The 19 Days Trip - (Day 3 & 4) - Rotorua

Day 3 (22/6/2006)
Leaving Tongariro National Park,
heading to Rotorua

We left for Rotorua in the morning. The weather was sunny at that time, we managed to snap some photos before we left Tongariro National Park. However, the weather was a weird one, it started to snow and the sky got dark very soon. We quickly left for Rotorua. We past by a couple of places on our way, one of the interesting places was Taupo. At Taupo, we saw Lake Taupo as well as the Huka Falls. Why visit Lake Taupo? A few thousand years ago Lake Taupo itself was created by the largest volcanic eruption of the past 5,000 years, it was so big records say the sun went hazy in China. Today, what remains is a lake the size of Singapore and the largest fresh water lake in Australasia. (http://www.laketauponz.com/)

We left Taupo after a while. Soon after that, we arrived at Rotorua. There is something about Rotorua. From the moment people arrive in Rotorua they know they're somewhere quite different. There is a scent of sulphur in the air, and at nearby geothermal hotspots there are spouting geysers, acrid-smelling mud pools bubbling and belching, and warm geothermal pools and ponds that create a kaleidoscope of colour. (http://www.rotoruanz.com/) This was my first visit to Rotorua, but Peter came here before. We went to have look at Lake Rotorua before we drove to a nearby park where we got to see mud pools for free. It was impressive!!! The smell of sulphur, the gas and the bubbling mud pools made the walk at the park an unforgettable experience.

Lake Taupo
Lake Taupo
Huka Falls

On the way to Rotorua
Lake Rotorua
Rotorua town

Mud pool

Sulphur

Day 4 (23/6/2006)

Leaving Rotorua, back to Auckland

We headed back to Auckland. We did stopped at a few places on our way back to shoot some photos. Both of us were really tired. It was still a big day for me as I had to go to school to collect my models and clean my lockers. Besides, I had to clean all my dirty stuffs, dry them and get ready for my trip to Australia the very next day. Day 5 - Melbourne here I come!!!!

Rotorua town

Sheeps are everywhere, yeah, you are in NZ!!!
Zorbing - go into the ball and roll down the slope!!! yeehaa....
Oops... we happened to drove to this place...

feeding time

The 19 Days Trip - (Day 1 & 2) - Mt. Ruapehu

It's been a long long time since I last updated my blog. damn, that's hell too long, six months!!! Oh yeah, 2006 is over! It's 2007! Happy New Year! I should learn to work harder and behave better... haaha!!! Every year, at this time, we talk about new year resolution... how many of us actually achieve what we planned? I guess not all... Any way, I know what I want to do for this year and what I have to do for this year. We'll see...

Isn't it funny to start blogging at the beginning of the year by sharing last year's story? However, it's always good to cherish what I had been through last year... I simply feel that last year wasn't bad at all. In fact, it's a year to remember!

The 19 Days Trip - Day 1 & 2 (20-21/6/2006)
Mt. Ruapehu

Day 1

After handing up my assignment for Urban Design at 12pm, at 2pm Peter(my German housemate) and I drove all the way to Tongariro National Park where Mt. Ruapehu is located. It took about 5-6 hours for us to arrive at National Park (the name of the area which we stayed for 2 nights). We stayed at Howard's Lodge. It's already dark when we arrived there. It's cold there, I can see ice on the ground and by the rock side. To be honest, for a person like me, coming from the tropics, I was really, really excited. We grabbed a pizza each at a nearby bar before we went back to Howard's Lodge for a hot spa.

Day 2

We woke up early in the morning and we drove in the direction of Mt. Ruapehu. Although it wasn't snowing, the weather was cloudy, it's not really a good day for skiing. On the other hand, since it's winter at the moment, the thick snow at Tongariro National Park prevented us from walking through the New Zealand's most famous crossing - the Tongariro Crossing. As a result, we decided to walk through the minor track where snow wasn't that thick. There were a few tracks, we chose the Tanaraki minor track, which eventually led us to the Tanaraki Falls.

After the walk, we drove in the direction of the ski house which was located at a higher altitude. There were people skiing as the weather got less cloudy. Time was not with us, thus we decided to walk around and enjoy the great scenery. We rented a sliding mat. It was great fun sliding down the slope. You see me rolling! AHAHA!!! Besides all these, Peter taught me how to make a snow man too! My excitement can hardly be decribed by words......

Great scenery on the way to Tongariro National Park
Howard's Lodge
Golf House at the foot of the mountains
Icy river? Snowy river?
Tanaraki Falls
How deep?
Tanaraki Falls
Looking far...
Peak of Mt. Ruapehu

My work - Mr Snow Man!
That's me! :)