On my way home...

I transited at Sydney from Wellington on my way back to Singapore. Had 7-8 hours in between! Manage to leave the airport and met up with Sarah! It was real nice cathing up on what is happening in the world of Sarah. Talking about Nara and Snoop reminded me of Smiths Lake, UNSW and Summer school at Sydney in Dec 07!

Train ride from Auckland all the way to Wellington!

We stayed at Auckland for only a night and the experience was bad enough! The bad luck experienced was probably an exchange for all the good times we had during our whole trip! Our booking at the hostel din go through, they gave us a crappy rm which was super messy, hostel was too commercialised, Nicolas. Hunkeler lost his slping bag and did not manage to return his rented car in time coz the rental shop closed at 4pm! All these happened in merely an hour after our arrival in Auckland! That is life! Das ist das Leben! The train ride was 12hours from Auckland to Wellington!! We set off before sunrise and arrived after sunset! I slept through most of the trip despite having paid 90NZD for the ride! I should be keeping my eyes open to appreciate the nice scenery! But oh well... I have a tendency to sleep during rides except roller coaster rides! The train ride reminded me of Die Bahn in Europe! Very similar... There were very few people and nic and i had the whole train to ourselves!

The sheeps were so cute! They were grazing a few from the railway track and all of them showed us their butts when the train approached!

Met Raizan and his wife in Wellington. Raizan is 8 years our VJ senior. He was the first VJ soccer captain if i did not get it wrong=) What a small world meeting him in New Zealand=)

Colville Farmstay

This was probably the best and cheapest accomodation we had, isolated from everything else! The house had nice furniture, fireplace and mountains just a few metres away. It was a pity that we could only afford to stay 1 night here as welzl and i had a train to catch from Auckland(further north of NZ). It seems quite fun to own a farm. We went to hunt for Clams and pipi(cockles) along the muddy beach! Was an eventful day! The times spent at the Coromandel was most memorable and I came to the conclusion that I dont really like big cities like Auckland and Wellington. Big cities feels like Singapore especially when we were driving along the motorways! The laid back towns appeal to be greatly! =)





Never really knew that sceneries like this existed in real life! Though that they only appear in paintings=)

I was really excited to have Ice cream at this Schloss Cafe but it was CLOSED when we arrived!!! I was darn disappointed=( Oh well... at least i got a photo with it if it is of any consolation=)

Coromandel Peninsula

Opito Bay @ Whitianga



This houses are isolated from civilisation with their own private beach=) The houses are very pretty. Slept on the lawn in front of the houses for a long while in the cold wind! Heaven! My dream home!

Sandy beach without foot prints!




Cathedral Cove @ Hahei
It is near the towns of Hahei and Whitianga. It has beautiful sheltered beaches and the large cathedral arch.

More of Coromandel-Isolation=)

Te Pare Point at Hahei






View from the peak of Te Pare Point which used to be a Maori settlement.



Missed the sunrise coz it was too cold in the morning and staying in bed seemed loads more attractive! It has always been alot easier for me to watch sunset than sunrise=)

Seen so many rainbows when I was in NZ. This particular rainbow was so cool and it felt like we were very near the start of the rainbow. I always wondered why there are so few rainbows in Singapore. Now I think I know why- coz all the rainbows are in NZ!

Petrol prices on the rise!

Stingray Bay. Not sure how it got its name though. Did not manage to ask the locals there=)

Gemstone Bay

A rare sight! I dun think i will gather enough patience to Fish!


Learnt how to make Rösti from Nicolas.H! I am quite pro at it now!

Tauranga (Mt Maunganui)

Mount Maunganui is a town in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, located on a peninsula to the north of the neighbouring city Tauranga, and north west of the suburb Papamao. It is also the name of the extinct volcanic cone which rises above the town (which is now officially known by its Maori).According to Maori legend, this hill was a pononga [slave] to a mountain called Otanewainuku. It is colloquially known in New Zealand simply as The Mount. The town itself is located on top of a sand bar that connects Mauao to the mainland, a geographical formation known as a tombolo. Because of this formation, the residents of Mount Maunganui are lucky enough to have both a harbour beach (Pilot Bay) and an ocean beach with great surf, within a short distance (At the base of Mauao, the distance between the harbour and ocean side is a couple of blocks).

View on out way up.

View from the summit.

An island near by=)

Random nice rocks=) Thanks nic for always taking random nice picts for me!

At the peak of another hill! There are heaps of lookout in NZ. Loads of tracking to do too=)

Waihi
Waihi is located in the Coromandel district, which was one of the great gold mining districts of the world. The township grew around the mining operations since the discovery of gold in 1878 by prospectors John McCombie and Robert Lee.

Waihi Town

Here's a huge gold mining quarry! Look at how small those trucks in comparison!

Karangahake Gorge

The Karangahake Gorge lies between the Coromandel and Kaimai Ranges at the southern end of the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand's North Island. A sharply winding canyon, it was formed by the Ohinemuri River.

Mouth to a tunnel where mining activity used to take place.

Nicolas X 2 on the bridge! It was very confusing initially coz both responded when I call them! haha....

Karangahake foot bridge.

This was how gold rocks were transported to the Battery in the past. Cool ehy!

Karangahake Gorge=)

Owharoa falls

Somehow I feel that the waterfall looks nicer in this pict than in real life=) Maybe it is coz of the setting that nic used on his camera which gave the water a very continuous and flowy effect=)

Tairua

View from the peak of Paku Hill! Nice ehy! NZ has heaps of tiny islands=) We could see island like Penguin Island, Shoe Island, Rabbit Island etc... What interesting names they have got!

Hahei

Hahei is a small settlement on the eastern side of the Coromandel Peninsula in the Waikato region. It is a popular holiday destination, with a white sandy beach and sheltered aspect, resulting in sheltered swimming waters.

I really liked the accomodation at this quiet cosy place, which is a great chill out Self contained unit! Few people were around this area as winter was approaching. Cant ask for more- nice scenery just outside our place, nice houses around, accomodation was nicely furnished, great music and most importantly-great company.

Tatahi Lodge- Indeed a slice of Heaven at the end of the world!

These nice benches faces the pretty house nestled amongst the greenery below=). Heaps of fantail flying around!

My favourite rest corner on the extreme left background of the pict! It never fails to suck and drain all the energy I have=) nuahhhhh!!!