With the bank cards activated, the phones set up, and the car purchased, we had one day to do a little sightseeing in Auckland. The day before had been rainy an extremely windy so we were happy to see the sun, even if it was in and out (the wind decided to hang around though). We took the bus downtown and went up the Sky Tower then took a short ferry ride across the harbor to Devonport for little walk around.
The following morning we picked up the new car, dropped off the rental and started for Wellington. It’s about an 8 1/2 hour trip so we decided to do it over two days. After about 2 hours of driving we stopped at the Waitomo Glowworm Caves. It was a short tour, only about 45′, which suited us with Hopscotch, and included a short boat ride through a grotto with thousands of glowworms on the ceiling. It was really cool, and really close to what you see in the picture (no photography was allowed inside so I borrowed this photo). The worms let down a little sticky string and the light attracts any flies or mosquitoes that have wandered into the cave. The flies get caught in the string and the glowworms then reel them up for lunch. After the cave we headed over to Taupo, about a 2 1/2 hour drive, which is towards the center of the North Island.
The next morning we saw some sights around Taupo which is known for it’s geothermal activity. We saw Huka Falls, a short but intense waterfall, then hit the Volcanic Activity Center, and finally Craters of the Moon, an area with steam vents and bubbling mud pots. After lunch we hit the road fro Wellington which lay about 4.5 hours away. The drive was beautiful, passing by the big volcanoes of the North Island. Around nightfall we arrived at our rental property and at long last we were in Wellington!
Kiwi Bound 