Rotorua

We spent most of our day traveling south toward the center of the North Island. About mid-day was our major stop the Waitoma (water hole) caves. Originally discovered in 1887, these limestone caves have a unique creature, the glowworm. These worms glow to attract insects. If you shine a light beneath them, you can see that hanging down from the worm are 20 or so filaments with which they snare insects, who are attracted to the glow. After 9 months, the worm forms a pupa and turns into a mouthless, stomachless fly that mates, lays eggs, and dies.

Filaments dangling from the glowworms

As we were floating on the river in the cave, it reminded me of a bright Wyoming night scale filled with constellations. When asked what actually glows on the worm, it's the 'poo', a substance excreted from the digestive tract.

In the afternoon, we had a quick walk on the Arapuri Swing Bridge built to carry workers to the first hydropower plant on the Waikato river, New Zealand's longest.

Our dinner was a Hangi Feast, traditionally steamed on hot rocks or in our case the thermal features surrounding our hotel. There followed some traditional Maori dances and singing - the girls using poi (balls tied on a string) to keep time. The guys demonstrating the haka, the dancing designed to scare off your foes.