Spelunking in New Zealand

Auckland, New Zealand

We went over to NZ from Sydney and drove around the North island. There was a lot of pretty pasture and tons of sheep and cattle! We were really just enjoying the sights, vs. participating in too many activities. We did, however, spleunk. Ever heard of it?

It's also called caving and refers to the exploration of wild cave systems. We did it! And it was awesome. The water is unbelievably cold, which is why you need to wear a dry suit, and the caves are pitch black with rivers flowing through them. Did I mention the glow worms? Yep, they line the cave ceilings and look like distant stars. SO COOL!

So, Here's How It All Went Down
To start, we rappelled down a 100 ft tunnel into the depths of the cave. Then, we zip-lined in total darkness to cross a void! One of the tour guides kept pranking people at the end of the line by getting directly in their faces as they hung in darkness and silence, completely unaware of his presence and wondering where everybody was, then he'd flick his flashlight on from under his chin and scare the crap outta them! I zipped down first, so I got to witness each person's horror and relief. It was goooood. Mom, in true Mom fashion, screamed in terror the whole way down the zip line. Haha! Love her.

On the initial descent into earth's depths...

There were about 8 people in our group. Some of them had no business being there because it was obvious that they'd rather be surfing the internet in the safe, warm confines of their humble abode. Two people actually bailed out, which took us down to one guide because the other had to lead the quitters to an uneventful exit path. Thanks for endangering the group on account of your fear of adventure! 

Next, we jumped into the river and got into inner tubes. We pulled ourselves upstream for a while (a rope was affixed to the rock) to extend the trip and get better visibility of the glow worms. After we let go and floated downstream, we eventually came to an impasse where tubes were no longer effective so we ditched them and prodded through the water on foot. We swam through narrow passageways, belly-crawled under tight rock formations, and climbed underground waterfalls! Speaking of which, my mom was climbing the waterfall behind me and she fell off but was luckily caught by the remaining tour guide before hitting the sharp rocks! Unfortunately, he hurt his knee in the process and she dislocated her shoulder. She couldn't move her arm and needed to be helped out of the cave so the instructor and my dad accompanied her on an alternate route out of the cave. I was already at the top of the waterfall and I couldn't descend at that point so the person I was with and I were instructed to move forward to find the exit from the cave! It was fun and easy (although a little creepy, since the only light was coming from our headlamps).

Me, finally finding daylight as I exited the cave!

Dislocation Station

We had to go straight to a hospital to get my mom's shoulder reset. It took them about 3 hours to get it back in place but their healthcare system worked in such a way that there was no charge for her ER visit. It killed the day because the whole ordeal went well past midnight and mom was miserable with pain as we drove back toward Auckland to catch our plane home.

Looks like this is the end of the line for me. America, I'm coming home!