25th-27th October 2008

3 Day road trip. Check out the maps for a brief overview of the itinerary.

Itinerary: Auckland -> Hamilton -> Waitomo Caves -> New Plymouth -> Auckland

Day 01

We start off the day with a 1.5 hours drive to Hamilton, quite a big town so to speak. Places to visit there? The famous Hamilton Gardens. What else man.. I also don’t know. This trip started badly; we forgot the memory card for both the cameras! We realised that when we reach Hamilton. What the hell man.... worst possible shit to happen. So we had to rely on the good old Panasonic with an SD card from our phone. Shit does happen. Anyway, that aside, Hamilton Gardens is well worth the stop. The actual garden is huge but we prefer the smaller collection of different garden styles – from Japanese to Chinese, Indian, American and Italian. Check out the photos yeah..

Japanese Garden of Contemplation

American Garden

Indian Garden

Chinese Garden

American Modernist Garden

Next up was the Bridal Veil Falls. It is a national park en route Waitomo Caves. As its name suggests, it does look like a bride’s veil; from the back view of course. It’s about 47 metres high (About HDB 16 storeys high) I think and it looks amazing. The splashing water droplets coupled with the sun shining created a small arc of rainbow at the bottom of the falls. So nice man! As we continue our journey to Waitomo, we passed by a motel listed by Lonely Planet as one of the most unusual ones in the world. Basically, you can choose which lodge you want to stay in, a Hobbit’s Lodge, a Ship, a Plane and a Train. Mind you, these are all the real stuff. Check out the pictures. http://www.waitomo.org.nz/Accommodation-Woodlyn-Park.htm

We ended our drive for the day in Waitomo Caves and stayed overnight at Kiwi Paka Backpackers house. They have 1 other hostel at Rotorua, and that was crap too. Well, the environment is alright, just that the receptionists are quite racist towards Chinese we thought. And we had to pay $10 deposit for the cutlery and plates. WTF? This is the first I stayed at a hostel and I have to pay that! Backpackers lodge is usually based on trust and respect; apparently this one doesn’t have the soul of a backpackers lodge. Anyway, here is their website : http://www.kiwipaka-yha.co.nz/waitomo/waitomo.html

Day 02

Today is meant for the Black Water Rafting tour at the world famous Waitomo Glowworm Caves. A brief introduction on Waitomo –

“Waitomo is a Maori word made up of two parts. 'Wai' which translates as water and 'tomo' which means entrance or hole. Waitomo can be translated as the 'stream which flows into the hole in the ground'.”

It consists of underground limestone formations formed through millions of years. An underground stream runs through the caves and in the cave itself, there are waterfalls. And of course, the ceiling is littered with small ‘light bulbs’ – the glowworms. We decided to go on a tour with The Legendary Black Water Rafting Company. Serious, that’s their real name. http://www.waitomo.com/caving-adventure.aspx That is the tour we took, $185 each after discount.

Most of the caves are not open to public, so to see most of the caves and glowworms, you got to go on the tours. We did abseiling 37 metres into the cave, climbed waterfalls, tubing (also known as black water rafting), and flying fox – all within the cave. Nearing the end of the tour, we had to choose between 2 paths to head out; one is the easy path, we took the tough one and man it’s a killer. We had to climb up a waterfall and go against the current. Once you fall, that’s it man. Overall it is an amazing tour, but the water is freezing, ice cold.

After the fun-filled adventure, we continue our drive to New Plymouth and visit the picturesque Mount Taranaki. We stopped by at some scenic lookouts such as the Elephant Rock and Three Sisters. Nothing much, just rocks and broken headlands. Well, it does look like an elephant but only from certain angles. When we head out to the rocks, it was low tide. After taking all the silly photos, it was bloody high tide man! We have to take off our shoes and walk through the water just to get back to the car. Damn it man. Anyway, by the time we arrived at New Plymouth, it was night time. We stayed at Sunflower Lodge – a decent place but slightly overpriced. http://www.sunflowerlodge.co.nz/

Day 03

The last day was meant for exploring New Plymouth and Mount Taranaki.

“Ski in the morning and surf in the afternoon”.

This is what this city is known for. The snow mountain and the sea is so near that you can do those 2 activities in a single day. How amazing is that? I wonder if there is any other place in the world you can do that. They have an amazing website - http://www.taranaki.co.nz/

Check that out. Anyway, it is an active volcano and god knows when they will erupt the next time. This volcano has erupted and collapsed 5 times in the past and each of the eruptions was so strong that the entire mountain is blown to bits. Cool eh? They have underground seismic detectors and they claimed it will give them weeks, if not months of advance warning in case this sleeping giant decides to wake up. We drove up the snow mountain and the snow is clearing fast. Ski season has ended but the car park still has snow! So excited to finally feel snow again. Lol.

Check out this picture. The cloud started with a small blob at the summit of the mountain and slowly, it grew... bigger and bigger until it covered most of the top. The strange thing is the cloud just keeps swirling round and round the mountain; it doesn’t move away! WTH is that man. But it really is a sight to behold. Check out the panoramic view of the mountain. All the photos in this trip is taken using my old junk Panasonic camera. Forgive the poor quality. That panoramic is joined and touched up with Photoshop so it looks decent.

After the great mountain, it is time to head on back to Auckland. It is a long long drive again. To think few weeks ago we were still contemplating whether to go to Mount Taranaki; this is a must visit for everyone. We miss Mt. Taranaki.....

Shakespear Regional Park/ Muriwai Beach

19 October 2008
Another day out during a weekend. This weekend, we decided to take a day trip to Auckland and surrounds. We were intrigued by one of the photographs in the travel brochures; a huge photo frame framing a view of the headland and the sea. It seems like an interesting spot to take some photographs. For a start, it is totally different to other scenic lookouts – the usual lookouts will have just a platform or some seating area and that’s it. This one is cool!

We decided to drive there as it is only about 30 minutes drive from Auckland City. The place is called Shakespear (mind you, it really is SPEAR) Regional Park. On the way to the park, we stopped by the i-Site (Tourist information centre) to check out if there are any other interesting spots to visit. Well, the lady told me they have beautiful beaches here, such as Red Beach, Manly Beach, Little Manly (wth?) Beach. Well, we stopped by a few of these ‘nice’ (bitches) beaches and they were crap. Just sand and sea, and quite dirty too, no character at all I thought. We headed straight for the Shakespear Regional Park.

We spent a long time at the photo frame, having the time of our lives snapping and hopping away. The view is so-so but the idea of the photo frame is quite literal, and we love it. After doing all sorts of ‘pattern’ at the frame, we headed to Muriwai Beach again. It’s not far from here anyway, and on the way back to Auckland, we can stop by the Strawberry Ice Cream. Lol. That’s probably the real reason we went there. Nothing much to report again at Muriwai Beach, same old stuff. This time we saw some guys doing kite surfing. That kite costs anywhere from 2-5k easily, and has a span of 5 metres at least. Cool eh? We also saw a brand spanking new Mercedes Benz C-Class with a broken emblem. Not that you care, but just that sometimes you see nice cars getting scratches or stuff you can literally feel the pain. Lol. Anyway, thats about it for the day trip. Check out the strawberry ice cream dudes!

Horse Riding - Kumeu (Auckland)

12 October 2008
This weekend, we decided to try Horse Riding near the Auckland Region. Yeah, something like Lord of The Rings; riding on the mountains and plains. Lol. We booked our lessons and guide with Tasman Rides, at Parakai. http://www.tasmanrides.co.nz/ It's an easy 45 minutes drive to the farm, and they have shitloads of horses. Our instructor.. is a little girl, 14 perhaps? And she rides really well. Haha. Actually we had wanted to go on a horse trek that takes us through the forest and down into the beach. But us being beginners, we had to learn the basics of guiding a horse first. It looks easy on the screen right? When you're watching LOTR. Its not easy at all. When the horse is trotting, it's still alright. When he speeds up, you hang on for dear life. Lol.
My horse is called Dusty, and Aryen's one is called Motu (Sounds Indianny). Mine looks really dirty and old, I think thats why they call it Dusty. Anyway, we went on the farm treks after the lesson. They had so much farmland with nothing on it at all, just grass. The horses could climb up steep slopes and go through water easily, it's scary. My Dusty would not listen to me at all, he had a mind of his own; he took different paths than the other horses, and will not follow them. He walks on the edge of steep cliffs instead of the normal path, scared the crap out of me. And when they pee, its like a bloody tap. Anyway, the views from their farmland is amazing. We spend a total of 2 hours just trekking around their farmland.


We head back to the farm after the treks and took some photographs with the horses. That jackass Dusty stepped on my feet. I tell you, its like a car went over your feet. I warned Aryen about it too, and when she pulled Motu for a photo shot, he stepped on her feet too. Oh my god.. The whole feet was entirely bruised. And that bruise didn't go for weeks.

After the fun ride, we head on to Muriwai Beach, where the Gannets (A Bird) come to lay eggs and nuture their young. http://www.arc.govt.nz/parks/our-parks/parks-in-the-region/muriwai/ If you come during different months, you can see different stages of the baby bird's growth. This beach is also famous for its Black Sand. We love All Blacks. Also a popular Kite Surfing spot here. On the way to see the Gannet Colony, we passed by a poor Golden Retriever tied to a pole by the road. It seems that dogs aren't allowed into the area because they may bark and scare the birds. He just keeps barking and barking, calling for his owner to come. So ke lian.. This Gannet Colony is well worth the visit, just that we're quite conscious of the bird shit with the birds occasionally flying above us.

We head on home....after the Muriwai Beach and had some freshly grinded strawberry ice cream along the way. The best strawberry ice cream we ever had.

Top of the North

04 October 2008

Time: 4am.
Itinerary: Auckland -> Kataia -> Ninety Mile Beach -> Cape Reinga -> Auckland

This weekend was meant to be a trip to the Top Of The North. To the tip of the North Island. We have booked a tour at 9am to discover the Ninety Mile Beach on a bus because our car can't get on the beach anyway. It's no 4WD. We also hoped to learn more about the history of that place and with a guide to explain, it makes things easier. Anyway, its a 4hr 30min drive and we had to set off at 4am, literally. If you look at the map, there's a smooth coastline along the western side, thats the ninety mile beach.

We arrived at the tour departure on time, and the tour operator is Harrisons Cape Runner. http://ahipara.co.nz/caperunner/ The tour bus is a bloody old bus, and the tour has about 20 odd people. Kaitaita is the town nearest to the 90 mile beach, so the bus tour will start there. The bus driver is an old uncle, very humourous guy. Hahha. Made us laugh all the way. Anyway, the beach is actually just over 50miles, not really 90 miles. But it's a long sandy stretch, as far as the eye can see, and more. The bus drove down the ramp to the beach and we will travel the entire stretch of the beach in the bus. The real 4WDs will be able to get down here, but the Subarus may struggle because its ground clearance may not be enough. First Sighting on the beach. Sperm Whale. How close have you gotten to a real Sperm Whale? This one was washed ashore, right in our face. Literally. And it's rotting badly and it stinks. Very poor thing, its just a baby.
We move along the 50 miles.. the same scenery over and over again... The bus then head inwards along a stream and after that, it was time for Dune Surfing! There are alot of sand dunes here along the beach and we stopped by a particular high one and grab a toboggan and made our way up the slope. The bus driver said, "after this sand tobogganing, you find sand in areas of your body you've never ever imagine in your life". LOL. It was so true. After the 'surfing', we had sand in eyes, mouth, ears.. everywhere. It was so fun! Except for the climb up the slope. Next up is the famous Cape Reinga, the place where the Tasman Seas and Pacific Ocean crash. The seas there is very rough. This is a spiritual place for the Maori people.

"The name of the cape comes from the Māori word 'Reinga', meaning the 'Underworld'. Another Māori name is 'Te Rerenga Wairua', meaning the leaping-off place of spirits. Both refer to the Māori belief that the cape is the point where the spirits of the dead enter the underworld."
After that is a picnic at one of the beach and then to the Rarawa Beach, the beach with pure white silica sand. Well.. it is quite white, and fine. A beautiful place. We did some jumps here, and tearing some jeans in the meantime. LOL. Ooops....After that is the visit to the Ancient Kauri Kingdom, their legendary tree. Nothing much there anyway, just huge tree logs. Well, this sums up an amazing day at the Ninety Mile Beach and the Cape. We spent the night at Mainstreet Lodge at Kataia, the best backpackers in the area. We went to check out afew hostels in the town, and from the most errie, dirty hostels to almost empty ones with beer drinking jackasses with errie grins. It's just scary. There was no decision to be made, Mainstreet lodge is the cleanest and not spooky one. http://www.mainstreetlodge.co.nz/

05 October 2008
Today is our Quad Bike adventure in nearby Ahipara town. ttp://www.ahiparaadventure.co.nz/ We thought it will be guided tour around the coastline, but it's actually a self exploring tour. You just rent the bike and return it 2 hours later. We just followed the tracks and drove around the bay, its the most fun thing ever. That thing is amazing, you can drive it on the rocks, down steep slopes, places where you don't think it can get through, it can. Very scary little thing. And it goes really fast. Such a small thing, 350cc. It's pretty powerful.

After the 2hr adventure, we head down to Auckland, passing by Hokianga and it's massive sand dunes. Quite alot of sand dunes in the area.. god knows why. It shines a golden colour when Sunset and the dunes slope right down to the sea. Amazing..

Time to head on back to Auckland.. a long long drive.

Coromandel

21st September 2008
Yeah! Another day trip to Auckland and surrounds. We decided to head to Coromandel. http://www.thecoromandel.com/ We have heard alot of good things about this peninsula, lush forest treks, white sandy beaches and of course, thermal/volcanic activity too. To get the most out of the day, we set off early, by 6 we were alredy prearing to leave house. We wanted to take the coastal route towards the town of Thames to watch sunrise as we travel. However, it was not meant to be. There was a landslide along the coast and we had to make a U-Turn back onto the motorway. What luck.

We reach Thames at 9am and as we had to rush to Coromandel Town to catch a train ride at 1015, we had no time to stop. We had actually intended to visit the Thames beach and mussel barges whilst having breakfast. Anyway, we set off for Coromandel. The estimated driving time is 1 hour, though the distance looks dreadfully near, the roads are extremely windy, sometimes single lane. Even the Great Ocean Road had 2 lanes at least. Anyway, I simply love driving on mountain passes. Its exciting. lol.

We arrived at Coromandel right on time, and headed straight for the Driving Creek Railway (a.k.a DCR) http://www.drivingcreekrailway.co.nz/ Introduction.cfm Basically, a guy spend a fortune buying a 22 hectare of land and set up a pottery there. He spent 27 years to build a railway to the top of the mountain to gather his clay. After he retired, he thought it might make a good tourist spot, so he charge us $20 and take us to the top of the mountain for a nice view of the mountain ranges. The ride was not too bad, we zigzagged up the slopes to a beautiful watchtower. They even hold weddings and functions there.

Next up was the New Chums Beach. They mentioned that it was ironically named as one of the world's finest beachs. What the hell.. http://www.thecoromandel.com/newchums Anyway, it's in a small quiet town, with a row of nice beach houses whose doors open right onto the beach, literally. Well, the beach is pretty white, water pretty clear, but one of the world's finest? I hardly think so. Well, it is beautiful, but I think Malaysia may have nicer ones. We walked the quiet beach, took some photos, did some jumping and hopping and off we went to the highlight of Coromandel, the Cathedral Cove which was used in the movie - The Chronicles of Narnia - Prince Caspian at 0.40 in the embedded video below.


What the hell man, 2 hours return walk from the carpark. damn bloody far. But when you arrive there, you will be greatly rewarded. To be able to stand under the massive arch is amazing. In maybe a few decades, the arch will collapse and it will be gone. We spend alot of time there taking photos, chasing seagulls... lol. It was fun, except for the freezing weather. Final event of the day! The Hot Water Beach! An underground river of hot water runs under the beach and it's really hot. Freezing cold winds and hot sand - its a great combination. We dig a hole on the beach and the water that fills the hole is hot, and I mean very hot. It burns. Lying in the natural hot spa, looking a the sky, with the sound of waves splashing and icy winds blowing on your face; it's an unforgettable experience. I don't think you can find that anywhere else in the world. http://www.thecoromandel.com/hotwaterbeach

A great experience indeed, I caught a cold and fell sick the following day. What the hell man.