for the sound of water echoing through the chamber, it would be difficult to tell that you were not outside looking at a starry sky. Magical!
After we got to the end of the channel, our guide had us wait while he returned the inner tubes to the beginning for the next group. We then continued, navigating tricky footing, climbing over rocks and contorting our limbs to get through tight places until we came to a large chamber with well formed stalactites and stalagmites, where we posed for photos. (Our guide had some small lights in his backpack for background lights.). A few more traverses required swimming before we reached the end of the tour, emerging from the cave by simply walking through a large hole at the bottom of the hill from their headquarters. It was a fantastic tour and to top it off, they had hot tubs available for any who wanted to take a dip before leaving (I did!). I had never had an opportunity to go caving and am really glad I selected this tour!!!!
On the way back to the campground I stopped at the Ruakuri Caves car park to do the short loop hike through the area. Access to the cave was by tour only, but the loop hike had some amazing scenery. The whole Waitomo area sits on top of limestone, hence the large number of caves, and the trail wandered past and through numerous tunnels and gorges that had been carved out by swiftly flowing water. There were not that many people on the trail, as many were focused on entering the cave, and I had an enjoyable time meandering around admiring the rock formations and the rainforest. After a little over an hour I headed back to the camper van and the campsite to take a shower, relax, and prepare to turn in the camper van the following day as I headed back to Auckland. My vagabond existence on the North Island was at an end.
The cave sounds amazing! James and I are visiting one in January. Looking forward to comparing. We will also have to wear wet suits and bring our scuba fins/booties.