Auckland city didn’t appeal for more than one night so we set off for the Waitomo Caves area where John had never been. One can go through the caves on a boat only on a tour, to see the glow worms.
I knew there was a lovely old hotel still standing here and was lucky enough to get a room for two nights. Seen here under dark skies - thunderous rain had just passed.!
Three good things:
1. The Gardener was non existent here - a lovely garden but lost - a statue, a wishing well and knee high grass and amongst this grass a beautiful circle of iris.
2. Sadie, our great Mercedes got as low as 5.1litres /100km today! (46mpg)
3. Two days here in this hotel - need a day of rest - John’s having AF episodes.
I went through the caves on an inner tyre tube. It was wonderful, but must have been a narrower bit as a boat would not have got there. Fabulous character hotel.
Great processing Maggiemae, I have been off air for a year and am glad to see you are still here. Did you do the Waitomo boat trip? I wanted to see the caves and the glow worms when we were there but I understood, at that time, you had to abseil in - not my thing!
@judithdeacon Great to hear from you Judith! I've been watching your page and see its not updated. Yes we did the boat trip with the glowworms today and thought it magic! The abseiling one was another tour - not way would I be abseiling! This was just steps and getting into a boat and gently glide under the rock stars, as I called them!
@callymazoo there must have been other water caves then elsewhere, Cally as our boat took 25 people and there were 4 boats. No room for inner tube riders!
@maggiemae It was with the Black water rafting company and the ruakuri (sp)cave is one of the Waitomo caves. They have a website which I have just logged on to and it was a lovely reminder of what we did with some great photos.
@maggiemae oh no; I didn't take photos as I was too busy getting wet as in the tubes and jumping down crevices. I meant on the Black water website. I reckon the tours need to be able to show what they have on offer.
Missed this for some reason last night! Beautiful old hotel & such a treat to unpack your case a bit. Wondering what AF episodes are, not too painful I hope! I loved the caves....so quiet going along in the boat under those starry worms. I remember it well & it was a few years ago now.
@happypat In the end we only stayed 1 night as our grandson who we wanted to visit in New Plymouth was going to be out of town on the day we had planned. AF - atrial fibrillation - where the heart beat goes awry! Imagine getting 25 people to be quiet all at once - it was successful in that boat under the starry roof! When we heard some Asians behind us making a noise and people saying sh sh, I said you have to know how to say shh in their language! We were supposed to sing something at one stage and the Maori girl leader (they were all Maoris) said what do we sing? I said what about Haeri Mai? She admitted she didn't know this!!
Oh wow! Instant fav! Love that dramatic sky and weather. As for the building / hotel - even more wow! I would simply LOVE to spend a night or two there.
A beautiful old building against a dramatic sky, plus your excellent comp and processing, make this a fav for me. That circle of irises in the long grass sounds beautiful and a little wild. Glad you are both getting some rest, and I hope John is ok.
Beautiful old building- it looks gorgeous against the darkening sky. I hope John is doing better. I started reading the "memoirs" today as I was waiting for the car at the auto shop (just regular car care-no worries!). It's just as fun the second time around as it was reading it the first time.
such a dramatic image! I thought I recognized the title Waitomo and after reading your narrative realized I have had the privilege of touring the caves many years ago! Thanks for the memory, Maggienae!
A beautiful building. the darkness behind the window panes makes it look almost haunted. the dramatic sky add to the picture. fav
hope John's heart rate didn't go too high. I still get them once in a while
and they last about an 1 or so. still on meds too.
@lesip Its a hotel, Leslie and I would have loved to find my way up to those windows with the interesting balconies but didn't want to be told I was trespassing!
@bruni His heart rate might go up to 90, Bruni but the usual is around the 50's We are learning to deal with it. Glad yours are not too often and don't last for ages!
November 19th, 2015
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costumed historic play or film !
Enjoy your 2-day rest !
hope John's heart rate didn't go too high. I still get them once in a while
and they last about an 1 or so. still on meds too.