Auckland - To Stay
Auckland - To Do
Auckland - To Eat
Auckland - To Do
Auckland - To Eat
Auckland - To Do
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Arataki Visitor Center
26June2016
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Arataki Visitor Center
26June2016
A pretty nice scenic look out point whilst en-route to Lion's Rock. *The Arataki Visitor Centre is the gateway to the Waitakere Ranges Regional Park
The visitor center does have a quaint retail shop selling some souvenirs and featuring some native wild life as well. Some as it like 4 displays at most. Don't be thinking of a zoo.
Lion's Rock (Piha)
Scenic Lookout Point
26June2016
Scenic Lookout Point
26June2016
*Piha is a coastal settlement on the western coast of the Auckland Region in New Zealand with ... Lion Rock has become iconic not only of Piha, but of Auckland's West Coast in general. It was featured on stamps as well as an Auckland phon* - Wikipedia
Click here for ABBA location of Lion's Rock, Piha
Waitomo Day Trip
205km about 2.5hrs-3hrs averaged out on to and fro journey from the City
3 Cave combo at NZD95/pax
No transport provided. 5min drive from Waitomo Glowworm Caves.
Click here for ABBA location of Aranui Caves
*Each of the caves has its on flare and I personally liked some of the stories than ran with this one and particularly the pitch dark portion of the tour.*
Lunch break at Huhu Cafe
*According to their culinary awards, they are best known for beef and lamb.*
Soup of day - Seafood Chowder
*A curry-like kind of a soup base. Pretty good distribution of seafood but nothing to scream about. The infusion of Asian flavors just didn't work for us.*
Chicken with cous cous
*Its a little strange. Chicken was nothing to shout about and the couscous was closer to a barley consistency. All right but not fantastic.*
Lamb Sliders
*Pretty okay for a pit-stop. The only reason we had come here was because it was pretty highly rated on google. We felt they were trying too hard for the fusion flavors which may impress the locals, but for those familiar with Asiatic flavor profiles,
these may not be all that impressive.
This place does however offer a picturesque view of the country side and good lunch/break options. Total NZD53.50, fed 2.*
Ruakuri Caves 13.30hrs 2hrs tour
inclusive of pickup and drop off to/from Glow Worm Caves
205km about 2.5hrs-3hrs averaged out on to and fro journey from the City
3 Cave combo at NZD95/pax
The Waitomo Glow worm caves session at 9.30am
*Defiantly the star attraction, but unfortunately no pictures are allowed within the premises. You get a little bit of everything. A bit of the caves and even a boat ride to stare into the darkness, with the glow worms illuminating the cave walls. Its like staring into the stars. Absolutely beautiful.*
Aranui Cave 11am session 1hr tour
*Defiantly the star attraction, but unfortunately no pictures are allowed within the premises. You get a little bit of everything. A bit of the caves and even a boat ride to stare into the darkness, with the glow worms illuminating the cave walls. Its like staring into the stars. Absolutely beautiful.*No transport provided. 5min drive from Waitomo Glowworm Caves.
Click here for ABBA location of Aranui Caves
*Each of the caves has its on flare and I personally liked some of the stories than ran with this one and particularly the pitch dark portion of the tour.*
Lunch break at Huhu Cafe
Soup of day - Seafood Chowder
Chicken with cous cous
*Its a little strange. Chicken was nothing to shout about and the couscous was closer to a barley consistency. All right but not fantastic.*
Lamb Sliders
*Lamb was a little on the dry side, but I felt together with the sweet beet root and basil mayo, the dish kinda worked. Enjoyable sliders to be had with the soup.*
these may not be all that impressive.
This place does however offer a picturesque view of the country side and good lunch/break options. Total NZD53.50, fed 2.*
Ruakuri Caves 13.30hrs 2hrs tour
inclusive of pickup and drop off to/from Glow Worm Caves
*This is probably the most value for money cave exploration. Its kind of a two in one, a little bit of glow worms and of course cave exploration. The places does however also offers a larger range of activities such as black water rafting (at a premium).*
For the three walking tour caves it costs a total of NZD95 each. The price may seem a bit steep up front, but given the very limited number of tour slots per day, this exclusive tour experience maybe worth the amount. As individual caves its not worth it, and its probably best to go with the popular combo of Waitomo Glowworm Caves & Ruakuri Caves if one is pressed for time. However for another NZD8 more, you get all three. Prices as indicated and the sign boards are quite helpful and accurate with the expected times to be spent at each of the attraction. Also ticketing staff will help slot you into timings for the tour which best meets your needs for the day.
ABBATip:
Like much of New Zealand activities, it require great distances to drive and are weather dependent, its important to check if the tours are available especially after a spate of heavy rainfall. The water levels had risen quite a fair bit, that where the water boat ride for the Waitomo Gloworm Caves were supposed to end, required some route modification. So did the black water rafting for Ruakuri Caves. Certain passages had in fact gone under the waterline.
ABBATip:
Like much of New Zealand activities, it require great distances to drive and are weather dependent, its important to check if the tours are available especially after a spate of heavy rainfall. The water levels had risen quite a fair bit, that where the water boat ride for the Waitomo Gloworm Caves were supposed to end, required some route modification. So did the black water rafting for Ruakuri Caves. Certain passages had in fact gone under the waterline.
Click here for ABBA location of the Waitomo Caves located 205km about 2.5hrs-3hrs averaged out on to and fro journey
Day2
Arataki Visitor Center, Lion's Rock
Day3
Day3
Waitomo Glowworm Caves, Aranui, Ruakuri Caves
Day4
Flight to Christ Church
Flight to Christ Church
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