Off the Court: Waitomo Glow Worms & Hobbiton Experience

I booked a long day tour (13 hours) to the Waitomo glow worm caves and Hobbiton movie set area through a company called Great Sights.

It did not start off very well at all....People were crying, fighting, and we left 30 minutes late.  This is the first experience I have had on this trip where tour guides were actually rude and so many tourists were rude to them.  I HATE riding on a bus! Always have, always will, but this was my only option for a visit to these sights.

Pictures weren't allowed in the glow worm caves but it was really cool (and a little gross).  They light up and look like stars glowing in the top of the caves and it's very peaceful.  They also secrete a saliva that hangs down about a foot in order to catch insects and things, which was the kind of gross part.  A Maori family runs the visitor center and the tour guide was great.  These creatures are unique to New Zealand and it is definitely worth seeing while you are there. 

Here is the website to get an idea of what it is like since I don't have any pictures:

http://www.waitomo.com/waitomo-glowworm-caves.aspx

Interesting facts I learned are that there are 3 cars for every one person here and there are about 60 active and dormant volcanoes in NZ because it straddles a fault line.  A little scary...

Here are my pictures from Hobbiton, which I think is a MUST SEE in New Zealand.  It is where "Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" were filmed.  So, whether you have seen the movies or not (I haven't), go!  It was really cool.