It has been quite a long while since I last typed any entry. So long that I've forgotten my login ID and password. Now that I've wrecked my brain, and regain the control of this blog, I shall try to restart blogging again.
A lot has happened. I've exceeded my planned one year break. I think I've successfully rehabilitated from my addiction - I'm no longer a workaholic. As I'm beginning to enjoy my laid back existence, I find it hard for me to find the enthusiasm to rejoin the rat race and be tied to the corporate world again.
In that one year break, I traveled to New Zealand for the second time. I went to the Philippines. I also went to Padang, Indonesia. I learned more about photography. I traveled here and there in Peninsular Malaysia. But I've yet to set my foot to Sabah nor Sarawak.
I've found the answers to some of the questions in my life. Not the answers that I was looking for, but answers nevertheless. I've gained new friends. I've also lost a man I came to fondly call Uncle Zul - the uncle who accepted us into his home in New Zealand.
I've completed my life's "To-do" list. Perhaps I shall add "Go to Sabah & Sarawak" to that list, but I don't have that burning desire to go there. I'll have to figure out what to do next. Life continues.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Monday, June 06, 2011
Day 6 (Tuesday 7th May 2009) – Last Leg
We didn’t loose any legs. It was our last day of our road trip. The day began early. We cook prepared food for breakfast, and packed some for the road. After successfully stuff all our things into the small car, we checked out of the motel. We had one more destination on the list.
First on the wheel was Ma Hen. After two hours drive, a couple of stops at the scenic look-out along the highway and snacking at the stops, we finally reached our destination: Waitomo or more specifically, Waitomo Cave.
We registered ourselves at the entrance, and waited for our turn. You can only enter the cave with a guided tour. The cave itself is actually a system of tunnels and caves carved out by water seeping through lime stones for thousands of years. As they are lime stones, there were lots of stalactites and stalagmites – I never thought those Geography lessons learned eons ago could be used in real life!
As the lime stones formation is still forming, with water dripping here and there, we weren’t allowed to touch any of the cave walls and pillars. There’s also one cavern called the Cathedral, for its excellent acoustic properties. Some famous artistes had performed in the cavern. We were also told by the guide, that during Christmas, they have some choir groups coming in to sing the carols.
What so special about this cave that made us drive all the way there? Glow worms. Or if you are a biology buff, that would be Arachnocampa luminosa. What’s that? There are some tiny worms hanging on the walls of Waitomo Cave. These worms, only found in New Zealand, emit luminescent lights. Unfortunately, I didn’t have some cool lens to take photos in low light conditions. Using flash wasn’t allowed. We walked pass plenty of stalactites and stalagmites before we finally reached a small wooden jetty.
From there we went onboard a boat. A strong kiwi man wearing a cute beanie hat was our boatman alias guide for that leg of the tour. As he quietly row the boat, we all looked up. Lo and behold, above us lights littered the limestone tunnel. It was as if we were looking up upon the stars. Engrossed in our wonderment and amazement, the boat ride ended before we knew it. We made a short stop at the souvenir shop then continued to the car park down the hill.
The colours of autumns were beautiful. It was a cool balmy afternoon. Leaves in various shades of brown strewn on the green grass. Naturally, the next thing to do is to hog the cameras – there were at least four cameras, one for each of us. We took turns being the photographers and the models. A very geeky-touristy thing to do.
We then open our map – the hard copy that Aunt gave us – and decided on the route to take. We had the option of either of taking a route that by-pass the town of Hamilton, or to take a route that will allow us to stop at the town. Being a group of geeky-tourists, we decided that we should check out how Hamilton looks like.
AD was next on the wheel. Ma Hen was feeling a bit under the weather (interestingly, Ma Hen was fine during the camera hogging session) and sat at the back seat with me. D was the appointed navigator. A few minutes into the drive, Ma Hen fell asleep. AD, D and I chatted to keep AD alert. But we soon ran out of things to talk about and fell into occasional silences. Every now and then I would ask AD if we need to switch driver which was replied with the same answer: No.
D had fallen asleep. I was looking at the scenes through the car’s window. My mind was away. We almost reached the town of Hamilton, when suddenly AD ran over a curb. It jolted me back to reality, and woken D. Ma Han only stirred and went back to sleep. AD drove a few metres before stopping. AD and I went out to check if there any damaged to the car. No visible damages. However, I still have my reservation. My main concern was flat tires or damaged wheel – both, if any, would only manifested much later.
AD continued driving to Hamilton Central Shopping Centre. We stopped. Ma Hen was in her elements again. She felt better. While they shopped, I wandered. The mall wasn’t that big. But it was one and a half hour later that we finally left the mall. We headed to Roose Commerce Park for a picnic lunch.
We ate our lunch and decided that it was a nice day for a walk. The park is actually the land that runs along the river bank. The Waikato River was clean. There was a canoeing club house and a small pier. Trees are shaving off their leaves in preparation for fall. The small park was beautiful. About half an hour later we were ready to continue our drive.
After a little logging heads with AD who had insisted that she was still fit to drive, she finally yielded to my ‘silent anger’. I know the strain long distance driving has on the driver. The driver may not feel physically tired, but the brain may be tired. The first telltale would be decrease in the alertness level. AD had shown that by running over the otherwise non-obstructive curb. And so, after checking the car again for any possible flat tires, and found none, I took the wheel and we made our way back to Auckland.
An hour on the highway, we spotted a beautiful rainbow. We could see the two ends of the rainbow ‘rising’ from the ground. Warned by Aunty not to simply stopped by the highway, we were on the lookout for a suitable stopping area. I swerved to the right, and went into a small country road. Unfortunately, by the time we parked and got out of the car, clouds had swept over our heads. There wasn’t much of the rainbow to be seen.
On our way back to the highway, we were stopped by a good looking Kiwi in uniform. He was conducting a survey on the usage of the small road we were on. I was disappointed; I thought he needed a ride. Anyway, after answering a few questions, and accidently flirting with him a little, we drove away.
Around 7pm, we finally reached our home base and completed our last leg of our road trip.
Distance traveled: approx. 345km
Total distance for the road trip: approx. 960km
First on the wheel was Ma Hen. After two hours drive, a couple of stops at the scenic look-out along the highway and snacking at the stops, we finally reached our destination: Waitomo or more specifically, Waitomo Cave.
We registered ourselves at the entrance, and waited for our turn. You can only enter the cave with a guided tour. The cave itself is actually a system of tunnels and caves carved out by water seeping through lime stones for thousands of years. As they are lime stones, there were lots of stalactites and stalagmites – I never thought those Geography lessons learned eons ago could be used in real life!
As the lime stones formation is still forming, with water dripping here and there, we weren’t allowed to touch any of the cave walls and pillars. There’s also one cavern called the Cathedral, for its excellent acoustic properties. Some famous artistes had performed in the cavern. We were also told by the guide, that during Christmas, they have some choir groups coming in to sing the carols.
What so special about this cave that made us drive all the way there? Glow worms. Or if you are a biology buff, that would be Arachnocampa luminosa. What’s that? There are some tiny worms hanging on the walls of Waitomo Cave. These worms, only found in New Zealand, emit luminescent lights. Unfortunately, I didn’t have some cool lens to take photos in low light conditions. Using flash wasn’t allowed. We walked pass plenty of stalactites and stalagmites before we finally reached a small wooden jetty.
From there we went onboard a boat. A strong kiwi man wearing a cute beanie hat was our boatman alias guide for that leg of the tour. As he quietly row the boat, we all looked up. Lo and behold, above us lights littered the limestone tunnel. It was as if we were looking up upon the stars. Engrossed in our wonderment and amazement, the boat ride ended before we knew it. We made a short stop at the souvenir shop then continued to the car park down the hill.
The colours of autumns were beautiful. It was a cool balmy afternoon. Leaves in various shades of brown strewn on the green grass. Naturally, the next thing to do is to hog the cameras – there were at least four cameras, one for each of us. We took turns being the photographers and the models. A very geeky-touristy thing to do.
We then open our map – the hard copy that Aunt gave us – and decided on the route to take. We had the option of either of taking a route that by-pass the town of Hamilton, or to take a route that will allow us to stop at the town. Being a group of geeky-tourists, we decided that we should check out how Hamilton looks like.
AD was next on the wheel. Ma Hen was feeling a bit under the weather (interestingly, Ma Hen was fine during the camera hogging session) and sat at the back seat with me. D was the appointed navigator. A few minutes into the drive, Ma Hen fell asleep. AD, D and I chatted to keep AD alert. But we soon ran out of things to talk about and fell into occasional silences. Every now and then I would ask AD if we need to switch driver which was replied with the same answer: No.
D had fallen asleep. I was looking at the scenes through the car’s window. My mind was away. We almost reached the town of Hamilton, when suddenly AD ran over a curb. It jolted me back to reality, and woken D. Ma Han only stirred and went back to sleep. AD drove a few metres before stopping. AD and I went out to check if there any damaged to the car. No visible damages. However, I still have my reservation. My main concern was flat tires or damaged wheel – both, if any, would only manifested much later.
AD continued driving to Hamilton Central Shopping Centre. We stopped. Ma Hen was in her elements again. She felt better. While they shopped, I wandered. The mall wasn’t that big. But it was one and a half hour later that we finally left the mall. We headed to Roose Commerce Park for a picnic lunch.
We ate our lunch and decided that it was a nice day for a walk. The park is actually the land that runs along the river bank. The Waikato River was clean. There was a canoeing club house and a small pier. Trees are shaving off their leaves in preparation for fall. The small park was beautiful. About half an hour later we were ready to continue our drive.
After a little logging heads with AD who had insisted that she was still fit to drive, she finally yielded to my ‘silent anger’. I know the strain long distance driving has on the driver. The driver may not feel physically tired, but the brain may be tired. The first telltale would be decrease in the alertness level. AD had shown that by running over the otherwise non-obstructive curb. And so, after checking the car again for any possible flat tires, and found none, I took the wheel and we made our way back to Auckland.
An hour on the highway, we spotted a beautiful rainbow. We could see the two ends of the rainbow ‘rising’ from the ground. Warned by Aunty not to simply stopped by the highway, we were on the lookout for a suitable stopping area. I swerved to the right, and went into a small country road. Unfortunately, by the time we parked and got out of the car, clouds had swept over our heads. There wasn’t much of the rainbow to be seen.
On our way back to the highway, we were stopped by a good looking Kiwi in uniform. He was conducting a survey on the usage of the small road we were on. I was disappointed; I thought he needed a ride. Anyway, after answering a few questions, and accidently flirting with him a little, we drove away.
Around 7pm, we finally reached our home base and completed our last leg of our road trip.
Distance traveled: approx. 345km
Total distance for the road trip: approx. 960km
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Day 5 (Tuesday 6th May 2009) – Ba ba black sheep and Jack & Jill
No, we didn’t see any black sheep – not that I remember of. However we did get to see sheep up close. After lunch, we headed to a place called Agrodome about 10 km away from our motel.
On our way to the Agrodome, we passed vast open land and farms. On the hills in the distance, I thought I saw an airplane, a locomotive and some other structure that I couldn’t really make out but nonetheless out of place on the green hill. Much, much later, thanks to Ian Wright of Discovery Channel, I found out the place was sort of bed and breakfast. Visitors got to choose which kind of accommodation that they would like to sleep in.
We parked our car and headed to a small wooden building near by. As we entered, on stage, was a man demonstrating sheep shearing. In a blink (okay, I must admit, I was exaggerating), the man finished shearing a whole sheep. The sheep, now void of its warm wooly fur left only with pinkish skin, would eat more to build up a thick layer of fat underneath its pinkish skin.
Next we went next door to a wool-processing mill. The wool from the sheep was fed to a huge green machine. The machine’s wheels and handles moved in a quiet synchronized orchestra. At the other end of the machine, out came fine wool thread, ready to be weaved into some other items. According to the guide, the green machine has been chugging away in this great symphony since 103 years ago. The only difference was that the original steam engine had been replace with diesel-powered engine.
The guide then proceeded to sit on a small wooden chair. Opposite her stood a small curious wooden device. As she explained, her hands spin the spinning wheel. And out came fine wool threads. This must have been how “Sleeping Beauty” pricked her finger and fell into long slumber.
Next we went into a bigger building nearby. The door opened to a huge hall. Much bigger that the hall at the Maori meeting house. At the end of the hall was a huge stage. Before long, some staff member brought in one sheep after another and lined them along the walls on both sides of the stage. The sheep were of various breeds. I know ‘Aries’ is suppose to be a desert goat, but there was this one sheep that stood majestically with its twisted horn. The sheep looked very ‘Aries’.
Then a fast-talking guy went up the stage. Then out of nowhere, came a black dog. The well-trained dog herded the sheep up onto the stage. The host actually explained what is the specialty of each breed. Turns out that certain breeds were good for their meat, while others were for the milk. Sheep aren’t always bread for the wool.
Then, with the help of mechanical stage, up came a huge cow. The host invited a few audiences to volunteer up to the stage. To my amazement, one of my travel companion rose her hands and went up the stage. The host taught her how to milk the cow. Her first attempt wasn’t fruitful. As the host pointed out, she was supposed to grab (not just pinch) and pull the pink tits! Her second attempt gave a better result. She was even awarded a certificate for successfully milking the cow.
After the show was over, the audiences were ‘let loose’. We went through a door on our left. There was a duck pen, and next to it, a lamb (not the meat but the juvenile sheep). When we came, two ducks ‘escaped’ from their pen and a lady staff was ‘herding’ them back into the pen. Seeing how much hassle the ducks was, we decided to go into the lamb pen. With their snow-white wool, were cuter than the ducks.
After all the patting, we had to leave. We had a schedule to keep. We had three more things to do before the day ended. First on the list: Zorbing. For the uninitiated, imagine you are Jack & Jill and that familiar children rhyme. We didn’t break any crown; we roll down the hill inside huge plastic balls filled with air. But before that, we have to be ‘processed’.
We were weighted (weight limit was 100 kg per person), sign our life away on a piece of paper, and changed our clothes. Without my glasses, wearing my relatively thin swimming gear, I tip-toed bare-footed on the cold walk-way to an awaiting van. The temperature that day? It was probably 13 degree Celcius. Already in the van was a Caucasian couple. The lady was only wearing two-piece bikini! The van took us up the hill.
At the ‘launching pad’ was a lady ‘handler’. The lady filled the big plastic ball with water, and told me to jump through the small opening, head first (imagine ‘superman pose’), into the ball. I was really glad that the water was warm. The lady opened the wooden door. Then she told me to ‘walk’ the ball out of the paddock. The first step, as usual, was the hardest. But then the big ball just rolled and before I knew it, it picked up some speed. Though I love speed, I have ‘issues’ with heights. I sort of froze in the ball. As my travel mate said, every one screamed down the hill, except me. She was worried to see the ball I was in rolled quietly from the top of the hill until finally halting at the bottom of the hill.
She was relieved when she saw me coming out of the small opening and walked to the bench. I was glad I had my day bag on the bench and my trusty “kain batik” laid out on the bag. I immediately wrapped the clothes around my body. The little warmth it offered was very much welcomed by my drenched cold body. We changed into our dry clothes and quickly bundled ourselves into our small Daihatsu Sirion. AD was behind the wheel, and I was the back-seat navigator. After a somewhat a longer route, we finally reached Rainbow Spring Nature Park.
It was only around 6pm, but the sun was already out. As the name suggests, it’s a nature park. If you are not into roughing it out in the wild, this park is sort of your cheat-sheet to nature. They have well lit walk way and platforms that bring you to nature. There were a school of rainbow trouts, trees, birds and such. There were two species of birds that caught our attention.
The first bird was a kea named Jenny. It’s a bird from the parrot family. But this particular bird, according to the note written near the cage, has spent most of its life in a research lab. At first, Jenny was ‘shy’. She ignored our presence and made no response. However, when we walked away, she gave a cry, kind of calling us to come back. After awhile, the cheeky bird interacted with us, mimicking what sound like “hello”.
The second species was New Zealand icon – the kiwi. In the Kiwi Encounter section of the nature park, they have a few kiwi birds loose. The kiwis, being nocturnal creatures, were very active. I didn’t expect them to be able to dart as fast as they did. We were excited to see actual kiwis and not just some stuff fluffy thing imitating the bird!
After all the excitement in the cold, it was time for our final on the list. Destination: Polynesian Spa. Not willing to compromise our modesty, we took the private pool. On our way to our allocated room, we passed people in their swimming suits at the main hot pool over looking the Rotorua Lake. Opening the door, we saw our nifty pool. Above us, was the open sky. The natural hot spring was a refreshing finale for our day. Before we knew it, the light above the door turned red. Our time was up.
We returned to our motel. Soon after dinner, we were out.
Distance traveled: approx. 37 km
On our way to the Agrodome, we passed vast open land and farms. On the hills in the distance, I thought I saw an airplane, a locomotive and some other structure that I couldn’t really make out but nonetheless out of place on the green hill. Much, much later, thanks to Ian Wright of Discovery Channel, I found out the place was sort of bed and breakfast. Visitors got to choose which kind of accommodation that they would like to sleep in.
We parked our car and headed to a small wooden building near by. As we entered, on stage, was a man demonstrating sheep shearing. In a blink (okay, I must admit, I was exaggerating), the man finished shearing a whole sheep. The sheep, now void of its warm wooly fur left only with pinkish skin, would eat more to build up a thick layer of fat underneath its pinkish skin.
Next we went next door to a wool-processing mill. The wool from the sheep was fed to a huge green machine. The machine’s wheels and handles moved in a quiet synchronized orchestra. At the other end of the machine, out came fine wool thread, ready to be weaved into some other items. According to the guide, the green machine has been chugging away in this great symphony since 103 years ago. The only difference was that the original steam engine had been replace with diesel-powered engine.
The guide then proceeded to sit on a small wooden chair. Opposite her stood a small curious wooden device. As she explained, her hands spin the spinning wheel. And out came fine wool threads. This must have been how “Sleeping Beauty” pricked her finger and fell into long slumber.
Next we went into a bigger building nearby. The door opened to a huge hall. Much bigger that the hall at the Maori meeting house. At the end of the hall was a huge stage. Before long, some staff member brought in one sheep after another and lined them along the walls on both sides of the stage. The sheep were of various breeds. I know ‘Aries’ is suppose to be a desert goat, but there was this one sheep that stood majestically with its twisted horn. The sheep looked very ‘Aries’.
Then a fast-talking guy went up the stage. Then out of nowhere, came a black dog. The well-trained dog herded the sheep up onto the stage. The host actually explained what is the specialty of each breed. Turns out that certain breeds were good for their meat, while others were for the milk. Sheep aren’t always bread for the wool.
Then, with the help of mechanical stage, up came a huge cow. The host invited a few audiences to volunteer up to the stage. To my amazement, one of my travel companion rose her hands and went up the stage. The host taught her how to milk the cow. Her first attempt wasn’t fruitful. As the host pointed out, she was supposed to grab (not just pinch) and pull the pink tits! Her second attempt gave a better result. She was even awarded a certificate for successfully milking the cow.
After the show was over, the audiences were ‘let loose’. We went through a door on our left. There was a duck pen, and next to it, a lamb (not the meat but the juvenile sheep). When we came, two ducks ‘escaped’ from their pen and a lady staff was ‘herding’ them back into the pen. Seeing how much hassle the ducks was, we decided to go into the lamb pen. With their snow-white wool, were cuter than the ducks.
After all the patting, we had to leave. We had a schedule to keep. We had three more things to do before the day ended. First on the list: Zorbing. For the uninitiated, imagine you are Jack & Jill and that familiar children rhyme. We didn’t break any crown; we roll down the hill inside huge plastic balls filled with air. But before that, we have to be ‘processed’.
We were weighted (weight limit was 100 kg per person), sign our life away on a piece of paper, and changed our clothes. Without my glasses, wearing my relatively thin swimming gear, I tip-toed bare-footed on the cold walk-way to an awaiting van. The temperature that day? It was probably 13 degree Celcius. Already in the van was a Caucasian couple. The lady was only wearing two-piece bikini! The van took us up the hill.
At the ‘launching pad’ was a lady ‘handler’. The lady filled the big plastic ball with water, and told me to jump through the small opening, head first (imagine ‘superman pose’), into the ball. I was really glad that the water was warm. The lady opened the wooden door. Then she told me to ‘walk’ the ball out of the paddock. The first step, as usual, was the hardest. But then the big ball just rolled and before I knew it, it picked up some speed. Though I love speed, I have ‘issues’ with heights. I sort of froze in the ball. As my travel mate said, every one screamed down the hill, except me. She was worried to see the ball I was in rolled quietly from the top of the hill until finally halting at the bottom of the hill.
She was relieved when she saw me coming out of the small opening and walked to the bench. I was glad I had my day bag on the bench and my trusty “kain batik” laid out on the bag. I immediately wrapped the clothes around my body. The little warmth it offered was very much welcomed by my drenched cold body. We changed into our dry clothes and quickly bundled ourselves into our small Daihatsu Sirion. AD was behind the wheel, and I was the back-seat navigator. After a somewhat a longer route, we finally reached Rainbow Spring Nature Park.
It was only around 6pm, but the sun was already out. As the name suggests, it’s a nature park. If you are not into roughing it out in the wild, this park is sort of your cheat-sheet to nature. They have well lit walk way and platforms that bring you to nature. There were a school of rainbow trouts, trees, birds and such. There were two species of birds that caught our attention.
The first bird was a kea named Jenny. It’s a bird from the parrot family. But this particular bird, according to the note written near the cage, has spent most of its life in a research lab. At first, Jenny was ‘shy’. She ignored our presence and made no response. However, when we walked away, she gave a cry, kind of calling us to come back. After awhile, the cheeky bird interacted with us, mimicking what sound like “hello”.
The second species was New Zealand icon – the kiwi. In the Kiwi Encounter section of the nature park, they have a few kiwi birds loose. The kiwis, being nocturnal creatures, were very active. I didn’t expect them to be able to dart as fast as they did. We were excited to see actual kiwis and not just some stuff fluffy thing imitating the bird!
After all the excitement in the cold, it was time for our final on the list. Destination: Polynesian Spa. Not willing to compromise our modesty, we took the private pool. On our way to our allocated room, we passed people in their swimming suits at the main hot pool over looking the Rotorua Lake. Opening the door, we saw our nifty pool. Above us, was the open sky. The natural hot spring was a refreshing finale for our day. Before we knew it, the light above the door turned red. Our time was up.
We returned to our motel. Soon after dinner, we were out.
Distance traveled: approx. 37 km
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
