Hooray!
Finally, we had come to the end of kiwi season, a sign to stop work and travel
again, but we’ll soon have to part with our money again. Sheesh…However, the
feeling of being able to be on the move again is simply sensational! The reason
being simple - GETTING OUTTA HERE!! The longer I stayed here, the crazier I
would be. Living with a bunch of selfish and unsound people is not just plain
uncomfortable, it's a mental torment!! Day-by-day, you would have to face with
these people who don't seemed to understand the meaning of give and take. But......it's
over now. Thank goodness!
Our
first destination was Taupo. But
before we reached our pre-booked hostel, we had a few stopovers at several
tourist attractions (Mamaku Blue, Agrodome and Wai-o-Tapu) for some shopping
spree! Nah……most of the stuffs were mainly gifts and souvenirs for friends and
family, but we did reserve some for ourselves too. After checking into
the hostel, we had a real good rest. It felt great to be able to sleep on a
single bed in a warm, cozy room, once again!
We
had a great start on the very next day, with a cool and sunny weather. We
arrived at Huka Falls and were greeted by the navy-colored water gushing
through the river. The fall was actually a pretty low one. Amazingly, the
flow was able to fill in an Olympic-sized swimming pool every minute! Cool! We
stayed there for quite some time capturing almost every lookout with the best
angles. Then, we moved on to Huka Honey Hive which was situated a short
distance away to have some free tastings of a wide variety of honey. Well, we
did not buy any of the honey, because they were somewhat relatively more
expensive, as we thought. So, we headed back to the Town Centre and had our
picnic lunch overlooking the great Lake Taupo (the size of Singapore). The
surrounding view was not as spectacular as that of other lakes in South Island,
but it was still equally stunning with a touch of winter season. We had our
final stop at Taupo Bungy before heading back to our hostel as the temperature
was dropping instantaneously. Oh…...by the way, we did not make any jump…… :p
Our
journey continued towards the west to the Waikato region, where the infamous
Waitomo Caves were located. We booked tickets to two
caves, namely the Glowworm Cave and Ruakuri Cave. The latter was stunningly
more beautiful than the former, although we expected it to be the opposite. We
decided to skip another cave, the Aranui Cave because its main attraction was
the formation of stalactites and stalagmites, which was nothing unusual. The
Glowworm Cave was some disappointment. It wasn’t as spectacular as publicized.
We got to sit in a raft that brought us down the path of river, looking up the
worms (larvae to be exact) hanging above which resembled stars in the sky. Most
probably the worms were in their hibernating mode, causing their glow to be dimmer
than usual. The guide gave some explanation though it was quite boring at
times. All in all, there was really nothing much to see. On the contrary, the
lighting used in Ruakuri Cave sort of “energized” the cave, making the stalactites
and stalagmites more striking and attractive.
En
route to Auckland, we had a stopover at Hamilton Garden, where arrays of great
garden landscapes were displayed. The Paradise Collection encompassed the Chinese Scholars Garden, the Te
Parapara, the Indian Char Bagh Garden, the Italian Renaissance Garden, the
English Flower Garden, the American Modernist Garden and the Japanese Garden of
Contemplation. Most of them were pretty well-maintained, but due to the fact
that it was winter season, only a small collection of flowers were still
blooming, while most of them had withered. We stayed there for a few hours
taking hundreds of snapshots of those beautiful backdrops, with some witty poses
before having our lunch at KFC. Hmm….the set lunch servings were quite large
and it costs only $5, which was considered very cheap.
The time has finally come. Oh……No….No….No…… We are not leaving yet. Our most anticipated activity throughout this whole working holiday thing was just about to begin. This would definitely be the most extreme adventure I’ll ever attempt in my life (I guess this might be the last @@). I’m talking about the ultimate experience of SKYDIVING!! I was wondering how the hell I managed to scrape out that tiny bit of courage to jump from the plane. The weather was really fine on that day but it was cold. Three of us hopped on to the airfield where the skydiving company is located. After a short briefing (that was when I started to get a little bit nervous), we were all geared up with the apparel and entered the plane. There was too little time to be afraid at the instance before we jumped off. It all happened in a jiffy. The moment you sat on the edge of the door, the instructor started to shove him/herself out of the plane and you were like………well, freefalling! Gosh, the adrenalin was pumping so fast and blood was gushing through the brain at terminal velocity. The first few seconds were great. But eventually, my ears started ringing and popping due to sudden pressure drop, and started to get slightly dizzy when the parachute was opened. It was tossing and turning in 360o. Phew! Luckily I didn’t throw out in mid-air. Hahaha….
We finally arrived in Central Auckland after buying some honey from the Honey Centre in Warkworth. Yup, honey sells like hot cake in NZ, especially their Manuka Honey, which is good for health and curing flu. Again, we were buying loads of them after buying tons of Whittaker’s chocolates previously. All in the name of SOUVENIRS!! This was our third time checking in at Auckland, which was also our final destination in New Zealand, marking the end of our working holiday trip. There were plenty of things to settle and most of our time was spent doing that. But fortunately, lady luck was with us as we managed to sell of our “priceless” wagon to a Japanese girl via a friend. That eventually gave us a sign of relief as the biggest burden was finally gotten rid. So, we had more time to walk and look around in the CBD. Then again, it’s all about searching for souvenirs, more souvenirs!! And that’s how we ended up at Queen St, the heart of Auckland. The street was packed with people, but most of them were Chinese immigrants, especially those selling NZ souvenirs. It totally felt like walking on the streets of Hong Kong. Anyway, our days in Auckland was kind of devastating as showers were pouring throughout the week endlessly, making it difficult to step out from our hostel. However, we still managed to brace through the drizzle to catch a glimpse of the scenery at Viaduct Harbour, Princes Wharf, Queens Wharf, and of course the Sky Tower.
The time has finally come. Oh……No….No….No…… We are not leaving yet. Our most anticipated activity throughout this whole working holiday thing was just about to begin. This would definitely be the most extreme adventure I’ll ever attempt in my life (I guess this might be the last @@). I’m talking about the ultimate experience of SKYDIVING!! I was wondering how the hell I managed to scrape out that tiny bit of courage to jump from the plane. The weather was really fine on that day but it was cold. Three of us hopped on to the airfield where the skydiving company is located. After a short briefing (that was when I started to get a little bit nervous), we were all geared up with the apparel and entered the plane. There was too little time to be afraid at the instance before we jumped off. It all happened in a jiffy. The moment you sat on the edge of the door, the instructor started to shove him/herself out of the plane and you were like………well, freefalling! Gosh, the adrenalin was pumping so fast and blood was gushing through the brain at terminal velocity. The first few seconds were great. But eventually, my ears started ringing and popping due to sudden pressure drop, and started to get slightly dizzy when the parachute was opened. It was tossing and turning in 360o. Phew! Luckily I didn’t throw out in mid-air. Hahaha….
We finally arrived in Central Auckland after buying some honey from the Honey Centre in Warkworth. Yup, honey sells like hot cake in NZ, especially their Manuka Honey, which is good for health and curing flu. Again, we were buying loads of them after buying tons of Whittaker’s chocolates previously. All in the name of SOUVENIRS!! This was our third time checking in at Auckland, which was also our final destination in New Zealand, marking the end of our working holiday trip. There were plenty of things to settle and most of our time was spent doing that. But fortunately, lady luck was with us as we managed to sell of our “priceless” wagon to a Japanese girl via a friend. That eventually gave us a sign of relief as the biggest burden was finally gotten rid. So, we had more time to walk and look around in the CBD. Then again, it’s all about searching for souvenirs, more souvenirs!! And that’s how we ended up at Queen St, the heart of Auckland. The street was packed with people, but most of them were Chinese immigrants, especially those selling NZ souvenirs. It totally felt like walking on the streets of Hong Kong. Anyway, our days in Auckland was kind of devastating as showers were pouring throughout the week endlessly, making it difficult to step out from our hostel. However, we still managed to brace through the drizzle to catch a glimpse of the scenery at Viaduct Harbour, Princes Wharf, Queens Wharf, and of course the Sky Tower.
We also spared some time to pop into the International Buddhist Trust (Fo Guang Shan Temple) - the largest Buddhist temple in the country, with ancient China architectural and design and a beautiful garden landscape. The last attraction was the Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT). We jumped at the opportunity to visit it as the entrance is free for the whole month of June. Otherwise, I guessed I wouldn’t be willing to walk for about 50 minutes to and fro in the cold and pay for the entrance, just to see some antiques!! But there were still pretty lots of things to see there and time was barely enough for us. As sun was setting in, we hurriedly head back to our hostel before it gets too dark.
Finally, it is time to say goodbye. Seven months of remarkable journey on a stranger’s land, not knowing what was ahead of us, haven’t got a clue how it would end. It was not an easy task. We had bumps and obstacles that thwarted our way, but we still embraced them together and persevered towards the finishing line. We’ve met some people; some became our friends, others were just passer-by. We shared our fun and laughter, ups and downs, tears and fears, and these will definitely serve a lasting memory for us. Thanks to my friends who had made this journey a wonderful and memorable one!! Things would never be the same without you, girls!!
