[New Zealand] Chapter LXV: In which nobody succeeds in making us want to listen to tour guides

After months of generally avoiding guided tours where possible, and with our trip drawing to an end, we went all out and joined three guided tours to three caves in the Waitomo region, all otherwise inaccessible:
- Glowworm Cave: The most popular cave in the area, famous for its

glowworms (not worms, but rather bioluminescent gnat larvae that live on cave ceilings, spinning sticky threads with which to hunt flying insects attracted to their bluish-green light) --- yet for us, thoroughly underwhelming.
- Ruakuri Cave: Offers a much better opportunity to observe the glowworms from up close, and also has a fair range of impressive cave formations (stalactites, stalagmites, columns, curtains, avens, etc.) to marvel at and photograph.
- Aranui Cave: No glowworms here, but lots of weta (large, cricket-like insects endemic to New Zealand) instead, as well as more cave formations to admire.
All three, in our opinion, would have benefited from being self-guided.

Nevertheless, our appetite for guidelessness was not left wanting, thanks to a recommendation that we received from S, a Kiwi living in Israel, who pointed us to a couple of lesser-known sights not too far away:
- Mangapohue Natural Bridge: Once a long and narrow cave, the roof of which has for the most part collapsed long ago, with only a small section remaining (the "natural bridge"), and the rest now forming a long and narrow gorge, through which a river meanders.
- Marokopa Falls: At the end of a short trail, with not a soul around, lies a superbly magnificent waterfall, that of rights should have been much more famous.
Frankly, these two small gems far outshone in our minds (if not in our camera) the earlier cave experiences. Many thanks, S!

Accommodations:
- Bev and Des's Airbnb unit at 1079 Bank Street, Te Awamutu (2 nights; ok)

Photo captions: (a-b) the impressive spiral staircase leading down to Ruakuri Cave (c-m) Ruakuri Cave; (n-o) glowworms; (p-q) weta; (r-x) Aranui Cave; (y-cc) Mangapohue Natural Bridge; (dd) Marokopa Falls

Note: No photos from the Glowworm Cave, as photography is not allowed there.