Jace

Weather is the factor that will affect your trip the most in New Zealand. It’s extremely changeable. This could be so irritating sometimes. It’s Christmas Eve, although it’s summertime here, but we wanted a White Christmas!!! Coz I’d never experienced White Christmas before in my country, which is hot throughout the year. I would like to “celebrate” (though I’m not Christian) it “whitely” like I always saw from movies and dramas from western countries. Since one week ago we had made a booking to join the Ruapehu Crater Walk. Mt.Ruapehu is an active volcano, and interestingly it always snow-capped. According to the information, scientists predict that if the lake continues to fill at its current rate, another lahar will occur sometime in the not-too-distant future. The DOC has set up alarm systems at Crater Lake’s edge ... read more

I-site suggested us to go Mt. Tauhara. According to the information, it’s 2hours return journey. The first part was quite nice, going up to the grassy hill without much energy. After we step over the DOC border, the real journey started. We walked into the jungle and all the way up. If there’s a “path” or “walkway”, it’s very narrow. We missed the main “path” a lot of times. But we don’t want to be lost in the jungle forever, so we kept walking and walking endlessly. The jungle is so silent, but somehow there’s some sounds like bird chirping and insects “singing”. Everything is so peaceful beside our hearts was so worried that we lost. But when we slowed and calmed down, we could feel the “soul” of the jungle. The jungle is a huge ... read more

45min drive from Rotorua, we traveled to Matamata for the famous Hobbiton Tour. This was a normal peace small town like others. Becoz of the Alexander family rent out their farm for Lord of the Rings filming; this place becomes famous, flooded by tourists to see where the Hobbit stays in the film. And I think the government should grant Alexanders the royal family who contributes tonnes of income from the tourists. We took the tour and there’s a van ferry us to the set from Matamata’s I-site. It’s 20min away from I-site to the set. On the way, the driver kept giving information about the filming, where the audition held, how excited the residents in Matamata were to involve in the filming. I was a media-worker in Malaysia, involved in TV programmes filming for about ... read more

Second day in Rotorua, we went to Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland, which is 45min drive from the town center. The entrance fee is $27.50. This 3km walk will bring you around to see more than 20 spots of the thermal thingy. The first and foremost, the staff asked us to see the geyser as it was the time it erupted when we arrived. It erupts everyday at 10am. Then we follow the walking path to spot different features of volcanic and thermal activity. It was a bit shower that day, can’t really feel the heat unless we stand very close to the smoke from the heaty hole. They are some tourists really dip their finger into the water!! Oh god, of course it’s hot, it almost at boiling level just that it doesn’t have smoke doesn’t mean ... read more

After the exhausted Tumu Tumu Toobing, we took 5 hours drive to Rotorua, the Sulphur City. It has the most energetic thermal activity in the country, with mud pools, hot springs and sulphur smells hovering around. When we approaching the city, we kept asking who farted in the car. The horrible smells came in from the window when we tried to let the “fart” get out the car. The city is filled with sulphur smells, as fart is formed by sulphur and hydrogen. Oh my God… We stayed in X-base hostel instead of YHA as it was fully-booked. I like this hostel coz there’s a cinema in the basement. Clean, tidy, and not so crowded. It was showering the day we arrived and the day after, in a way it cut down the yucky smells. ... read more