Wandering to Waitomo

We continued on down the road toward Waitomo after the railcars (March 17).  We needed a cup of coffee and stopped in at a little place called the Rhubarb Café in Arapuni.  It had to be a good café as it had the word rhubarb in it.  I’ve been eating locally-made yogurt with rhubarb in it that’s been some of the best yogurt I’ve ever had. 

Anyway, we wandered in and ordered our coffee.  We also had a little bite to eat and struck up a conversation with the owners, Louise and Bryan.  What great folks they were, and it was great food and coffee, too.  We enjoyed ourselves immensely and they even provided us with a local scenic walk where we could see a dam and a power plant … imagine that … and walk over a suspension bridge.  Of course, we would do that.

The Arapuni suspension bridge sits high above the river.  We walked across and went until the signs said no unauthorized entry.  And then back across we went.  Sure do love suspension bridges with their bounce.  This one was built in 1925 so the construction workers could reach the power station site.  It holds a maximum of 30 pedestrians and you can't take motorcycles or horses on it.

The Arapuni power plant.  Nuff said.

The bridge was fun, and the view wonderful.  All too soon, we had to get back on the road, but it was another nice interlude on our way to the next hotel.

This is the type of hedge I've only seen in photos.  It was quite tall and very well-manicured.  It was just on the road and seemed to be just along the edge of some pasture land.

When we arrived in Otorohanga (near Waitomo), there was no reservation.  Whoops.  We’d certainly booked it, but it hadn’t come through.  The lady said there’d been a glitch with the booking service, so we figured that was what had happened.  She had a room for us anyway, and we booked in for two nights as there were several things we wanted to do.  Best part?  I got a dog fix with Major, the boxer.

Major, a very big boy.

 We did our usual, and walked around town a bit. 

At either end of town there were giant Kiwis. 

You can see how big they are by looking at me ... a frail, fragile flower of a woman.

This little bowler hat was another landmark we found.

The silver leaf is a New Zealand symbol that is considered a badge of honor by the people, products and services.  It's used in the 100 per cent Pure New Zealand campaign, rather like the silver hand that designates the "Made in Alaska" items.  These silver leaves were another find in our walk about town.

We've seen a number of totems. 

 Then bed as we had a date with some Waitomo glow worms the next day.