3/31/10 (queenstown)

Queenstown - Te Anau

In the north island the rain seems to come and go within a few minutes but not in the south. As we were heading to Te Anau it started to rain and it didn’t stop. I don’t mind the rain and was glad it was raining since there are more waterfalls at Doubtful Sound when it rains. We were leaving for our overnight cruise the next day. But it sucks to be in a small camper when it rains. It’s difficult to get your shoes which is underneath our camper bed and also our bed gets wet each time we open the door. The upside is that we don’t get sandflies or mosquitos. Always tradeoffs in life, right?

We figured since it was still raining we would plan some indoor activities and you can’t get more indoors than a glowworm cave. We were supposed to check out a glowworm cave in Waitomo but it was a bit out of the way for us so we skipped it. Te Anau also had a cave so we decided to book the tour. But before the caving we heard about a 30-minute movie called Ata Whenua - Shadowland that a helicopter pilot had made about the fiordlands. It was supposed to be really well done and playing at the local theatre. We decided to check out the movie. The story goes that a local helicopter pilot for 20 some years decided that he wanted to document the fiordlands so that others can enjoy the beauty he sees everyday. He spent 10 years working with a film crew. When the film was finished there was no movie theater nearby to show it so he built a small theater in Te Anau. It was a cinematography movie so there was no commentary. Just images of the beauty of fiordlands with music especially composed for it. Can you imagine his deep appreciation for the fiordlands?! That’s dedication and love. 

Then we checked out the glowworms. Since our tour wasn’t till 7pm it had gotten pretty dark outside. We got on a boat which took us to the caves about 20 minutes away. It was as if we were in an episode of Lost where the Others were taking us to their island. Once we got to the caves it was a bit of a circus show since only 14 people could enter the cave at one time so we had to wait our turn. The caves were dimly light and there was a flood of water underneath it so it was quite damp inside. It was very different from the other cave we visited in Damarea. To see the glowworms we sat on a raft which a guide pushed around in the dark. The glowworms light up to attract other insects so the brighter the light the hungrier they are. Their lights look like mini LED lights. We were able to get very close to them. Jon even asked one of the people there if there are real glowworms in the cave or if they just installed lots of green LED lights. They assured us they were the real deal. Good to know! It was pretty cool to see them though I think the boat ride to the island in the dark enhanced the experience.

Like: Ata Whenua - Shadowland, LED glowworms