and i think to myself, what a wonderful world

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

my long easter weekend.

this is a super long entry.
it tells you my happenings for 4 days.
please be interested before scrolling down:)

it's Good Friday. the 21st of march.
it is a special day for it marks the birth of my dear friend.
jasmine sng jialing.
happy 22nd birthday jass!:)
keep that smile going o!

anyways. new zealand celebrates easter.
so we had a long weekend. friday-tuesday.
made plans to travel down rotorua and lake taupo.
so we rented a car and were on our way. it is a 3 hours drive.
this is how our car looks like. ya. i know. GREEN.

unfortunately. there was a congestion. quite a bad one.
look at the long queue at the back.

and this is the front. tsk!

so we entertained ourselves in the car.
there's an opening at the top!
so we took turns to stand and took pictures.
andrea and onyx. cute.

we stopped by tirau.
grabbed a bite and visited the loo.
and the loo is in this dog. haha. cute right?
but the tongue is like rotting.

after a long drive. we finally reached rotorua!
checked in at cactus jack. backpackers place.
it has a really cool design.

they really live up to their name.
growing cactus at their entrance. haha.

ta-da! barber concept.

stables.

the bank. its a common area.

our concept is warehouse.

room no. 27:)

and this is the interior. kind of squeezy for 7.
but it's backpackers. so i guess its fine.

we explored the place. as usual. they have pretty views:)

black swan. greedy black swan.

this guy was feeding the seagulls.
a pretty interesting sight. only the brave ones get to feast.

o yes. there were beautiful flowers all around.
but im not too sure what species. enjoy ba:)

it's turning autumn!:)

i was feeling cold and xuan covered me with her jacket:)
awww. so sweet right. heh.

this is the rotorua museum.

see that maori man? we were trying to imitate him.
haha. looking fierce.

and we always have to stop by to get ice cream.
within the 4 days. we all ate quite a lot of ice cream. haha.
and this is voted the best!:)

all looking satisfied.

the next day was full of activities.
white water rafting was the first. superb!:)
ill upload the pictures for it shortly.

the next is mud bath! we went to this place called hell's gate.

they have a foot pool too. just sit and dip.

and here we are. in e mud pool. haha.
not really what we expected. not muddy enough.
but still an experience ba:)

after washing up. we went to argoventures.
took a jet ride that wasn't excitng.
but i screamed anyways. to make my money worth.
getting ready to go.

saying bye.

at the end of it. haha. hair is in a mess.

the next and last item of the day: swoop.
its like a mega swing. 40metres high.

we did it in threes. i did with onyx and ian.
we were tied like caterpillars. haha.

then being lifted up. to be thrown down again.
as you can see. we are ABSOLUTELY excited.

ian then pulled the spring and we came swoop-ing down.
the initial few seconds was terrible! its like suicide.
but after that. the feeling was awesome! a must-try for all.

wanxuan did with andrea and kimpeng.
and that marks the end of our adventurous day:)

dinner was at fat dog cafe.
it is recommended by lonely planet.

a pretty nice place. similar to N.Y.D.C. in singapore.
food's good too:)

and since it was easter.
of course there must be some bunny girls around.
bunny hairband and earrings. sweeeet.

the next day. we went to wai-o-tapu.
if you can read. its a thermal wonderland.

we went for lady knox geyser.
this volcano looking thing that can shoot water up to 20meters.

here is how it looks like.
it does its stunt every 1015am.
and we were early. like 945. so had to wait.

luckily there were some cute kids around to entertain me.
the mom. kid. and brother.

he's showing his grandpa
how to play his blue aeroplane.

and of course a pretty lady too:)
seeing all these adorable kids.
how can one not have babies! haha.
please come new zealand if you need motivation for a kid.

then finally! the man appeared.
i was expecting lady knox to do her stunt naturally.
but sadly. no. its man-made.
this old man threw some stuff into the hole.

and slowly. there were some reactions.

and the water eventually shot up.
didn't really amaze me though. felt disappointed.

then we walked the whole of thermal wonderland.
it really takes someone super interested to appreciate.

this is called the artist palette. some red.

yellow.

blue and green.

i don't know what is this. its bubbling.

a closer look.

for the rest. the name speaks for itself. try to enjoy!

ahhh. now this is something i know how to appreciate.
a silver branch. nice:)

aik khoon and me.

alright. enough of all the thermal wonderland stuff.
we went to zorb. i didn't do it. course it's wet.
it wasn't convenient for me to do so. tsk!

it works like this. you are being placed in a huge ball.
then they roll the ball and you down the hill.

see wat i mean?

nah! the 5 people proud to do it. haha.

there were some wildlife around.
and lucky me. it was feeding time.

the silly ostrich's so tall. frightening.
i feel intimidated by them:(

and the cow! seems very sweet. licking the man's hand:)
there were ducks and goose all over the place.
trying to get some food too. haha.

we then drove to taupo.
by the end of the 3rd day. we were shagged.

we checked in at tiki lodge.

a simple nice backpackers place.

this is how it looks like.

after resting for awhile and dinner.
we decided to tour around lake taupo.
its the largest lake in new zealand.
it can fit singapore in. can you imagine that?
some sunset views.

there was this offland golf. 1buck for a ball.
the hole is far far far away.

ian went for it. haha. it's really tough la.

and our day ended with that. yawns!

the last day. is all about skydiving:)

i didn't do it. was still inconvenient. but ill do it de!
was feeling so excited for them.
hao ba. let the pictures do the work:)
mini briefing to tell you what to expect.