Waitomo > Taupo
Dada chose the worst possible night to develop Delhi (Kiwi?) Belly, as we had a huge thunderstorm with torrential rain. I could just see the headline: "Brit struck by lightning in mad toilet dash!"
We had planned ( considered very carefully in Catherine's case) to do some Black Water Rafting* in Waitomo. However, on balance this morning I decided I didn't need any additional bowel-loosening experiences. So we instead opted for the gentle glow worm cave, a walk through limestone tunnels and then a subterranean boat ride in the dark to see glow worms.
The walk from our camp to the cave was great. The weather really was showery i.e. baking hot then 'whoosh', bucketloads of rain. The three wheeler all-terrain uber pushchair really came into its own as we waded through the undergrowth, crossing the river on a small wooden bridge - it really felt like New Zealand, and we were both reminded of 'The Piano' (the mud - not the hole in the stocking).
 
James unfortunately got fed up half way through the cave tour, so had to be carried screaming back up to the top by Daddy - I coul've imagined I was in a scene from something by Tolkien... except for the terrible racket in my ear! So if you want to know what glow worms look like you'll have to ask Catherine. The only picture I've got is of the God of the Underground at the entrance
I finally managed to get my laptop online courtesy of the nice women in the Visitor Centre at the Museum of Caves. I had to pull the LAN connection from their Email station and copy the TCP/IP and DNS settings before logging on. A bit unorthodox, but PHEW! Catherine was great, and had my lunch ready when I got back.
Everything takes so much longer than we thought it would, so we're pressing on to Taupo today, and will hopefully get our ferry crossing organised from Wellington (across the Cook Strait to South Island) tomorrow.
The campsite at Taupo is great, the only hitch being we happen to have coincided with a convention of Germans in Maui rental campervans so the site is full: we get one of the last spots over by the bins at the back, 5 min walk to the toilets and next to the road they are in the middle of building!! Dinner is mediocre (but we are getting used to that) but at least James is in bed by 9pm.
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*rubber ring, underground, rapids, very scary
9:38:49 PM 
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