Today we drove a couple of hours north to Whangarei, the largest city in Northland. On the way we visited Sculptureum, another vineyard / sculpture gallery (or is it the other way around?) and delved underground in limestone caves to see art in nature.

Sculptureum

Sculptureum has 3 sculpture gardens, and 6 indoor themed galleries featuring well-known artists like Picasso, Giacometti, Lichtenstein, Rodin, Dali, Cezanne, Chagall and more, as well as featuring local and international contemporary artists such as KAWS, Dale Chihuly and Gillie & Mark. We were a little underwhelmed with the first sculpture garden, but the indoor galleries were mind-blowing, and the other 2 sculpture gardens equally fabulous. It’s not a cheap day out (entry fee was $NZ99 for the two of us) but we really enjoyed it. Here is a very quick selection to give you a taste – way too many photos but trust me, there are many more.

Waipu Caves Farm Park

We booked a tour to visit the Milky Way Glowworm Cave in Waipu Caves. As luck would have it we were the only two in our tour, so we had our own private guide, Jade, who was excellent. We really booked to see the glowworms, but actually the caves themselves were more interesting to see with all the incredible formations (and easier to photograph!).

On the way up to the caves we spotted a Kereru, a NZ wood pigeon.

Once again, sorry about the photo overload, I did try to narrow down the selection.

This is a glow worm – under bright light so you can’t see it glowing. The hanging threads are its web, designed to catch small flying insects.
This was the best photo we managed of the glowworms themselves. You don’t get the pics you see online without plenty of time, perfect conditions and expensive equipment. However, we will hopefully do better next time – we are looking forward to seeing the Waitomo Caves next week.
To read more of our adventures in Northland, New Zealand, click here.