Beth's Babbles: Waipu - the Scotland of New Zealand

Earlier this week, Joe and I took a short drive to the small town of Waipu for some culture, coffee, and caves! Waipu has all of these things, and is a New Zealand town that prides itself on its Scottish heritage.

The 55 minute drive to Waipu was made slightly longer as we were forced to stop in awe of the ever changing landscape. Rolling green hills, sea, and mountains could all be seen in one view, and it was so spectacular that we had to stop at the side of the road and snap a picture.

View from the highway

In the 1850s, five shiploads of scottish clans from the highlands arrived in Waipu, led by Rev Norman McLeod - and keeping up with scottish tradition, the town now hosts the annual highlands games every New Years Day.

As hungry travellers, we stopped for lunch at "Logan Maclean", a cafe on the main street serving sandwiches, pastries, and of course a full scottish breakfast aptly named "The Full Kilt". Unfortunately missing black pudding, but was an enjoyable meal nonetheless.

Opposite the cafe is the Waipu Museum; documenting the history of the town and the story of its Scottish migrants.

The caves first sanction

So, thats pretty much the whole town if we're not including the small supermarket and dairy. But much of this towns adventure and intrigue lies just outside, in the Waipu caves. These were our main reason for the trip, as they came as a recommendation from a colleague as a free and lesser known alternative to the widely popular (but expensive to visit) Waitomo caves south of Auckland.

Crawl under here to continue? Yes/No

The Waipu caves consist of three main sanctions, glowworms being present in their thousands mostly in the third. This is something neither Joe or I have experienced before - not caves, nor glowworms - so it was completely thrilling to see. Walking in the caves is completely unguided, unlike some other caves in the country, and these three main sanctions are relatively easy to navigate on your own (with the help of a torch and some good footwear) though it does become pitch black and you WILL need to walk in water at least at ankle depth. Stalagmites and stalagtites fill the caves interiors, and they also harbour many fossils and ancient reptile remains. Past the 3 main sanctions, much MUCH more of the cave can be explored by crawling under a very low ceiling, emerging into chest-high water, with space opening up on the other side. Having my camera with me at the time, I wasn't prepared to go so far in such deep water, but we will definitely be going back there to venture on further at a later date (and with better torches).

The caves first sanction

Around the caves are very pleasant walking tracks through woods and fields, with giant boulders, hills and ditches to make you feel like you're right on set in a Lord of the Rings film. After visiting the caves, we checked out the Piroa Falls on our way back to Warkworth. There was such pleasant sunshine on this day, that really made the falls look even more spectacular after last week's rain. From the carpark, its a short walk down to the bottom of the falls, where we were greeted by a family enjoying a swim in the pools beneath. The water must have been a little cold, as it is now autumn, but they looked like they were having fun sliding down the rocks in their rubber rings.