This is one of my favourite experiences so far. Set amid Hobbiton countryside, the Waitomo caves are a must-do. We chose to see them by cave-tubing, which is where you put in a wetsuit, helmet and head torch and jump into the cold river with your inner tube. You sit in the tyre and float through the caves. There is lots of laughing and joking with your party as you scramble through streams, jump over small waterfalls and plunge into deep pools. The caves are famous for their glow worms which shine like blue-green stars on the roof of the caves. The best bit is where you float together on your tubes looking up at the ceiling, torches off, the cave lit only by the glow worms which shine amongst the stalactites. Sweet!
