Manning up to Motherhood- Waitomo Caves

When your son is nearly 13 he needs to go on rite of passage adventures....Even if it is with his 53 yr old "pussy" of a Mom. So this time I was going to make sure I gave him something to remember. We have a lot of caves here in New Zealand- but one of the most famous is Ruakuri in Waitomo. I had gone black water rafting 15 years ago on my honeymoon in the warmth of summer. My memories were of a happy day spent splashing around in an inner tube in the dark-- nothing more confronting than one jump off a not too high water fall backwards-- in the dark.

The long winding 65 meter deep cave has running water in it all year round...cold 10 degree Celsius running water. Had I known how deep, fast running or cold the water would be this time-- how physically demanding just to stay upright or how scared for my physical safety I'd be- I might have found almost any excuse to back out. I might have known I was in potential trouble when I could scarcely breathe in my snuggly fitted wetsuit.

One's inner tube securely lodged over one's protruding bottom is meant to be a combination safety and floatation device....providing it's the right size. When it came time to do the first jump off the first water fall- my numb hands, legs and feet were seriously questioning my sanity. Getting through this cave when the water is at its usual depth takes 2 hours. On this day with the level due to heavy rains at only 7 inches from being too hazardous to venture into, it took 3 hours and some serious self talk....

I'm proud to say that other than over turning and getting swept away on the first jump- I basically survived with only a minor cut....and maybe a bruised ego at my son reminding me more than a few times that I had more earned the "biggest wimp" in the group award.

Some day he'll appreciate me right?