in the small town of waitamo, where the tour bus to the glow worm caves gathered us up, there were...

20
In the small town of Waitamo, where the tour bus to the Glow Worm Caves gathered us up, there were nice Agapanthus growing everywhere.

Upload: ross-young

Post on 18-Dec-2015

213 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: In the small town of Waitamo, where the tour bus to the Glow Worm Caves gathered us up, there were nice Agapanthus growing everywhere

In the small town of Waitamo, where the tour bus to the Glow Worm Caves

gathered us up, there were nice Agapanthus growing everywhere.

Page 2: In the small town of Waitamo, where the tour bus to the Glow Worm Caves gathered us up, there were nice Agapanthus growing everywhere

Agapanthus grow in purple and white—they are very nice.

Page 3: In the small town of Waitamo, where the tour bus to the Glow Worm Caves gathered us up, there were nice Agapanthus growing everywhere

This unusual (cedar?) tree was growing near the area where the tour to the caves started.

Page 4: In the small town of Waitamo, where the tour bus to the Glow Worm Caves gathered us up, there were nice Agapanthus growing everywhere

On the way to the caves, we wandered through some interesting terrain; in New Zealand, sheep and cattle (shown here) wander on

the “free range,” unlike America, where most are penned up.

Page 5: In the small town of Waitamo, where the tour bus to the Glow Worm Caves gathered us up, there were nice Agapanthus growing everywhere

After a 30-minute drive, we were let out on top of a hill…the bus then

parked in the valley below and we walked down a small trail to the bus.

Page 6: In the small town of Waitamo, where the tour bus to the Glow Worm Caves gathered us up, there were nice Agapanthus growing everywhere

Some of our group meandering down the

hillside to the bus—and the two caves we would visit.

Page 7: In the small town of Waitamo, where the tour bus to the Glow Worm Caves gathered us up, there were nice Agapanthus growing everywhere

The land around Waitamo is rocky, but also populated with a lot of dense vegetation in

spots—nice palm trees and other plants.

Page 8: In the small town of Waitamo, where the tour bus to the Glow Worm Caves gathered us up, there were nice Agapanthus growing everywhere

The small tour bus that took about 15 of us to the Glow Worm Caves.

Page 9: In the small town of Waitamo, where the tour bus to the Glow Worm Caves gathered us up, there were nice Agapanthus growing everywhere

This terrain, a rocky karst, is like Norway—ice age carvings of rock

create the unusual landscape.

Page 10: In the small town of Waitamo, where the tour bus to the Glow Worm Caves gathered us up, there were nice Agapanthus growing everywhere

Limestone stacks up in piles—and also forms the caves which are home to the Glow Worms.

Page 11: In the small town of Waitamo, where the tour bus to the Glow Worm Caves gathered us up, there were nice Agapanthus growing everywhere

These hills would be wonderful snake homes. New Zealand has NO snakes, so no worries,

Mate!

Page 12: In the small town of Waitamo, where the tour bus to the Glow Worm Caves gathered us up, there were nice Agapanthus growing everywhere

Near the first Glow Worm cave, we saw the river that runs into the cave. Over many years, the water travels through all the caves, carving them

out and providing nurture for the worms and other animals inside.

Page 13: In the small town of Waitamo, where the tour bus to the Glow Worm Caves gathered us up, there were nice Agapanthus growing everywhere

Not far from the Glow Worm Caves, Bob

stopped and took a shot of this penned up

ostrich—he did not seem happy at my

curiosity.

Page 14: In the small town of Waitamo, where the tour bus to the Glow Worm Caves gathered us up, there were nice Agapanthus growing everywhere

These small plants were sprinkled around

the countryside.

Page 15: In the small town of Waitamo, where the tour bus to the Glow Worm Caves gathered us up, there were nice Agapanthus growing everywhere

New Zealand is home to millions of sheep—which run “free range” like the cows. This group, like most, were very skittish. Whenever

someone stops to take a photo, they soon bound away.

Page 16: In the small town of Waitamo, where the tour bus to the Glow Worm Caves gathered us up, there were nice Agapanthus growing everywhere

These two motley sheep were near the second cave we visited; they are so used to

visitors, they just stand and look back at you.

Page 17: In the small town of Waitamo, where the tour bus to the Glow Worm Caves gathered us up, there were nice Agapanthus growing everywhere

Some of the larger trees in the area had

the same Spanish Moss that is found in the SE

part of the USA.

Page 18: In the small town of Waitamo, where the tour bus to the Glow Worm Caves gathered us up, there were nice Agapanthus growing everywhere

In amongst the rocks and grassy areas were some nice palm trees.

Page 19: In the small town of Waitamo, where the tour bus to the Glow Worm Caves gathered us up, there were nice Agapanthus growing everywhere

Left: a path for the tour bus to take from cave to cave. Right: a small footpath leading to a cave. Note

the green lush undergrowth.

Page 20: In the small town of Waitamo, where the tour bus to the Glow Worm Caves gathered us up, there were nice Agapanthus growing everywhere

Left: Moss gathers on the wooden fence posts in the countryside. Right: an interesting tree with

really hard “skin” (not really bark).