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The following day we woke to the sound of thundering rain, it was all noir, wind blew tirelessly and I thought today’s expedition of seeing the museum and glow worm caves was ruined. But to my utter surprise, within half-an-hour everything cleared: the sky was azure blue, no clouds, no rain, no thunder but a bright shining sun at 9 o’clock in the morning. Welcome to New Zealand, where you have to carry glares, umbrella, sweater and sunscreen all together whenever you go out! The weather is so unpredictable that one gets to see four seasons in one day.
The motel we were staying in was very modern and immaculate. NZ has a wide variety of motels and holiday homes that suits everyone’s taste, comfort and pockets offering incomparable customer service and world-class hospitality. Our motel had arranged a guided tour of the Rotorua museum which was some 20 minutes drive. Our guide was very cheerful and funny, Kiwis in general have a great sense of humour, and are very kind-hearted. People smile and greet you on the roads, which is so unique to this land.
Rotorua Museum is housed in the historic Bath House Building (which was once a famous geothermal spa which offered therapeutic treatments to visitors from all over the world) situated amidst beautiful gardens, and has a wide range of collection which can be classified as:
Taonga Maori Collection:
Significant treasures of the Arawa people, original inhabitants of the Rotorua region.
Fine Arts Collection:
Important images of New Zealand, historic and contemporary artworks, sculpture, ceramics and craft.
Photographic Collection:
Over 70,000 images depicting Rotorua’s rich past.
Social History Collection:
Items relating to the Rotorua area since European settlement, including a unique collection of souvenir ware. (Museum information and few photos from Internet site as below http://www.rotoruamuseum.co.nz/about-us/)
 
 
One visit to this museum and I got to know so much about the indigenous people. Outside, the garden was in full bloom with different hues scattered all over, spreading their warmth and pouring their perfume in the air.
 
Our next stop was a place called Waitomo, two hours’ drive from Rotorua, Waitomo is a Maori word made up of two parts. 'Wai', which translates as water, and 'tomo', which means entrance or a hole. Waitomo can be translated as the 'stream which flows into the hole in the ground'. This meaning is reflected through its fantastic geological history and landscape; however it also has a rich tourism and cultural history.
We had opted for a guided tour of Waitomo caves. As we entered the caves, huge limestone clusters, known as stalactites and stalagmites, welcomed us. As a kid had only studied these in geography lessons and had never seen them before but could so very well follow as the guide was explaining the process of these formations.
 
We trotted further and were continuing our way underground where pitch black darkness embraced us, our guide was giving us directions to move ahead and we came across a staircase which led us deep down in further darkness. I was petrified, though later I heard soothing lapping water and then gauging by the silhouette, I saw a boat on which we embarked on a journey of a lifetime...there was deadly silence, tranquillity and suddenly this darkness was illuminated by an humongous cluster of glow-worms, thousands of these tiny creatures radiated their unmistakable luminescent light as our expert guide provided informative commentary on the caves' historical and geological significance,
 
 
This was the most spectacular sight I had ever seen... it was magical! It seemed like we were lost in time, those 20, 25 minutes are embedded in my memory forever... And then we were ushered to the opening of this cave.
(Photo courtesy Internet sites, as it is banned to take pictures in the caves)
The next caves, Aranui, were a wonder in themselves with huge stalagmites and stalactites and other flowstones and decorative forms (limestone crystals) which adorned the entire cave. There was no ceiling but these formations formed by water dripping over the past thousands and thousands of years. Over the years, the guides have given these limestone clusters affectionate names like butcher shop because of the formation, and then there were some clusters which resembled cauliflower, cheese, carrot, etc.
Such a mystic encounter with nature has definitely left me spellbound!
My next travelogues are based on my voyage to South Island of New Zealand.
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