There are caves on North Island as well. There's Waitomo caves, but there are smaller ones you can hike to, much less elaborate as the one you were in - but you don't need a boat (although your feet *are* going to get wet). I planned to get into one of these as I could set up a tripod and take some long exposures (something that won't work from a boat as the camera needs to *not* move) but I only got to the entrance to the cave we'd picked (easy walk from a Backpackers') as I'd gotten a splinter wedged into the joint of my big toe and my mobility was... impaired.

Great shots, BTW.

The first time I got home from NZ (mid 80s, shipped negatives home to the US for processing) I was disappointed with my photos - it just looked so much better than I could capture on film. Friends were ooh-ing and ah-ing, but I was a bit sad. I don't anymore, but I suspect that has to do with having a digital camera, not having to wait to see how a shot came out.