Updates and Spelunking

Hi ya'll.
My internet is either really spotty or very expensive. So I have heaps more pictures to upload when I get decent service.
Today I went grocery shopping. Exciting I know! But it was storming so hard this morning I spent the day running errands and applying for jobs. Sice the weather was so bad I went back to Little Earth Lodge to book another night. The lodge is adjacent to a series of caves called Abbey Caves but I was advised not to explore them alone.
So back at LEL the weather cleared up to a bright but not very warm day. I met 2 French girls and 4 German guys and we grabbed helmets and water shoes and headlamps then tramped over to the first cave.

On the way we passed through a meadow with grazing sheep. Then through a rock forest.

When we got to the first cave you had to climb down 10 feet to get into it. All we could hear was rushing water and it was pitch black inside almost right away.

Entrance to the third cave

The inside of the cave was fantastic. The walls were gray, white, pink and yellow. Sometimes it was narrow and small, other parts were 30 feet tall and 15 feet wide. Sometimes we climbed over rocks and sometimes we were wading through freezing, waist deep water.

Once inside we all shut off our lights. Hundreds of glow worms were above us.  Like aqua colored stars set in the blackest of skies. They were all throughout the cave which took us about an hour to traverse to the end and back out again. I wish I could say I took amazing pictures, but unfortunately my camera skills have not evolved enough for pitch black photography.

The last cave had glow worms too but was much shorter. It went all the way under a hill and out the
other side. It took us about 20 minutes to get through. It was also amazing and unique from the other
caves with different rock formations and much deeper water.



Blurry pic- I'll just call this the action shot

 The last 10 feet I had to swim in the freezing water with my camera held high above my head. I was
having flashbacks to the time I took Lauren canyoning through the Zion subway.
Then I made dinner. My first home made dinner in 2 weeks. It wasn't great but I missed cooking a lot!

Outside the kitchen at LEL

Then out to downtown Whangarei with 2 girls, American and Irish, and 3 guys British and Dutch. We went to a place called Rynoz -shout out to my bro Ryan! The place was packed with rowdy locals and 2 girls got into a brawl right in front of me as we were leaving. Then onto a Irish pub called McMorriseys which was definitely more my scene. It had a small live band and a fire place. Very cozy. As I tried to find us a cab home I chatted with the drummer Nick who was a friendly local and gave me a NZ ball cap before he left. It was a fun but late night.

Getting Amongst It

So I finally left Auckland two days ago and began driving North into some of the most beautiful countryside I've ever seen. It's sometimes tropical. Sometimes farmland or beach. But always hilly and green. It's amazing.
I spent my last night in Auckland hanging out with my hostel friends. For good luck, and a sort of New Zealand christening, I jumped into the fountain in Albert Park.

Sky Tower from the roof at Frienz

Sky tower at night from Frienz rooftop

So my first day and night out of the city. I went to Bream Bay and camped at Uretiti Reserve Park. At Langs beach I put my feet in the New Zealand side of the pacific for the very first time. The night was freezing and I decided to buy an extra blanket before I camp again. Both beaches look out on the same giant bay.

Langs Beach in Bream Bay

Uretiti Beach was amazing. It stretched along the entire bay and the sand was so fine and soft and 

white. Like powdered sugar. There were jagged islands running along the horizon of the bay. 

Uretiti Beach looking back onto the campground

The stars here are out of this world. I looked up at the sky from the campground and saw a cloud of stars above me. Every constellation is completely new. I had to take a moment to appreciate that I was seeing stars I had never, ever seen before. 

Uretiti Beach

By the time I got to the Uretiti Park, something was wrong with my new car. A mere 185 km and I was already screwed. So early the next morning I drove to Whangarei and took my car to the nearest mechanic. My wheel bearing was shot and it cost me $330 to have it replaced at the garage. Everything really is twice as expensive here.

While my car was being fixed I spent the time wandering down around the harbour area. I went to half a dozen art galleries and a museum. Walked along the river and window shopped.

Boats along the harbour

Wave sculpture along the harbour

Once, my car was fixed I drove to a lookout at the top of Whangarei.

Then onto Little Earth Lodge where I stayed the night. The lodge is charmingly tiny and set amid tropical ferns and Kauri trees, with a big meadow on one side complete with a tiny pony and an old dog. It has only 10 rooms and each room has it's own sliding glass door that opens up to the patio and garden. My pictures don't do it justice. I'll have to take more and really capture the feel of the place.

The view from my patio

It's next to a place called Abby Caves which I wanted to explore but don't want to go on my own. It's storming like crazy here in NZ so I believe I'll stay one more day at LEL before heading north and camping some more. Hopefully, another backpacker at LEL will want to explore the caves with me. Today I'm running errands and wishing for warm weather.