Lisjen auf Reisen
Lisjen auf Reisen
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Day 6 - 7 Waiomio & Cape Reinga

Pubblicato: 06.02.2018

On our way north, we made a spectacular stop in Waiomio. There you have the opportunity to see the unique glowworms. A small family business has been guiding numerous tourists through the so-called Kawiti Caves since 1950. After being equipped with enough lamps, we went into the limestone cave with a small group of visitors. When I saw the numerous stalactites, my geography-loving heart skipped a beat. We walked in a row, like a family of ducks, deeper into the caves. After greeting Priscilla, an 80-year-old, three-meter-long eel, we wandered into the darkest corners of the cave. Once there, we turned off our lamps and a breathtaking night sky spread out above us. Hundreds of glowworms were sparkling like stars in their bluish light. An indescribable experience that reaches its peak at night. The worms are actually just the larval stage of a fly, which only has a short life as an adult. The worm attracts insects with its light, which get caught in hanging, sticky threads and are reeled in by the worm like a fishing line. After the bioluminescent worm has fattened itself for six to nine months, it pupates and as a fly, it has only three days to reproduce before it dies of exhaustion (the fly has no mouth and only lives on reserves of energy).

Glowworms
Glowworms (unfortunately, I don't have my own photo, this one is from an advertising page of the Waitomo Caves)

After a too short time of amazement and dreaming, we continued north by car. In Ahipara, we stayed overnight at a small campsite and the next day we traveled to the northernmost point of New Zealand. The fastest way from Ahipara to Cape Reinga is via the 90-Mile Beach, which is actually only 55 miles long. Many locals use the beach as a regular road, but we didn't want to overestimate our car.
Although Cape Reinga was very crowded with tourists, the view was definitely worth it. On a clear day, you can see a line on the horizon where the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific Ocean. The Maori believe that the souls of their deceased are accompanied to another world by an 800-year-old pohutukawa tree growing there.
The lighthouse of Cape Reinga
The lighthouse of Cape Reinga

Afterwards, we went to a huge sand dune that can be surfed down with a bodyboard. However, the climb up the dune is so exhausting in the heat that we only managed to do it three times. At first, there were some concerns because the dune is really steep, but it was a lot of fun. As they say, done and done:
Sandboarding
Sandboarding


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