New Zealand: Trip of a Lifetime-Black Water Rafting

A couple of years before we were able to travel to New Zealand, my physical therapist based in Australia, but a Kiwi himself, was telling me about these incredible glow worm caves and how we can go black water rafting inside the caves. It all sounded kind of cuckoo and wild but guess what!!! Guess who got to actually go black water rafting and witness the phenomenal natural wonder of glow worms!? We did!  

The photo above is not our photo. But it's super cool, isn't it? It's a stock photo from the company that took us on this tour, but it reflects the amazing view one can see inside the cave. Since we didn't have a good camera with us, we couldn't replicate it and it just has to remain in our memories without proof. 

But first--this is the LEGENDARY Black Water Rafting tour. We chose the intermediate version, not the Abyss version which involved a bit too much scrambling and climbing up inner cave waterfalls (but it did involve a fox fly zipline in complete darkness that I know kids would have loved).

So we drove from Rotorua to Hamilton for our 1 pm tour. Got fitted with wet suits... always an unpleasant weird feeling as they never fit some of us perfectly. And rubber boots. 

We had to carry our own tube after a short windy drive to the cave entrance. Robert and I were the "models" of how to flow in the dark once we are told to do so. 

That's our group picture BEFORE the adventures. 

The tour guide basically threw us one by one into the chilly water near the cave, so we could experience falling onto the tube and got used to the cold. It was NOT pleasant. 

The tour guide also took pictures of each member of the group as they fell into the shockingly chilly water-haha. 

I can't even tell, is this MY "brave" face?? Oh yes, that’s me, I was the one with shorter boots;)

Mark was finally able to float on top of his tube-hahaha, poor kid doesn't have an ounce of extra fat on him so he literally sinks when he tries to lie down in the water. 

Even Alex was shocked! So I am not exaggerating that it was quite cold. 

The final goodbye picture before entering the cave! 

Feeling quite strong and powerful going into the unknown.

These goofballs were ready for the craziest tricks and already were planning to volunteer to go first on all the riskiest assignments from our tour guides. 

As I mentioned, we couldn't take good pictures inside as we had to take good care of ourselves! And didn't want to lose the phones. It was very tricky in places--fast water rushing past you as you are navigating the rocks, the blocks, the tube, walking on very uneven surfaces and sometimes even having to hold onto the rope as you "slide" down the cave. 

And then there were waterfalls and drops and you having to jump with your tube at your back and land in the water. Exhilarating times!  

And very terrifying times for me sometime, but not for them. 

We had to float in the dark for a long time too, listening to the stories or just silence of the cave. 

When it was completely dark, we could see amazing creations of the underground--glow worms. 

Oh wait, apparently, the glowworms and not actually worms! They are larvae of the fungus gnats, and insect that looks like a mosquito. and this type of glowworms are the larvae of the carnivorous gnats! They are bioluminescent, creating light with the chemicals and enzymes from their bodies reacting with oxygen in the air. 

We did see a few scary creatures too--like eels! They say they are not dangerous to humans but can indeed bite if provoked. 

Another professional picture....the eels were in several places in the cave as we had to walk near them!! 

And we all survived. And didn't get hurt. And didn't freeze. 

We all took a nice hot shower right afterwards and changed into dry clothes--they have the facilities right there where the company starts there tours. Also, for those who are less adventurous, you could just go on an hour long boat ride inside the caves to see glowworms...although when I emailed them to inquire about it, they said that technically you are in a boat for like 15 minutes. So that's how I got convinced to do the intermediate level, despite me being worried about my non-existent ACL. 

Everyone loved the tour. It felt like a huge accomplishment. We purchased the file with all the pictures from the tour and then, as a group, shared the images between each other (so we all didn't have to pay $25 to get our own pictures, if that makes sense). We met some really fun and unique people on every group tour we took on this trip--so eye opening and good for kids to see such a variety of people in this world! 

And so we grabbed some famous fruit NZ ice cream at one of the fruit stand stores and headed towards Hamilton where we had only one night to spend.