Hobbits, glow worms and volcanoes

Friday the 20th til Monday the 23rd of December: On Friday we left Katikati and drove to Waitomo. On our way we passed Hobbiton. But we decided that 84 Dollars p.P. was too much money for a tour, especially as the landscape in general looks like behind every corner there could be a little hobbit house. So we moved on and 15 minutes later, it started raining heavily. Right decision 😋. In Waitomo we stayed at the YHA (very nice, just the beds were a bit worn down) and I had a little wrestle with a billy goat, who didn't want to share the beautiful view from his meadow. I won, of course 😉. On Saturday we did a glow worm cave adventure tour (http://blackwaterraftingwaitomo.co.nz/). We had to abseil down into the cave opening and walk upstream the underground river into the dark cave. Then we floated on big swim rings downstream watching the glow worms illuminate the cave ceilings like stars. It was very beautiful. Our guide told us about the glow worms, that are actually larvae and very ugly in the light. They are mean as well, as they prey on insects drawn to their light, catch them on sticky threads they produce and hang from the ceiling to inject them with a tissue dissolving fluid and suck out their insides. The glow is them digesting the insects. Lovely! Some things are better left in the dark 😋. I prefer to remember them as cave stars! Our guide also told us that the whole region is filled with caves, hundreds discovered, thousands undiscovered. So underneath the Hobbits' hairy feet, there is a Swiss cheese. He also showed us more wildlife down there like eels (very friendly) and spiders (mostly friendly, some poisonous but not deadly). To get out of the cave, we had to climb a very slippery, wet wall with Wellington boots on. Of course, we were secured, but I lost quite some sweat going up there. After a hot shower and soup, we drove to Ohakune, close to Tongariro National Park. Mount Ngauruhoe, part of the Tongariro massif, is known as Mount Doom from Lord of the Rings and is one of the most active volcanoes of the 20th century, with the last big eruption happening in 1975. On Sunday, we did the Tongariro Crossing, a 20km hike with 800m altitude difference, passing 'Mt. Doom'. Luckily, the Mountain didn't feel like dooming, and we had a gorgeous but exhausting hike. I really had to push my limits, especially going down, as my knees didn't like the steep descents at all. But after 7 hours and 45 minutes, we made it to the pickup location, to be bused back to Ohakune. I hardly ever felt so happy and physically exhausted at the same time. So Monday was chill time before we moved on to Wellington on Christmas Day.