WAITOMO CAVE and WATER BALLETS

                                              A New Zealand Natural Wonder

Waitomo  Cave, known as the glow worm grotto/cave, is derived from two Maori words, wai meaning water and tomo meaning cave. The Waitomo River eventually vanishes into the hillside.

On this fascinating and unusual visit we learned from a docent that a New Zealand Mountie and a British surveyor discovered the cave in 1887. They rafted down the river but could go only half way into the cave. Two weeks later they discovered the present entrance and in 1889 the first tour took place.

The glow worm is different from a firefly  The light from a glow worm is less than from a firefly but when multiplied by thousands the sight is spectacular. The life span of the glow worm is eleven months and there are four stages. First is the egg which turns to larvae, then to a cocoon, and finally to a fly---similar to a butterfly. The glow comes from the larvae suspended from the ceiling. It snares its prey by dangling filaments of sticky beads. Chemical oxidation creates the glow.

After touring the cave we boarded boats and floated quietly though the grotto where thousands of worm larvae hung suspended from the ceiling. It was a rainbow of color, like none any man could create. There was no picture taking, so I bought a postcard.  We were all as quiet as church mice as we slowly floated down river. It was the most fantastic sight!

 

ORCHID GARDENS

Today water ballets   and displays are quite common and I’ve seen many in many different locales. However, the Orchid Gardens in Rotorua, New Zealand were my first.

The gardens and flowers were lovely, but the water organ/ballet was spectacular.

A local guide told us, “The gardens were built in 1985 at a cost of 1.3 million dollars. The water organ contains 700 pipes and 14 pumps. This set of pipes was made in Germany at a cost of $250,000, and there are only another four or five sets like these in the world.”

Water shot dramatically from the pipes simulating a ballet and the whole performance was set to computerized music.

When the water show was over I said, “I’d really like to sit through that again.”

My traveling companion agreed and we did. It was a marvelous performance!

PREDJAMA CASTLE

                                           A Cliff Hanger---literally

 Predjama (pred-YAH-mak) Castle, hangs and clings dramatically onto the side of a mountain. It is one of Europe’s most scenic castles. The current one was built in the 16^th century, but ledgers date to hundreds of years earlier.

            We stood mesmerized looking at the castle and wondered how in the world anyone could have built it, especially over five hundred years ago!

            In the 15^th century nobleman Erasmus killed the emperor’s cousin in a duel. He then spent years imprisoned in the castle nursing a grudge. When released, he used the castle, buried deep in the cave above the present one, as a home for Robin Hood antics. Peasants hated noblemen, so they didn’t mind that he kept the spoils for himself. The castle is 400 feet up the cliff, and  there are eight miles of tunnels!

            Soldiers from Trieste laid siege to the castle that lasted a year and a day. The only way to reach Erasmus was through a cave in the valley below and then  follow an extensive labyrinth of caves and tunnels. Soldiers starved and froze while Erasmus’ men sneaked out for supplies. They tormented the soldiers below by dropping leftover food on them. Eventually the soldiers formed a plan. They waited until Erasmus was using the latrine, which by design was on the outside of the castle. With a signal from a spy within, they blew him off the throne—literally--with a cannon ball. He is buried in the parking lot under the huge linden tree which his fiancé planted in 1484.

            We walked through a good part of the castle which was surprisingly comfortable. I didn’t venture very far into the large cave; once the daylight was gone so was I.

During the tour with a local guide we had a chance to view the 67-foot deep dry well that was used for punishment. Being thrown down that required no further punishment!