Day 1: We flew from Sydney to Auckland for our two week adventure around New Zealand. Nothing about our short jaunt in urban Australia had prepared us for this. Barely a half hour after we'd rented our car at Auckland airport, which we did after flying into the city, we found ourselves surrounded by open grassy meadows dotted with cattle. Now this was low season, so things were different as far as car rentals go. You may not be able to get away with this during the summer months. Nor I believe can you travel too fast on the one lane highways that traverse the length of the country; especially if you're either driving or following a lazy RV. The driving here is on the left side, just like in England and in India, so we were fine. Oh, and you can also rent cell phones with great travel plans right at the airport, so don't bother with calling cards.
So here we are, not far from Auckland in the North Island, in the thick of Kiwi countryside. Rolling green hills for endless miles populated every now and then with hordes of sheep and sturdy cows. All perfectly poised for a dairy commercial photo shoot. We're headed south to Waitomo to see the glowworm caves. Driving through endless virgin landscapes, we're amazed at the stark absence of human population. Dusk falls early and briskly. It's pitch dark by the time we get into Waitomo. Thankfully the visitor center is still open. We have a choice of staying at a fancy hotel up the hill, the B&B next door, or the cabins at the RV park across the street. We choose the quaint B&B after meeting the charming owners (Janet and Colin Beeston) and peeking into our cozy country style room. It's time to cuddle into those warm quilts but not before we've found dinner.
Nothing seems to be open around here at this hour. The folks hanging about the nearby pizza corner shake their heads with a vociferous "NO...O...O" to my inquiry about finding food. We then rush to the Subway we spotted along the freeway about 15 minutes from town. It's open, we have food! And a full stomach ignites new enthusiasm to see glowworms in the wild. Earlier our host made mention of a bush walk at night replete with glowworms. Nagesh is excited about this first adventure. So we deposit mom at our warm lodgings and set off with flashlights to spot glow worms.
Only the curvy roads are sort of spooky. The parking lot is hardly visible at night and the walk from there to the head of the bush trail is nothing short of plain scary. We start at the slightest sound and jump out of our skin imagining ghosts in the shadows. It's a scene out of the Blair Witch Project. We don't want to switch on our flashlights in case we miss the glowworms but it's too dark to go on without trembling for fear. We decide that this is adventure enough for one night and leave the glowworm sightings for the guided tour the next day. Mom greets us with a sigh of relief and an "I told you so" look.
So here we are, not far from Auckland in the North Island, in the thick of Kiwi countryside. Rolling green hills for endless miles populated every now and then with hordes of sheep and sturdy cows. All perfectly poised for a dairy commercial photo shoot. We're headed south to Waitomo to see the glowworm caves. Driving through endless virgin landscapes, we're amazed at the stark absence of human population. Dusk falls early and briskly. It's pitch dark by the time we get into Waitomo. Thankfully the visitor center is still open. We have a choice of staying at a fancy hotel up the hill, the B&B next door, or the cabins at the RV park across the street. We choose the quaint B&B after meeting the charming owners (Janet and Colin Beeston) and peeking into our cozy country style room. It's time to cuddle into those warm quilts but not before we've found dinner.
Nothing seems to be open around here at this hour. The folks hanging about the nearby pizza corner shake their heads with a vociferous "NO...O...O" to my inquiry about finding food. We then rush to the Subway we spotted along the freeway about 15 minutes from town. It's open, we have food! And a full stomach ignites new enthusiasm to see glowworms in the wild. Earlier our host made mention of a bush walk at night replete with glowworms. Nagesh is excited about this first adventure. So we deposit mom at our warm lodgings and set off with flashlights to spot glow worms.
Only the curvy roads are sort of spooky. The parking lot is hardly visible at night and the walk from there to the head of the bush trail is nothing short of plain scary. We start at the slightest sound and jump out of our skin imagining ghosts in the shadows. It's a scene out of the Blair Witch Project. We don't want to switch on our flashlights in case we miss the glowworms but it's too dark to go on without trembling for fear. We decide that this is adventure enough for one night and leave the glowworm sightings for the guided tour the next day. Mom greets us with a sigh of relief and an "I told you so" look.
No comments:
Post a Comment