The bus was on time at 6:30 am. It then made a couple of stops at other hotels and eventually dropped us all off at the main Great Sites tour center. We were packed onto a very full (almost 50 people), very large tour bus. There was an open seat next to a woman in the very front, so I sat there. The woman's name was Ann, from the UK. She was actually doing a slightly different tour than I was. Apparently they were to swap us all around throughout the course of the day, depending on which tour one was on.

The bus departed on time, around 7:30 am, and we headed through the streets of Auckland. There were joggers everywhere! Erin (a guy) was our driver. Even he acknowledged the "female" spelling. He was wonderfully chatty and gave us constant information, commentary and silly facts throughout the entire day. Unlike most of the public busses, these windows were very clean.

Leaving Auckland, fortunately going the opposite direction of traffic.

To begin with, Auckland has 1.5 million people (all of New Zealand has 4.5 million). 55% of these are of European descent; 22% are Asian; and the rest are mostly Pacific Islanders and Maori.

The Maori name for New Zealand is Aotearoa, meaning approximately "the land of the long white cloud" (as the story goes, it was covered with a thick mist when the first canoes arrived). The North Island is Te Ika a Maui (the fish of Maui), and the South Island is Te Wai Pounamu (the waters of greenstone).

About 1,000 years ago, the Maori landed on the west coast. Eventually more and more of them arrived in the "seven great waves of migration" - or the Great Canoes they call it. At the time, the island was covered with very dense forest and bush. Nowadays it has large sections of grass (thanks to the European sheep and cattle). There were also no real animals either... just fish, some birds and a few sea mammals loitering about the coast. The island had been isolated from any other land mass for 20,000 years. The trees and plants were unique too, having evolved to the high volcanic activity.

In 1642, Dutch explorer Abel Tasman discovered the island. He didn't land, however, because he was scared off by the insane antics of the Maori (who believe it's worth trying to frighten off you opponent rather than just rush into battle).

It wasn't until some 130 years later, when James Cook was sent to Tahiti to observe an astronomical event, that the island was rediscovered based on the old Dutch maps. He landed in 1769 and made friends with the Maori. They were keen on the many wonderful things he provided... such as metal shovels and tools, clothes, and a wide variety of other things. Cook brought some of the Maori back with him to England. They learned the European ways, then returned back to New Zealand on another of Cook's trips. And so colonization began.

We arrived at the Waitomo caves a couple hours later. The visitor center was quite an unusual building... a sort of giant tent.

A Maori statue showed the symbols of the area... water birds, the glowworm silk threads, and the eels that live in the river.

No photography was allowed inside the cave, so I've included a couple shots of some postcards I bought. The cave gets about 1,200 visitors per day, so this is understandable.

Waitomo means "water entering a hole in the ground". While the Maori had long known of the cave's existence, they were somewhat superstitious about entering. It wasn't until 1887 when it was explored by an English surveyor. By 1889, the cave was opened to visitors.

Over the past 24 million years, the area has been shaped by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The limestone layers, that formed when the area lay quietly beneath the sea, were pushed up and broken. Cracks allowed water to flow in, gradually dissolving the soft stone and carving out the cave. Formations (such as stalactites and stalagmites) slowly grew as water containing mineral deposits (calcium carbonate) dripped from the ceiling.

The whole large group of us went on one tour. I made sure to stay next to the guide the entire time so as to be able to hear. We entered the cave through a large, heavy door that opened very slowly when our guide pushed the button. The first room was quite low and we had to duck while walking through it. The whole cave floor was quite thoroughly paved or tiled over, so even though it was rather dim (and sometimes even wet), it was pretty stable. The walkway took us past a deep hole that led down to the river below (which we would later take a boat ride on).

A set of stairs then led us down into a large cavern. The floor was mostly entirely flattened and covered up, except for one or two places where a couple of stalagmites were allowed to come through. At the far end of this room was "the cathedral." The acoustics here are supposedly so good that they have had some world-renowned opera singers give concerts. The echo is very low because the domed ceiling is made of absorbing limestone. One woman in the group sang a few bars from a vibrant church hymn, and the sound was indeed quite impressive. We then headed back to see the stars of the cave... the glowworms.

Some of the formation in the cathedral room

These glowworms are Arachnocampa Luminosa (spider-like, light-producing larva). The female lays around 120 small eggs which hatch after around 20 days. These larvae each build a nest and then lower a long, sticky line to catch their prey. Their light is weak at first but slowly gets stronger over the next 9 months as they grow in size (eventually to the shape and size of a matchstick). The river that runs into cave lures in water-insects like mosquitos. These are attracted to the light and trapped in the sticky silk thread. Sometimes adult glowworms fly into the webs and get eaten by their own larva. It's all fair game. After about 13 days in the pupa stage, the adult emerges to live only a few days. The adults, which look like a large mosquito, have no mouth. Their only function is to reproduce. Usually the male waits for the female to emerge from her pupa and mating takes place immediately.

Emerging glowworm fly

We walked up some stairs to a smaller back cave. From this angle, backlit with some dim lights, we could see the long thin threads hanging from the ceiling. Also visible was the occasional green speck of light that was the glowworm. Actually, the whole entire cave is covered with them, but you can't see them in the light.... but you can't see the threads in the dark.

The long threads in the back cave

We then made our way all the way back across the cave and to the boats. We clunked into several large metal boats, then pushed off. Suddenly it was a different world. The water was very flat and still, with only the distant sounds of water droplets. The guide pulled the boat along by a rope strung overhead, so the movement was very smooth and gentle. The cave was cool and rather humid. And in the pitch black of the ceiling above were large pockets of thousands of tiny green glowing lights, each one no larger than a pinhole.

It was a surreal feeling... almost fake. Actually, having grown up in Southern California, it reminded me of Disneyland and the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. How sad of a cultural statement is that... when real life feels less real than an amusement park!?

Mist sat on the water as we started to exit the cave. This was the original entrance. We exited the boat and made our way up the hill along the river. The glowworms actually extend outside on the river banks, but are only visible at night.

Leaving the cave

Where we just emerged from

Our guide disappears back into the darkness.

A trout loiters about the cave entrance.

Lush vegetation lined the banks.

We hopped back on the bus and were given a box lunch for the drive to the next site. As we drove, we got some more history and facts.

My special vegetarian meal... brie and veggie sandwich, a muffin, some cheesecake dessert, a small box of juice, and of course... a kiwi.

Settlers continued to move into New Zealand and built whaling stations to replenish supplies. Russell was one such city and it soon became the capital... for not other reason than because there were so few cities at the time. It was around this time that the Treaty of Waitangi was signed. And for a while, things were good. The Maori and the Europeans helped each other. But soon the settlers began to outnumber the local tribes and the relationship began to change.

The settlers created more and more grasslands which was a problem with sacred land. They also often got drunk and would be very disruptive. So in the 1850's, the Maori approached the governor at the time, Governor Grey. This had no effect. So they called a big meeting of all the chiefs and decided to chose a king from among them. In theory, they thought, the governor would now HAVE to listen since a king is higher ranking. The governor, however, instead saw it as disloyalty... even treason. He wrote back to England requesting troops to take care of this "uprising." Gun boats were soon stationed on the river to protect soldiers and run supplies. And five years of war began in Waikato. The final battle took place in 1865. Nowadays, the Maori still have a king or queen. It isn't a legal position, just seems to be more accepted as valid spokesmen for the Maori people. It is now "royal" lineage and not voted in.

We were now driving through the Waikato region... the heart of dairy farming. The land is also very fertile so there were many crops and forests.

Most of the corn is used to export the seeds to the States.

Unlike other parts of the country, there were far more cows and horses than sheep. The 4.5 million cows produce 19 billions liters of milk per year. The process is very efficient. New Zealand only uses 4% of that, so you think dairy would be very cheap. Unfortunately it's actually quite expensive. The dairy industry is basically a monopoly and most of it is exported. Jersey cows (the brown ones) are for quality, producing mostly rich cream. Friesian cows (the black and white ones, originally from Holland) are more for quantity.

Lots and lots of cows!

In general, the North Island is warmer so it was very easy to grow plants and many new species were introduced to the island. The timber industry exploded, with such uses being ship repair and building as well as housing. By 1920s, however, the people realized they needed to stop harvesting the native timber or it would soon all be gone. So they imported the Monterey pine, which grew even more quickly here than it did in its native environment. Large man-made forests were created. The word's largest is around Rotorua. The 1930's brought the depression, so jobs were created, including hand planting pine trees.

A couple of dust devils twist across a field.

We arrived at Agrodome, a large sheep and animal farm located outside of Rotorua. We were greeted by Dale, who led us to a long tractor-pulled wagon. I sat in the front next to Dot, a 3 year old sheepdog. Over the generations, border collies were mixed with whippets and collies and have created a unique New Zealand breed.

Our tractor

Dot

We drove out to the nearby fields. Our first stop was a bunch of very large bulls under a shady tree. A couple of them got up and started to head toward us. It soon became apparent as to why... Dale had a bucket of food pellets with him. We stayed on the wagon while he enticed the large beasts closer. He talked about the various breeds a bit.

The big ol' boys

We then drove to the next field. The sheep were far more energetic and swarmed the wagon immediately. Clearly food sluts. We disembarked and Dale gave us a handful of food pellets. The sheep forcefully accosted us in their frenzied quest to eat. They would even jump up on you like an untrained dog.

The sheep chase after us as we pull up.

And the feeding frenzy begins! These were Romney sheep, the type found mostly on the North Island. Merino sheep are found more on the South Island.

Feeding the neighboring deer as well.

A lamb

We made a few more stops to view and/or feed some other animals... deer, pigs, goats, alpacas and ostriches.

The highly impatient goats

Two different types of alpacas

The ostrichers definitely knew what the white plastic bucket meant!

We returned back to the main building and then got to watch Dot herd some sheep. She can "muster" (meaning only using her eyes and body) up to 1000 sheep. Today she only had five. She ran them through some gates, over a bridge, and then into a small pen. She seemed a bit distressed when Dale released them, but eventually he convinced her to walk away.

A brief moment of defiance

Over the bridge

Mustering the sheep one way...

... and the other...

... and then the final run...

... into the pen.

A good roll in the grass to celebrate a job well done

It was now time for a shearing demonstration. We sat in a large barn while Dale first talked about the trade. An experienced person can shear 300 sheep in 9 hour (that's about 2 minutes per sheep) and earns NZ$1.70 - $1.80 per sheep. This varies based on the market price of the wool, which apparently can fluctuate quite drastically.

He then got a sheep from the back pen and the demonstration began. It takes three years to fully learn how to shear a sheep. He went slowly so we could follow what he was doing. It is important to get the sheep to relax (as much as possible) so it won't struggle or fight too much. This will help reduce the risk of injury of nicking the animal with the razor. He also demonstrated a few of the sheep's pressure points, that would cause its legs to snap out uncontrollably.

Demonstrating a pressure point

Starting at 6 months of age, a sheep gets sheared every 6 months.

Being careful of the eyes and ears

He flipped the sheep about a couple times while shearing, in a short amount of time, we were looking at one shorn sheep. We then got to rub some wool in our hands. It had a "farm animal" smell and was lightly oily.

One large pile of wool and one shorn skeep. The sheep is then immediately put back outside, and not kept warm indoors. Its skin then starts to thicken to prevent it from getting cold until the wool grows back.

Some fresh wool

Next we went inside another building where Angela showed us the carding machine from 1906. This was designed to basically "comb" the wool very fine so that it could be used for yarn. She then demonstrated the spinning wheel. The sheep wool was sometimes blended with alpaca wool or possum fur.

The old carding machine wasn't operated anymore, just used for display.

Giant rollers combed the wool

Angela answers some yarn questions.

Possum pelt