Tag Archives: caves

Rakitu Island: The Cove

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Matt was looking at the satellite charts and found what looked like the perfect, pristine anchorage called The Cove at Rakitu island (also called Arid island).  This is a relatively small island (329 hectares) and has towering cliffs that rise 180 meters from the sea.  It gives this anchorage a fortress-like feeling as you are protected from many directions.

The island used to be a farm privately owned by the Rope Family.  They raised cattle and had several houses and outposts here.  The Department of Conservation bought it from the Rope family and it has since become a scenic reserve (1994).  It is naturally free from many predators (rats, stokes, cats, rabbits) so the birds and their nests can flourish. 

The Ngati Rehua people cleared and cultivated the central valley where 3 historic sites remain today.  This is a beautiful saying of Rakitu:

You are a guardian, protecting and looking after our land, our family, and our future generations. Behold the breath of life!

The Cove at Rakitu Island

This little piece of Heaven called The Cove is just around some beautiful towering pinnacles.  As we enter the anchorage the water changes to a magnificent blue.  We pass many caves which are just begging to be explored (more on this later).

We drop the hook and settle in to our new favorite place.  

Onshore Rakitu Island

Even though this is an uninhabited island, there are still several buildings left behind from the Rope Family.  Evidently government officials use these facilities when they visit the island to check on things.

There is a short path from The Cove anchorage to the other side of the island.  You walk through some thick grass and across a few muddy rivers, but otherwise it is pretty easy walk.

When we return to the beach we are rewarded with a beautiful view of our boat at anchor.

The Caves

The next day we decide to go explore some of the many caves.  We hop in Sweetie (our dinghy) and head to this stunning arc in the rocks.  On our way in to The Cove, we passed by this as we came in on the big boat and I’ve been wanting to go under in the dinghy.  We posted a video on sv Sugar Shack’s Instagram which is a lot more fun than the photos.

Then we went around the north side of Rakitu and came across several more caves.   Look at the water color!

It was high tide so we could drive in most of them.  We found one in particular that was truly stunning.  There were so many colors in the rocks that it took my breath away!

Just in case you need a closer look to appreciate the beauty.

Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events.  This blog post occurred at the end of January.   In our last blog post we enjoy a 2+ mile beach!

The Lost World

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We are super excited and a little anxious to explore The Lost World!  The Woodlyn Park Lodge is right next door to Waitomo Adventures so it is a short drive to start our day.

We meet our guide who has over 2,500 abseils (rappels) under his belt.  He used to manage the business so we were in really in good hands.  It is just the four of us: Matt, Wayne, me, and Scott our guide.

We drive 20 minutes to the location where we get geared up and dressed.  After a short 101, we head to the “testing” area.  They provide everything: helmets with lights, jumpsuits, and wellies (boots).  

They have a little area that they call “the testing center” which gives us an opportunity to test all of our gear while getting comfortable clipping in and out of the lines.  After the short diversion, we head to the platform where we will abseil 100 meters into the center of the earth – aptly called The Lost World.

Abseiling

The first thing you have to do is lean over the gap between the platform and the steel pipe.  I just kept repeating to myself “don’t look down, don’t look down.”  Yes we are tied in three ways to Sunday, but it still doesn’t stop your heart from jumping in your throat!

All 4 of us are clipped together.  So, if one person starts to fall they will be stopped by the other 3 people.  We each have our own abseil line and 3 connecting lines or safety points.

One by one we remove our feet from the platform and hang hundreds of feet above the cavern.

What am I thinking?  This is nutso.  Yes, I have a smile on my face, but trust me when I say I was a wee bit terrified!

To go down, you lift the line up.  For the men it was rather easy as their weight pulled them down.  But for me, I had to actively work at lowering myself and to keep up with the men.  

The boys were having a blast, releasing their hands, leaning back and just dangling. Where I had the vulcan death grip on both boys.

As we start to descend you feel the gravity of the distance below you.  But the beauty in the area takes your breath away and you can truly see why they call this the Lost World.

We make several stops along the way down to ensure we take in all of the splendor that the Lost World has to offer.

A Walk on the Wild Side

We finally make it to the bottom and my heart beat returns to normal.  We crawl over boulders, through the river, over rocks, and under huge limestone formations.  The sun tries to sneak in through the crevices giving us fun photo opportunities.

We continue climbing deep into the recess of the Lost World using our headlamps to light the way.

The Glowworms

We come to a massive cave where we pop a squat and turn off our lights.  And what do we see but a bazillion glowworms!  This time we actually get to see the glowworm up close (top right photo) and its beautiful silk threads (bottom right corner).  If you look closely you will see the glow of the blue tails, but it is hard to get us, in the dark and the glowworms.

Departing the Lost World

Now, comes the fun part (not), climbing back out of the Lost World.  We begin by scampering over rocks, boulders, and more large limestone formations, slowly heading high and higher.  

Then we come to an enormous ladder that reaches 100m into the sky.  You can’t even see the top part of it. It is wet, muddy, and hard to hold on to.  We are clipped in at three safety points and begin the climb one at a time.  Holy hell that was hard on my arms!

But we all make it out and have an additional 20-minute uphill hike to the launching area.  What a spectacular and remarkable adventure.  If you are ever in Waitomo, I highly recommend The Lost World tour with the Waitomo Adventures team!

  • Hotel: Trinity Hotel
  • Kilometers Traveled: 0 
  • Time Traveled: 0 
  • Kilometers Walked:  5.5km (couldn’t bring phone on Lost World)

Events from this blog occurred at the end of February.  Our blogs posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual events.  Be sure to read the first part of our trip in Waitomo in our last blog post.