But first things first. On the road from Rotorua I stopped at the Te Waihou Walkway. I didn't have enough time to walk all the way to the other side but I did the loop track which took me about 2 hours in flat and easy terrain. The path followed the river though a valley and you get to see beautiful colours of blue and green, even in winter! I'd definitely recommend this track.
That evening I just enjoyed the real kiwi life once more: Early dinner (finally kumara chps again!), then private time and a hot drink. It reminded me so much of my own host family five years ago!
The next day wasn't that exciting either. I had planned to go Black Water Rafting in the Waitomo Caves but unfortunately the water level was too high. It was raining continuously so I stayed at home. Only in the early afternoon did I venture out to the Mangapohue Natural Bridge and Marokopa Falls but even then I got back soaking wet. I had had so much luck with the weather but now it was really annoying!
The next day the weather god was kind to me. I had booked a 1,5-hour tour with Hairy Feet in Piopio, the farm where the Trollshaws were shot. I arrived there at 1pm and found out that I was going to be alone with the guide! She showed me around her farm and told me how she met Peter Jackson and all the dwarf actors and showed me the exact spots where they stood. We even kept on quoting the movies together! The scenes that were shot here are all shown in the first Hobbit movie where the company meets the trolls, find the swords in their cave and are chased by the wargs with Radagast leading them away on his rabbit-sleigh. You can definitely recognize the Denize Bluffs in the background of those scenes!
Unfortunately we didn't take the helicopter...
See the remnants of the set?
Sitting exactly where Richard Armitage learned his lines!
The Troll Cave
On the way back I stopped at the Waitanguru waterfalls and Opapaka Pa, the site of an old Maori settlement. All those nice little walks beside the road are really worth it!
Another early morning followed for I wanted to try the Waitomo caves again and before that I had a look around the dairy farm to see the newborn calves. Fortunately the tours were running today although the water level was just on the border of being to risky. The currents were definitely pretty strong but it wasn't too difficult. The Black Abyss Tour started with a 35m abseil which was really not difficult. I went first so the others could see how you do it for I've done it many times already. Then there was one zip-line, a small jump, a section of tubing and then some floating and walking though the water. We even got some biscuits and hot chocolate down there! Of course there were some glowworms around and as often as possible we would turn off our lights and watch those living underground stars.
All in all I really enjoyed it although for my taste it wasn't enough adrenaline and very expensive! Maybe try a shorter caving adventure and go rafting on a more difficult river? On the other hand, I found out that you can just call and ask if they will employ you as a guide without any studies! I'm really thinking about doing that someday. Getting paid for an otherwise expensive hobby, what could be better?!
After these adventures I took the road towards the Tongariro National Park. Aratiatia Rapids had been the location for the dwarves in their barrels escaping Thranduil's kingdom but I had missed the times when they would open the floodgate so there was very little water in the gorge. The Huka falls right next to it had a beautiful color but I've also seen more impressive waterfalls already... You can't really show that in a photo though so I'll leave it up to your imagination.
...hast du mir ein paar Glühwürmchen eingefangen, die sollen Glück bringen.
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