Day 7- January 28

We all woke up quite early to get ready for our exciting jam packed adventure that was ahead of us. The previous night we agreed to be ready and outside of our rooms by 8:30 to make sure we had enough time to get breakfast and freshen up before heading out. Jill was running 10 minutes late which wasn’t so uncommon but while we waited we discussed where we wanted to get breakfast while she finished getting ready. John recommended that we try the free complimentary breakfast that is down in the lobby and no one objected so we decided to try it out. We headed down to the lobby around 8:45 and got an arrangement of pancakes and waffles as well as many different types of cereal. After enjoying the delicious treats from the lobby breakfast bar we headed out to Waitomo Glowworm Caves(ecosystem). The drive was 2 hours and 19 minutes long! Because of the long journey we had Jill drive most of the time to make up for her being late which she didn’t appreciate but we all were able to relax and listen to music. When we arrived to our destination we all were extremely excited to see the caves and the fascinating glowing worms within the walls of the caves. As we approached the Glowworm Caves we could see the lights and already started gasping in amazement. 

The sights were amazing from the worms moving in there little holes as well as being able to see the water reflect from the glow of the worms we all agreed this was one of our favorite activities so far. We slowly went through the caves for about an hour and captured some stunning photos which are some of our favorites from the trip even though we aren't even in them. While going through the caves the tour guides explained how the caves were discovered by an explorer who went through the caves multiple times because of how fascinated on how the caves glowed with such bright colors. Most of us tuned in and out but John listened during the part about how the beautiful, pink and brown crystals on the roof were formed. The crystals are created from limestone which is more apparent in these caves because of how much rainfall enters the cave after it was created by an earthquake. 

 After visiting the Glowworm caves we were all so famished so we decided to stop off at Original Pokeno Ice Cream & Cafe, a local coffee shop, which we all appreciated because of how cold we were from being out in the caves. The warm coffee and pastries were just what we needed to give us a boost of energy for the rest of the day. We all managed to be in the mood for the same pastry, a Bearclaw! After eating our delicious food form the cafe we decided to go shopping in some local stores where Jill, Alyssa, and John all found some cute clothes.  We went into a lot of local shops but most of the stores did not have anything we were looking for so we got back into the car and headed to the hotel. It was about 7:30 when we finally got back to the hotel but we all still had energy so we decided to go to the Botanical Garden's right by our hotel to watch the sunset. We had plenty of time to sit and watch the sun set because most times the sun goes down pretty late here, almost around 8:15 to 8:30 so we decided to explore the garden. The beautiful flowers and trees in the sunset was a perfect end to our day and John even got an amazing picture of the sunset. After the sun set it started getting a bit chilly so we headed back to the hotel and pretty much crashed immediately after our heads hit the pillow.