View from a hilltop on the trail.
Rough notes: http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-42.html
Friday, June 24, 2011
A nice view of some palms, a swampy area, and the ocean from a hill.
Rough notes: http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-42.html
The crests of some hills offered a view to the neighbouring islands.
Rough notes: http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-42.html
The trail was quite long and passed through a couple of overgrown areas. I didn't see anyone on this trail going to or coming back from the Blue Lagoon. It was nice being by myself, although I did wonder what would happen if I got in to trouble.
Rough notes: http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-42.html
After lunch, I decided to take a stroll to the Blue Lagoon across the island. Following the directions, I walked past a few shacks and found the beginning of the trail. I wonder if these are just storage shacks, or if anyone lived in these. Some of the shacks did look like homes or kitchens.
Rough notes: http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-42.html
There were a couple of boats here with groups of visitors. I was the last to be dropped off on the way back, with some inexplicably long stops for "fuel" - I was amused when I read some TripAdvisor reviews after the trip and also mentioned the long "fuel" stops. Luckily, I was back in time for lunch. Note: always bring small notes and change in these places, I had to pay an extra $5 since they claimed they didn't have change, but oh, well.
Rough notes: http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-42.html
The staircase leading to the caves. After the swim in the cave, we hung out a bit near the shore waiting for our boat. Nothing too exciting to see in the water here, although there was some sand and coral, the shore here is mostly made of smooth rock.
Rough notes: http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-42.html
Inside the cave. It was quite breathtaking, with vertical limestone walls leading up to an opening. I wonder if it's possible to cliff dive from here. Our guide took a flashlight and showed us through an underwater opening to two connecting chambers. It was quite an experience swimming in the dark cave, hearing the muted echoing of the water that we stirred up. The water in the cave was fresh, and both freshwater eels and saltwater snapper live around the area. For the extra time we had in the cave, I snorkelled around for a bit and dove down along the rock walls of the pool. The water was surprisingly deep, maybe about 5-10m, with silt and decomposing leaf pieces near the bottom.
Rough notes: http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-42.html
From the beach we landed on, a staircase led to the caves. Seems like these caves are more developed than I expected, although I guess this is one of the biggest tourist draws of this area.
Rough notes: http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-42.html
After an early breakfast, I was picked up for a tour of the Sawa-I-Lau Caves on a tiny speed boat. After a few pick-ups around the Blue Lagoon, we were on our way! The ride took about 30-40 min on the small speedboat, I didn't realize we'd be going so far!
Rough notes: http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-42.html
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