New Zealand, Bay of Islands; Glow Worm Cave and Kauri Forest

 

Tuesday, 25 February

Today we are anchoring out in the bay for our one day visit to the Bay of Islands.  Indeed, there are 144 islands in this group.  We see quite a few of them as we sail in slowly to our anchorage.  We are quite far from the pier, they say a 20 minute boat ride but it turned out to be closer to 30.  It must be quite a shallow bay.  It is a large bay, 9 miles across!  

We signed up for the Glow Worm Cave and Kauri Forest Excursion.  We met in the Queen's room at 9:15 and were escorted to the tender boats. 

Our tender Captain

They hold 150 passengers and they really crowd us on but I don't think we were quite at capacity for comfort sake.  Remember we have around 3,000 guests aboard that want to get out to their excursions, so it is quite a process when we have to tender everyone in.  Our excursion was scheduled for 10AM and we do make it in time. 

typical homestead

But, after the bus was loaded with around 50 passengers, it wouldn't go anywhere!  As soon as the driver put it in reverse an alarm went off an it wouldn't move! 

Sights along the way

After several tries and  getting underneath to wiggle wires or whatever, we were told we were going to commandeer a neighboring shuttle bus.  So those folks had to offload and we took their place. 

Sights along the way

So, as a result of that, we start out about a half hour behind schedule but they assured us we would get the full tour.  Problem was the shuttle had no speaker system and the driver is also our guide.  He tried to comment on things but it was a futile effort as we journeyed to our first stop at the Glow Worm Cave.  

We arrive and since a lot of people need to use the restroom, we hope to have time to find a geocache located near the cave entrance. 

Cache is about 20 ft back through this opening

It is back in a cave like area and we have to use our phone flashlight to help locate it.  Which we did after a little searching.  We met a lady from Minnesota while we were waiting to board the bus and she was interested in geocaching.  She left for the restroom but we will show her this cache before we leave as she wanted to experience what geocaching was all about.

These glowworm caves are not unique to New Zealand.  They are found all over the world, but most commonly in New Zealand and Australia.  They operate on the same principle as our fireflies, except they can't glow when they are in the fly stage.

Sue carrying a lantern

  These are the larvae (maggots), especially the females that use their light to attract males and also other insects like mosquitos, that they catch in their web and feed on.  

From their website:

 "The Kawiti Caves are a few kilometres south of Kawakawa; they’re also known as the Waiomio Caves. This cave system attracts many visitors with its bizarre karst features, stalactite formations and spectacular glow worm displays. The caves are owned and operated by the Kawiti family, who have guided thousands of travellers over the past 50 years, including American billionaire Bill Gates who visited in 2007. 

Your 30 minute guided tour will follow a wooden boardwalk through a 200 metre limestone cave system. .As you enjoy the galaxies of glow worms above, your friendly guide will explain the life cycle of the New Zealand Glow worm (Arachnocampa Luminosa) and the intricate webs used to catch their prey (mosquitoes and midges).You’ll even get close enough to see the actual body of the glow worm and its stunning blue/green tail light, before you make the return bushwalk through a natural corridor of karst rock formations and pristine rainforest."

I got this from the internet,
it is not our cave, but it
looked very similar to this

It was a fun time and I was happy to experience it.  But I could probably make a business around experiencing firefly visuals in Iowa which would amaze New Zealanders just as much.  Catching them in fruit jars like we did when we were kids.

From there we headed for the Kauri Forest.  These are trees that have been compared to California redwood trees.  In my opinion, since I have seen both, most of these trees however spectacular, do not compare to the redwoods in height or girth.

Enroute to the forest

From the web:

The native Māori used kauri timber for boat building, carving and building houses. The gum was used as a fire starter and for chewing (after it had been soaked in water and mixed with the milk of the puha plant).

The arrival of European settlers in the 1700s to 1800s saw the decimation of these magnificent forests. Sailors quickly realized the trunks of young kauri were ideal for ships' masts and spars, and the settlers who followed felled the mature trees to yielded huge quantities of sawn timber of unsurpassed quality for building.

The gum too, became essential in the manufacture of varnishes and other resin-based products. The gum was obtained through digging, fossicking in treetops, or more drastically, by bleeding live trees.

More forest was cleared as demand for farmland and timber increased in the early and mid 20th century.

These forests must be maintained and protected from modern diseases and commercial logging.  A lot of these trees we saw today are well over 500 years old.  

Elevated boardwalk 
through the forest

Waipoua is home to Tane Mahuta, king of the forest and the largest remaining kauri tree in the country. The 1,500 year old Tane Mahuta is 51.5 m tall (169 ft,), with a girth of 13.77 m (45 ft, or about 14 feet in diameter).  Our guide told us that for every 1 meter of diameter, it would equal approximately 500 years of growth.

approximately 1000 year old 
Kauri tree

Close-up of bark

Sue and I get our picture taken in front of a tree that was probably growing for the past 1,000 years!

This excursion wrapped up our visit to Kiwi Land, although we never did see a Kiwi bird.  I asked about that and our guide said the only way you will probably see one is if you go to a zoo.  They are nocturnal birds and zoo keepers trick them by reversing day and night so visitors can see them in captivity.  But most New Zealanders never see them in the wild.  They may hear them as they have a distinctive call but they hide out in the wooded areas and are seldom seen.  

Next stop, Sydney, Australia.