Waitomo Glow Worm Caves and New Years in Raglan

After a little over a month in Wellington we decided it was time to get out and see a bit more of the north island before we took the ferry south so we made a trek up through Waitomo, famous for its glow worm caves and to Raglan for an epic New Years Eve party on a farm overlooking the ocean.

The caves in Waitomo have been forming and changing for thousands of years, the limestone erodes and forms new caves and inside the caves are stalagtites galore, ranging from itty bitty to longer than I am tall.  We took a walk through one of the scenic reserves after nightfall in hopes of catching a few glimpses of the glow worms, which are actually some sort of larvae that glows blue at night.

The glow worms were beautiful.  It felt a bit like walking through a scene of Avatar or some sort of fairie land- everything was alive and glowing.  We spent a good deal of time in silence just taking it all in and absorbing the magic of this place.  I will never forget it.

Sky exploring the caves

 We stayed at a great little hostel just a few kilometers from the caves that had some farm animals, including Lucky, a 5 week old calf that I was lucky enough to feed.  He was so cute :)

 

Our first night in Raglan we had some time to catch up with Karin and Ollie, a couple we met our first trip through Raglan.  I could easily live at their house, they have a huge garden, chickens that lay fresh eggs every day and a beautiful view of the mountains.   They also live just a 10 minute drive from one of the tallest waterfalls I have ever seen, 55 meters!

Bridal Veil Falls

Fresh potatoes at Karin and Ollie's house

The festival in Raglan went for 2 days straight- music, BBQs, great food and amazing people.  It was one of the best New Years celebrations I've ever been to.  The next morning we hiked down to the ocean and took a swim, harvested some green lipped muscles and had a huge feed with everyone that was still at the campground, what a great way to start a new year.

Final sunset of 2010

The view from the campground and New Years Party

Our final night in Raglan we went back to Ollie and Karin's and had a chill BBQ with some of their friends who had come down from Auckland- after a weekend of partying it was great to just hang out and eat a bit (more) good food.  We grilled a bunch of vegetables from their garden and drank some home brew that Ollie had been working on.  It was perfect.

We are back in Wellington now for 1 more week before we head down the south island on the 11th of January.  We have had an amazing time here but we are ready to move on and see new things and find new adventures. 

Happy New Year to you all!

xoxo