Sorry, Cambria and Beau. We couldn't wait for you. We had to do it. Ever since coming to New Zealand I have been fascinated with a sport invented here called Blackwater Rafting, which involves floating down a creek in a cave in inner tubes.
We went with a group of Americans and they kept saying, "They would never allow us to do this in the States..." In NZ liability lawsuits are generally not allowed, so you definitely have to be more conscious of the "at your own risk" lingo. I would describe the adventure we did--known as the Abyss--as the tour for people who don't like tours. A few times our guide would say something like, "Just go up ahead and take a right at the next turn", which wouldn't be such a big deal except that we were in a cave, sloshing and swimming through a stream that we couldn't see the bottom of, with only our headlamps and glowworms to light the way.
But wait, there's more! After the initial 35 meter rappel, which was fairly intimidating because for the most part you have nothing to kick off of (you are spinning, hanging freely and letting yourself down into an actual abyss), you then go on a flying fox (zipline) down deeper into the cave IN THE DARK (and yes, I screamed because I had no idea where the ground was or when I was going to stop). And then, you grab an inner tube and jump into a chasm filled with slow-moving water.
This wasn't even the most exciting part!
This wasn't even the most exciting part!
There were times we had to swim through the cave (and at this point, we had given back our inner tubes, so we were actually swimming), but that was nothing compared to the exciting finale. This is what the guide said: "You will all need to make a decision now, personally. You will need to decide whether you want to do the next part, or turn back with one of us. We are going to climb some waterfalls and you won't be roped in, so if you fall there will be consequences." Hmmm....maybe I'll see how tall the waterfall is first? (was what I was thinking). Climbing waterfalls doesn't spook me so much, but climbing it in a tiny cave, crawling through a narrow passage at the top of the waterfall that was half-full of water, was quite a trip. The second waterfall was taller, and again, it wasn't such a big deal climbing up it--the guide tells you where to put your feet and hands--but pushing through the wall of water and dealing with the fear of being in an enclosed space with water pushing against your face as you crawl down a tunnel...well, I was definitely 'in the zone' and taking it quite seriously. This whole experience definitely pushed my comfort zone, which is what I look for in an adventure, and unless you are already into spelunking and you're used to tight spaces, heights, and water features, then you will probably get a thrill out of it too. Highly recommended for anyone who comes to NZ, and there's a less scary tour you can do which features more floating in the inner tubes and less scary scrambling up waterfalls without being roped in--if that's more your cup of tea. | |
We are going to put Waitomo on our list of MUST-DOs for when people come to visit us! It's about four hours away from Palmy, which made it a great destination for our three-day Labor Day weekend. And yes, the rest of our adventures will seem like a bit of an anticlimax now, but look at all this other cool stuff: