We arrived at Waitomo late after a day exploring Hobbiton. The area consisted of numerous caving companies and one single pub. Previous to our arrival we had chosen to explore the caves with the Black Water Rafting company so immediately booked ourselves on a full day trip called the Abyss.
The tour started early the following morning and we were the only two people on our day trip into the caves. We got kitted out in a thermal wetsuit, boots, helmet and harness before getting into the van. Before we descended into the caves we practiced using the abseiling equipment which was easier than we first thought. Si wanted to get it over and done with so he went first. The hardest part for Si was stepping off the edge and letting the rope take his weight but he did really well. The entire time he made his way down the 37m hole he spoke not a single word until he reached the bottom! I really enjoyed it although couldn't quite get the speed I wanted. The hole we went into was shaped like an hour glass and the thin middle part was a little claustrophobic. The next part was the zip-wire in complete darkness. Beneath where we stood attached to the zip-wire was a drop so big and dark that we couldn't see the bottom. This was something I feared more than Si as I was adamant Id end up smacking into the wall. Si turned off his head light and went first and as he finished I heard a big bang..it wasn't until I had done it that they told me they hit the tube to freak people out. Although the zip-wire began in pitch black it became lit up with glow-worms so it wasn't as bad as I thought.
The temperature had dropped so we had a small hot drink to warm us up. We were then left with just the one guide who asked us to hold the rubber tube tight on our bums and then jump off the high ledge into the water. I went first and moaned at Si for making me go caving in the cold water but, after the initial contact, it wasn't so bad. Si and the guide then jumped in and we made our way to the end of the cave. At times we sat in our tubes and paddled but in the shallow parts we walked. We stopped for a photo by 'Gandolf', a natural formed shape on the side of the cave which resembles the wizard (its just about visible in one photo). Once we had reached the end of the cave we turned off our lights and saw all the glow-worms. We floated back the way we came in our tubes in the dark until we returned to the spot where we had jumped in. As we moved further along we stopped for another hot drink at the 'bar'. Beyond this was the 'drunken stumble' which was a crazy walk over rocks. After a head first dive down a slide we slipped back into the tubes and arrived at the re-birth canal where we squeezed through a small hole.
At the end of the Abyss we had to climb up into a hole through a waterfall which was scary but fun. Thankfully our guide told us where to put our feet so we made it up in one piece. We had to crawl for a while as the caves were perhaps knee-height, then we climbed a little more until we were back outside of the cave.
Luckily for us that wasn't the end of our cave exploration. As there was just the two of us on the tour we did it really quickly so the guide took us back into the cave for the half day exploration. The glowworms weren't nearly as bright as the ones we had seen previously and there wasn't any zip-wires but it was still fun tubing to the end. By the end of the day we were hungry and tired so grabbed food and snuggled up in a warm bed.