When Melissa and I started planning this little trip, we looked at different activities on both the North and South Islands. Since none of us would be bungie jumping, skydiving, or skiing, she focused on the animal theme. On the North Island, not but two and a half hours by minivan, there was an activity she just couldn't pass up; blackwater rafting in a cave full of glow worms! We had done a similar activity in Hawaii and absolutely loved it. So, our solid activity was marked in ink, and the order of the trip began to form. This was going to be great! We have never seen glow worms and we really enjoyed white water rafting previously. Since we did not want to have to work too hard, Melissa picked 'The Black Labyrinth'. It is beginner level, suitable for all fitness levels, and you don't even need to know how to swim.

We arrived at the designated location in plenty of time to get a leisurely lunch and not be in any kind of rush to get ready. We had our swimsuits and towels in hand and just awaited the anointed hour. When the clock struck 1:30pm, we met up with our fearless guides and were told to get ready for our three hour tour. I, of course, broke into a verse of the theme from Gilligan's Island. Well, I thought it was funny. They led us down to get changed into our suits and outfitted with wetsuits, helmets, socks and boots? Ok, I get it's a cave, helmets make sense, but aren't we on a nice little float? Why the boots? I rolled with it. We also knew there was an opportunity to jump off a waterfall in the cave. It was all very exciting. The first stop was a 'practice' jump for the waterfall. Kelly and Mac showed us how to do it, and said it would also help with the cold water acclimation to get our wetsuits wet so our body heat could warm them up before the cave. Ok, got it, need to be warm. After the practice jump, we got back on the van for a few minutes, then they led us down a path into the woods. A very short walk later Mac exclaimed,"We are here!" Where? The only thing I see are trees and a slight depression in the ground. Oh, now I get it, that's no depression. I have a bad feeling about this... You walk down into the depression and turn about 100 degrees to the right and there is the cave entrance. Ok, doesn't look too bad. We all hand in our tubes (not rafts, just little tubes) and into the breach.

The first part of the side channel we are in is somewhat low and I fully understand the need for the helmet, as I would most likely be in the hospital with a massive gash in my skull without it. We get ready to navigate into a bigger channel, and have to float under an overhang that literally touched my nose as I went under it. I am not claustrophobic by nature, but this stretched limits. It was short, and our guides were with us the whole way through. I was the last through and saw Kelly looking at something in the water, cooing, and speaking in baby talk. She snapped a quick pic and then we headed down the channel. We came to the first of two waterfalls and navigated it with ease. I also grew to appreciate the boots as we were walking on the slippery, uneven ground as much as floating. Without the boots, my feet would have been shredded. As we engaged the main channel, Mac headed to the other end of the room we were in and signaled we could come on over. I was the first one in line now and Kelly said to go to Mac, she will catch you. If you get past her, there is a waterfall and you don't want to go over it. Sounds like a plan. Again, the experts knew what they were doing, and the whole group assembled at the other end. We finally reached the 2nd waterfall and jumped off backwards, 6 feet down, in the dark, to the water below. We then sat on our tubes, hooked our feet under the armpits of the person in front of us, and finally, finally floated through a massive room filled with glow worms. It was amazing.

Here are some facts we learned. Glow worms are the larval stage of a fly native to New Zealand. They drop a string of mucus into the air, (only a couple inches) and use a chemical reaction to create the glow we see. The glow attracts wayward insects who get tangled in the mucus lure. The glow worm then licks a hole in the side of its prey and vomits stomach acid into its body where the insect is slowly digested over the next 7 days or so. All of this while the prey is still alive. This process ranks in the top ten ways to die in the animal kingdom. Once fully digested, the glow worm sucks out the insides and starts the process all over again. What we have here is an insect torture chamber populated by glowing maggots. Like I said before, from my perspective, floating through the darkness, 200 meters under the surface of the Earth, it was beautiful. Really, it was, I promise.

As we began our exit process, Kelly was shooing us away from a particular part of the cave. I asked if everything was ok, and she just said,"I think I stepped on an eel is all, it's ok." Remember back at the beginning of this tale I mentioned the baby talk? Yeah, apparently that was to get an eel to come out for a picture. Come to find out there are thousands of eels in the cave system. Not really a surprise. Good news is their teeth are not big enough to go through the wet suit. We are also hoping there is nothing in the water that would make Melissa a headline. She is pretty sure she ingested a fair amount of the stuff.

Once we were out of the cave, we headed back for warm showers, soup, and bagels. The whole experience was very well done, the guides were awesome, and the glow worms were just as promised. I would say this adventure was a success. Probably, can go on the list of "In New Zealand they'll let you..." but the trip was great and 100% delivered as advertised.

All buttoned up we headed back to Auckland for dinner and a nap.