Waitomo Glow Worm Cave and Aranui Cave

Waitomo is a Maori word made up of two parts. 'Wai' which translates as water and 'tomo' which means entrance or 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, rich tourism and cultural history.  

30 million years ago the entire Waitomo region lay far beneath the sea. Today, both above and below ground, it stands as a revealing testament to a landmark period in New Zealand's and the world's natural history. Undulating green fields, tumbling waterfalls, spectacular rural vistas and, of course, its world renowned limestone formations and cave systems make Waitomo a destination like no other.

More than 30 million years ago, the legend of Waitomo began with the creation of limestone at the bottom of the ocean. Now these limestone formations stand as one of New Zealand's most inspiring natural wonders and a must-see destination.

Most visitors tour Waitomo on a day trip. I would seriously recommend that you stay at least one night here to experience the best of it. It is one of the most tranquil places in NZ. Besides, you can do the bush walk in the night and experience the glow worms for free. I have seen the fire flies in Malaysia and I thought that was spectacular but nothing had prepared me for the glow worms.

During the day, you can always do the tour of the glow worm cave and follow it up with the spectacular limestone formations at the Aranui cave.

The rolling hills of Waitomo country

This is what the larvae look like in the day, while in the night they glow beautifully.

Glow worm is the common name for various different groups of insect larvae and adult larviform females that glow through bioluminescence. They may sometimes resemble worms, but all are insects. Once they evolve into insects, their life span is a few days or maybe hours.

The entrance/exit of the Waitomo glow worm cave.

The beautiful limestone formations of the Aranui cave.

An inch of these take 1000 years to form! Very very delicate.

The South African Chronicles - Part 1

This was my first trip to the African continent – so I was super excited. A lot of what I knew about South Africa was gleaned from the many Wilbur Smith novels that I had read. Despite that, I kept an open mind as I truly believe that every journey is a path of discovery.

We landed at OR Tambo airport and were picked up by my friend Gaurav and driven to his apartment in Bedfordview which is a suburb of Johannesburg, fondly known as Jo’burg and Jozi. My first impression was that everyone lives in gated communities and that one cannot freely walk on the roads or take public transportation. You have to drive yourself everywhere or be driven about! There are maxi taxis which are a cheaper option but I was given to understand that it is the best and surest way to get mugged!

The first day we took it easy, getting to know our hosts – Gaurav, Mini and their wonderful son Parth. It was also the last day of Mini’s sister Deepti’s stay in Jozi, so the day revolved around her and her last minute shopping. We went to the Broma Handicraft market where we picked up African masks, candles and other souvenirs. That evening, we had a farewell dinner for Deepti at a Thai restaurant in Nelson Mandela Square.

                                            Gaurav, Mum, Mini, Dipti, Parth and myself at Nelson Madela Square.

The next morning we drove an hour north from Jozi to the Cradle of Humankind. It is a UNESO World heritage site, famous for the 3 million year old fossils of hominids and other animals. The discoveries were instrumental in changing the way we view humanity and the history of human development. The most important and most famous of these fossils are “Mrs Ples”, a 2.1-million-year-old Australopithecus skull, and “Little Foot”, an almost complete Australopithecus skeleton that is more than 3-million years old. These fossils, both found in the Sterkfontein Caves in the Cradle of Humankind, tell us much about the precursors of modern humans, Homo sapiens.

Archaeological finds within the Cradle of Humankind also include 2-million-year-old stone tools. The oldest recorded, at Swartkrans, near the Sterkfontein Caves, is a collection of 270 burnt bones that reveals how our ancestors learned to master fire more than 1-million years ago – a significant development and an early technological innovation. The ability to do this has taken us from the basic skills needed to keep ourselves warm and to cook our food, to being able to control and harness the power of fire to the extent that we can now create and burn rocket fuel to reach space and beyond.

                                                       The entrance to the Sterkfontein caves

The Maropeng Visitor Centre is an exciting, world-class exhibition, focusing on the development of humans and our ancestors over the past few million years.

                               The Maropeng Centre is shaped like a burial mound called the Tumulus

It is remarkable how much we have achieved as humans over the last 3 million years but finally we have to ask ourselves................

http://www.maropeng.co.za