Cave emptor

This morning I was up about 8 and arrived at the glow worm caves but 20 to 9. It appears there are discount tickets for everything but the attraction you want to go to, or else you find the discount after you've been there (viz, sky tower) or cancel because you've left you camera behind (viz) Hell's gate or the trip gets cancelled (viz Dolphin cruise)

The tours are 40 minutes and start on the hour so there was a bit of a wait. We were the first for the day and only about 10 of us. apparently they can get 3000 per day and usually go in groups of 50.

Unfortunately you can't take pictures inside. I can understand not allowing pix of the glow worms themselves since the light might be bad for them and the average idiot tourist won't know that a flash will defeat the purpose. Time exposure probably would just give a blur. Before we got to that part we walked around the rest of the cave complex, with it's usual displays of stalactites, stalagmites and so forth. It was interesting but not significantly different from some other caves I've been in.

We then got into the boat and went through the glow worm cave and that is spectacular. It looks like stars in the roof of the cave. we actually follow the river out of the cave at its source and then walk back up to the car park while the guide takes the boat back in. We could take some shots in the cave mouth and the nature walk back.

It was just on 10 when I got back to the main road North and I was in Hamilton well before 11. In the end I didn't stop, despite thinking I might do a couple of things, so I would have been better off going the bypass route. I got to the Outskirts of Auckland about 12 and had lunch at that same Westfield that I stopped at on the way out. (opposite where we filled the buses). The trip back was the 3rd time on that same stretch of road so I didn't bother with and photos.

It was 3pm before I booked into a hotel. I wandered all over the suburbs, first looking for an internet cafe and then just for a motel. Having passed some and realising I was nearly in the city I tried to go back, took a wrong turn and got so frustrated with busy narrow and one way streets I gave up and went across the bridge to the North shore and booked in to one I saw in the AA guide.
I then contacted a couple of Mensa people to arrange to meet for dinner.