more nz

we drove around pretty much the whole north island. i am getting pretty lazy with taking pictures, but you know how it is when you are driving on a trip...you just keep driving and it is so easy to never get out of the car.

we went to some glow worm caves, and i think that was my highlight of nz. you go on a tour with a guide, so we thought it would be kind of hokey. we got down into the caves and he showed us like two glow worms. we thought the tour was done and felt like we got suckered in. then we went down further into the cave and he said "alright, lets get into the boat one at a time". we had no idea there was water down there. it was pitch black and we blindly stepped into to a tiny tin boat. we crammed waaaayyyy too many people into it and were so close to the water ( I think, but we couldnt see). it was creepy dark cave water that has eels and strange creatures in it apparently. the guy next to me was having an anxiety attack and kept talking about how if the boat tipped he would freak out. i wanted to scoot away from him because i knew he would drown me if the boat did tip, but we were squished so tight i was pretty much sitting on his lap. there were a network of ropes in the cave and the guide stood at the front of the boat and pulled us around the water reaching from one rope to the next. it was silent and sort of eerie down there. the ceiling was covered with glowing worms, it was like a fairy tale or something, i want to go back.

when we came out of the cave i slipped in some mud while trying to reach for a pretty leaf and though i had broken my knee. when i fell i yelled and david just a few feet away but from behind the car said "are you ok?" in a crackly voice i said "no" along with a few choice words and then jumped to my feet and started hobbling away. i had an adrenaline rush and right after i fell i felt like the most important thing in the world was for me to get up as fast as i could. david is so funny when i go crazy, i can see fear in his eyes. he panics and just repetitively asks what he can do while i am just spouting away. i couldn't walk obviously so he had to carry me to the car. i thought my knee was doomed, but i nursed it back to health and could walk again within the week. phew. false alarm. its been a while since i've cried because of an injury, i was sort of embarrassed.