Glow Worms and Farm Stays

We left Auckland today and headed into the countryside.  Our first destination was the Glowworm Caves at Waitomo, which was some distance away.  We made a pit stop in Huntley at a cafe (with gift shop, of course).  Many of us chose ice cream.

We're in the Southern Hemisphere now, and the seasons are shifted from the ones we have in the US.  We have moved into Fall back home, but it's Spring here.  I looked for signs of Spring as we drove along.

Cows are everywhere.  We were told that there are more cows than people in New Zealand.

New Zealand's farming country is very pretty.

We stopped for lunch in Otorohanga, where three of us found a good Indian meal.

Following lunch we drove to the Glowworm Caves in Waitomo.

Waiting to enter the caves.

In The Cathedral, a very large dimly-lit room in the cave, one of our tour members sang an aria.  Since she's an opera singer, this wasn't surprising to us.  I think our guide was a bit startled, though.
The singing looked something like this:

 Actually, photography was not allowed in the caves so our next photo was taken as we left the cave

Our cave tour ended in an aluminum boat drifting under thousands of glowworms attached to the cave ceiling.  The river reaches the outside, as seen above.  The cave was discovered by following the river toward its source.

Exiting through the gift shop.

After the glowworms we moved on to the small town park where our hosts for the evening were waiting for us.  We split into groups of two or three All Classical travelers, with each group having dinner and spending the night at their hosts' home.  Most of the hosts were farmers, some retired.

Having afternoon tea.

Our host had retired as a farmer and was now working for an artificial insemination company.  He explained to us how it all works and showed the equipment involved.

He also showed us a heavy, manual jack that lumberjacks in New Zealand used to use to turn and move heavy logs.  It had been invented by his grandfather.

 Our host also worked with old, restored cars such as this 

 Although retired as a dairy farmer, he still had cattle on his farm.  This cow is not at all sure about the camera.

Notice how all of the cows have turned to look at us.

We enjoyed a walking tour of the farm.

After an excellent dinner and good conversation, we watched a beautiful sunset.

Each group of travelers had different experiences at their hosts' homes and farms, but everyone really enjoyed their farm stays.  One traveler took this shot of a Takahe bird in a bird sanctuary.

Nancy Keating photo

 Tomorrow, we see a stud farm and the Blue and Green Lakes.