Helen_and_Lee
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North Island ▷ Waikato ▷ Waitomo ▷
Green Glow eco-adventures
5.0/5
Had an absolutely fantastic time with Paul on the Green Glow trip!
It was exactly what we'd hoped for.... and more (I wasn't expecting to meet and feed Chocolate the incredibly cute baby goat and other farm animals, or a CD full of photo's of the cave system, or cups of tea and a good natter after the trip, OR a free campsite, OR help with re-charging by camera and booking a local trip)!
The trip was fantastic and more than worth the money.... a real bargin considering we were 1 guide to 2 people and put for over 5 hours. The trip's worth much more than the $100 we paid.
It's ideal for those that want to escape the crowds at Waitamo and see some 'real' caving action. As Paul just takes out a group a day, you can pretty much design your own trip. There were just the 2 of us, so we could go at our own pace, rather that wait for a load of other people.
We got to do plenty of absailing, and see some really fantastic Glow-worm displays. We traveled through 3 caves, two were wet and the third dry (but with a few little squeezes to see a really amazing display of straws over a clear pool).
There was plenty of info. from Paul, who's a) a trained Geologist, b) been caving since he was young and c) has been living in / near to Waitomo for a substantial period of time)..... so pretty well placed as a cave-guide! We also got some nice stops for a warm drink and lunch (and further time to admire the stunning glow-worms).
So in short: if you want to see glow-worms, stunning cave features (wet & dry), absail and go at your own pace - this is your trip!
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North Island ▷ Waikato ▷ Otorohanga ▷
Otorohanga Kiwi House and Native Bird Park
5.0/5
If you want to see a Kiwi up-close, then this has got to be one of the best experinces in NZ!
Firstly, I can completly recommend the Kiwi-watch that run's some evenings ($30). It's run by a volunteer and involves after-hours entry into a Northern Brown Kiwi enclosure (more like a park, it's pretty big). You then sit in a specially designed hide (no glass) that's level with a feeding area for the kiwi.
Obviously it's luck as to wether you see one of the pair that lives in this enclosure, but we were lucky enough to have 4 sightings of a male Northern Brown...... eating just 2 meters from my face....with no glass panneling inbetween us - pretty special! I was also lucky enough to have the very knowledgeable Paul, the park manager, volunteering that evening - who really knew his stuff...and brought us some tea :)
We also got to see a Great Spotted female - Tasman, who was incredibly friendly!
Onto the Park - if you go during the day I'd reccomend going at half 1 in the afternoon, as you get to see 2 kiwi's being fed then a further 2 kiwi's (as the nocturnal displays are swapped over in the afternoon).
The park's fantastic and provides a great oppertunity to see birds native to NZ up close. It's well designed and you get to see many species and a lot of interesting information for your money. There is also a large walk-through avairy, with kiki, parakeets, tui among many other native wildfowl.
A definate must-see!