Waitomo Caves Day 146 11/02/2015

After breakfast Lesley kindly gave us a lift to the Apollo Motorhome centre near the airport. It took nearly 2 hours to get our van, the usual negotiating on the excessive charges they apply to waive the damage premium (we got a free set of chairs, table and heater) and then because the van we'd been allocated had been damaged and we had to wait for another one to be cleaned. Once it was ready we said our goodbyes to Lesley and hit the road. Our journey south was uneventful with good roads and little traffic, stopping at the Countdown supermarket (similar to Woolworths in Australia) at Huntly (not like the lovely Highland town as this one has a massive power station and interestingly a viewing lookout), by passing Hamilton to arrive at the small, picturesque village of Waitomo Caves. After passing through countryside which again reminded us of home, the last 40 kms to Waitomo was full of limestone and we reminisced about the Yorkshire Dales and Peak District. We were staying at the Top 10 campsite right in the centre, which whilst not cheap at $48 per night was in a lovely spot and had all first class amenities. After dinner we looked at the myriad of options for caving adventures we wanted to do the following day and, after narrowing it down to two, decided to sleep on it and choose in the morning.