Tongariro National Park I (Day 7)

It's the main reason why people visit this area - to visit the Tongariro National Park (TNP), which is the oldest national park in NZ which is awarded World Heritage Site status by UNESCO.

The TNP has 3 main mountains, namely Mt Tongariro, Mt Ngauruhoe (ie Mt Doom in LOTR movies) and Mt Ruapehu, as well as lakes and craters.

(Click for bigger view)

Day 7: Our intention was do to the 6- to 9-hour Tongariro Crossing so that we can get to see views like this:



But when we got to the visitor centre at Whakapapa Village, the weather was like this :


And the weather forecast for the next day was - wind speeds of 70km/hr at Tongariro!

Hence, there was no chance for us to do the Tongariro Crossing, but I can't say I was extremely disappointed.

With our usual dilly-dally pattern, plus taking photos, getting side-tracked, etc. I won't be surprised if the walk will take us 10 hours to complete. Ten hours leh! Don't play, play!


(After lunch at Ohakune) Even with wet weather on this day, our two friends still wanted to do the 2 hour trail walk, but I wasn't too crazy about walking in the rain (even with a rain coat) and chose to wait for them at the visitor centre. The SO was game at first, but changed his mind when the rain got heavier.


So our friends took off, but after a very short start, decided to give up the idea and turned back to the visitor centre.


Warning on the notice board of visitor centre


The mountains at TNP turn into a popular ski resort in winter - I didn't know one can ski in NZ.

More on TNP to come...

Cutie Meow Meow

At Raurimu/Tongariro area, we stayed at Haven Cottage. Attracted by the light and warmth, many insects would fly into the cottage at night. I asked the SO to release them outside, so they would have a better chance of life, instead of getting crushed accidentally inside the small cottage.


Our cottage, with the toilet/bathroom/laundry room in a separate "box".


The other bigger and more costly cottage.

It was so cold in the evening that the SO would open the door slightly ajar to release the insect (a moth) while in a squatting position, and while doing so, a furry head suddenly popped around to peep inside our cottage, which gave the SO a fright!

It was the neighbour's cat, which with a little coaxing, decided to pay us a visit. :)




As usual, the SO could not resist cuddling the sweetie (I think it's a boy).


This is how the fellow looks like when he/she first saw us, a day or two earlier (before the night of his visit). Didn't look so friendly, eh?

The kitty was perched on this damp rug at the cottage next door, which we discovered (from the boy) was not his home. When we first arrived, the cottage next door had 2 visitor dogs, one of which was a brown & white boxer which walked through the fence to say 'hi' to us...very cute.

Road block ahead

What's up ahead that's causing a road block?



Mehhhhh!!


Sheeps galore! Herded by (what else, but) sheepdogs!

I'd never imagine I would encounter this scene, much less be in it! It's machiam like being in a movie. Hee hee!


They did say that there are more sheeps in NZ than there are people.

Edited: The above happened on Day 6 ( Day 5 was spent in New Plymouth, walking around, ating out at more fancy places and shopping!). We were en route to the Forgotten Highway 43, a so-called Scenic Route, which means it's also very winding, and which means I had to shut out one of my senses so as not to get motion sickness. So, I missed out on most of the scenes along the way, though I dare say that among the four of us, I napped the most. :P

NZ Day 4 - To New Plymouth

We left Waitomo Caves and drove to New Plymouth, a much bigger coastal town.


Along the way, we saw Mt Taranaki (taken through car window)


The sea is just beside the residential area.

Though it was a clear, sunny day, it actually felt very chilly with the cold wind, so we had to have our (thick) coats on. It's quite strange to be standing under the sun and yet feel cold!

We thought we'd have a picnic snack/lunch under the shade of the tree, but that proved too cold, so we sat on a bench that had no shelter from the sun, which turned out to be more comfortable.


We had our lovely apple crumble pie (only from Woolworth's @ Otorohanga) and yummy Kettle Chips - both on special offer (about NZ$5 and NZ$2.50 respectively). Our friends had home-made sausage sandwiches wrapped with Subway paper from the previous night's dinner.

While checking out the motels in the area, we met Woody the tuxedo cat that live in a lovely seaview motel, which unfortunately had no vacancy.


Woody was a little shy at first and went to hide. It took the three of us (hotel receptionist, the SO and me) to coax him out to meet us. We got to sayang him a bit. :)


Along the way, the others went to check out a bicycle shop, while I saw this bunch of seagulls waiting for scraps from an old couple.

It didn't hurt to have a little fruit wine-tasting as we continued to look for suitable accomodation.


Sentry Hill has very good feijoa wine, but it was the unique green ginger wine that won the SO and the other woman over, so we bought a bottle to share. The ginger wine has a lovely bouquet and gives a quiet, little explosive sensation as it flows down the throat...that's my best way of describing it.

(I'm not a wine drinker, but during the later part of the trip, we got to try other feijoa/fruit wines, which didn't come close to that of Sentry Hill's in terms of bouquet, taste, texture and colour).


The poser at the wine counter

Back to accom-hunting!

The YMCA didn't have accomodation facilities, but the lady receptionist/manager there was absolutely helpful in suggesting places for us to stay. One of those places she'd recommended was Sunflower (backpackers) Lodge.


Looks a little bohemian, and with a very homely atmosphere....


...plus a sun deck / balcony that looks out to the sea, and a huge kitchen well-stocked with utensils (and even an electric rice cooker) and 3 large fridges. We met friendly manager Sue and Annie, whom I thought wouldn't look out of place in the bohemian era.


Soon, it was time to roam the streets and check out dinner - at the popular Sun World (新世界） Chinese restaurant - which had a reasonable buffet and fantastic roast pork, according to the men. I wouldn't know coz I didn't try it.

It was very windy and chilly as we walked back to the lodge after dinner. Still, it wasn't as bad as the next day's weather - rain!

NZ - Farmland country

My first impression of NZ upon first arrival was that there's farmland everywhere!


Soon after we drove out of Auckland's main city centre, we could see farmland on both sides of the road, or even next to the highway sometimes.



There are many hills in North Island, which had more volcanic phenomenon and rocky formation.



With lots of greenery, fresh air, clean environment, natural wonders and friendly people, what's there not to like about NZ?



Even the groceries and fresh produce come in greater varieties and at lower or very reasonable prices than in SG. Grocery shopping in supermarkets in SG is no longer the same for me. :-(

NZ Trip - Days 2 & 3

We took an evening flight, so even before we'd reached NZ, it was already day 2. The Emirates 747 has very large video screen that's as wide as the seat in front, which also comes with a USB port for travellers to view holiday photos, if they so wished.


In transit for about 1 hour at Brisbane airport in Australia

Upon reaching Auckland, we picked up our pre-booked rental car, and drove off to Otorohanga.

Evening/night: After a brief stop at Otorohanga for groceries at Woolworth's and dinner of (McCain's) fish n chips, we found our pre-booked accomodation at Waitomo Caves (name of the town). Later, we were to discover that Woolworth's is like, the most expensive among the other supermarkets (New World, PaknSave, FoodMall).


See the travel guide book on the bed? I'd borrowed it from NLB, and after we left this town, I'd discovered it was missing from my luggage! It must have somehow slipped through the gap at the far edge of the bed and sat under the bed, but more about this later.


The lodge by day (must be day 3 liao!?!)


Next door is all farm land - we could see and hear the moo-ing calf running after his mommy!


Home recycling at the lodge - it's a common practice in NZ


We drove around to the scenic places; at Waitomo Caves domain



The Marokopa Falls, after a 10-min walk through very cool forest area




The Piripiri Caves were too dark and too wet for our miniscule torches to guide us in safely, so we had a picnic lunch at the scenic surrounding instead. :)


Pineapple lumps, a special confectionary of Kiwi origins. It sometimes come in the form of Chocolate Fish.


Quite nice to eat!


NZ is really a fern country. No wonder the NZ milk powder brand is called Fernleaf




Day 4: Checked-out and before leaving, we met Amy's dog Lily, who sometimes goes to work with her. Amy works at the lodge and was a big help in saving me from having to pay NLB for the lost library book.


Last look at the lodge at Waitomo Caves


Edit: I forgot to mention - in the evening, we went to one of the Waitomo Cave domain / park to look at glow worms along the river. Only visible in the dark, these tiny blue-hued worms would glow / twinkle brightly as they go about their usual wormy business.

NZ Trip - Intro

I'm sharing some of the photos of our NZ trip... by popular request :PP

Trip - 17 Oct to 4 Nov 2008:
A holiday for 2 wife-and-husband couples, who travelled free and easy around North Island in a rented Nissan Bluebird (1.8 litre).

Season: Early Spring

Weather: From so-chilly-we-need-winter-wear to just-nice-warm-with-a-light-pullover. Temperatures ranged from around 10 deg to 24 deg celsius (inside the car).

Route & Places visited:
Auckland --> Otorohanga / Waitomo Caves (2) --> New Plymouth (2) --> Raurimu (small town) / Tongariro National Park (3) --> Turangi (briefly) --> Taupo (2) --> Rotorua (3) --> Auckland (4).



Type of accomodation:
Wooden NZ house, rural cottage, backpackers' lodge, family studios & motels.

Activities:
Walking, hiking, bush walk, cave walk, beach walk, crater walk, river/stream crossing, hill/mountain-climbing, museum visits, grocery shopping, cooking dinners, shopping, etc.

Things seen:
Greenery, ferns, variety of flora & fauna, cattle, lambs, dogs, cats, birds, hot springs, volcanic formations, mountains, snow-capped mountains, geysers, suphuric spurts, water falls, desert bushes, sub-tropical forest, farmland everywhere, streams, rivers, lakes, seas, etc.