Tag 94 West Coast of the North Island

Our first stop on the west coast was 'the elephant and the three sisters', rock formations (the elephant really looked like an elephant!) that rose from the beach in front of the cliffs. In the numerous caves and arches in the rocks, large red crabs frolicked, and on the beach, there were funky blue jellyfish (Portuguese man o' war = beware of the poison - oops, touched it). We continued to Waitomo for the Ruakuri Bushwalk, where we felt like Indiana Jones as we walked through limestone caves, dark rivers, and dense rainforest. The next natural spectacle was not far from the caves - the Mangapohue Bridge - a huge stone arch and the former ceiling of a massive cave. We ended the day with a night walk along a river, crossing suspension bridges, until we reached a tunnel with thousands of glowworms.