After drove around one hour and a half, we reached the lodge. We stayed in Travers-Sabine Lodge for one night. It is really close to the lake, only around 5-10 minutes walks. We were really tired when we got there, we missed the lodge and keep driving. It was so dark and we tired, we didn't catch the lodge sign on the left, and suddenly we found a sign "Nelson Lakes National Park". We panicked for a while. We thought we're stray. We checked the map again and we're in the right place. Then we turned around and drive slowly. Finally, we found the lodge! It's time to have a good sleep.
A misty morning views in Lake Rotoiti.
This is still the same road trip as the previous post. Actually, I was thinking to put the title as "Road Trip to the South of the North feat. the North of the South". Then, I realized, it is too long. So, I make it short into the current title.
We arrived in South Island in the super early morning. The car that we rent was already in the parking lot, we're just picking up the key from the receptionist in the port. It was so convenience for us. We already booked a package for paddle boarding in the Abel Tasman National Park at 10 AM, so we had to reach there before the time. It needs around 3 hours to reach there by driving from the ferry port in Picton. Thanks to the driver, Mr. B, we got there just almost the time.
It was my first time doing paddle board. A paddle board is different from a kayak. The correct way doing paddle board is to stand in the board and paddle. And if the wave is coming, just wait until it passes our paddle. Don't fight the wave, because it will make you suffer and the paddle is going backward. We have to wait and if we let the wave pass our paddle, we will move forward. It also needs to keep it mind that we have to do paddling in the opposite of the wind direction. If we go in the same direction as the wind, it will push as to keep forward. It is dangerous because it can lead us to go too further from the shore.
On the third day, we drove to the capital city of New Zealand, Wellington. We were going to return the car to the rental, meet another friend (which later became my boyfriend), and take the earliest ferry to South Island.
Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand, but I feel it less crowded than Auckland. Indeed, there are a lot of shops, big buildings, and the transportation is more friendly than Auckland. But still, I prefer Auckland. The wind in Wellington is super duper not friendly. When I was there, I couldn't stand the wind, so freaking strong!
The highlight of this road trip was to visit Tongariro Alpine Crossing, Tongariro National Park. It is the oldest national park in New Zealand. It was my first time ever climbing up the real mountain in New Zealand. The plan is to go up to Emerald Lakes from Mangatepopo Hut. According to the website, it takes around 6 hours from Mangatepopo Hut to Emerald Lakes and return. It was my first time ever climbing up the real mountain in New Zealand. We were going to meet with another team in the lodge and going together in the early morning.
In the beginning of the month April 2015:
- Got pointed as the International Student Ambassador for Auckland (the story about it can be found here)
- Lost in direction for my research, didn't know what to do and how to do it
- Super duper tired struggling between research and part time job
- Need a vacation but don't have that much money
In the middle of the month, my friend asked me to join her and her fiance to their road trip in the end of the month. I wanted to go, but I didn't have that much money. My friend kept persuade me to join them. She mentioned the itinerary, including the budget that I have to prepare. I read over and over until finally I said yes. It was a great opportunity and it came in the right time when I was really tired of everything and I need some break.
In the end of the month, I joined the road trip to the south part of the north island with my friends. In total, there were five of us. and I was the only one who had an experience driving in this country. I had to teach the guys from Auckland to our first destination, Te Puia. Thankfully, they are a fast learner.
Te Puia
New Zealand is pretty much well known with their geothermal resource. And Te Puia is one of the best destination to getting more knowledge about the geothermal. It is a geothermal valley with their geyser. It is located in Rotorua, around 3 hours drive from Auckland. They offer different kinds of tours: guided and non-guided. It is including the Maori culture performance.
We planned to join the guided tour with enjoying Maori culture performance. But, it was unfortunate when we reached there, the tour already began and we didn't have time to wait for the next performance. We decided to wander by our self. The good side, two of us are studying geothermal. We have our own tour guide!
Pohutu Geyser on the left and Blue Lake on the right
Historically speaking, according to Maori culture, Pohutu are viewed as gifts from the gods. It is said that the Te Whakarewarewa Thermal Valley, which is located of Pohutu geyser, was formed when tow sisters Te Pupu and Te Hoata (the Goddesses of Fire), traveled below the earth while looking for their brother. As they got closer to the brother, the sisters would lift their heads above the surface, which creates the geysers and other geothermal hotspots along their way (source: tepuia.com).
Scientifically speaking, it is a complex plumbing system. The process begins when rainwater starts to boil and create steam. Why is it boiling? It happens because of the heat from molten rock underground. The pressure from underground forces its way upward through the geyser vent and the eruption happens. It can be erupting to 30 m (100 feet) up to 20 times a day. Such an active geyser.
Okay, I think I should stop explaining the geyser. I am not the expert about it, so I better to stop.
Our next destination for the first day was Lake Taupo.
Not my first time went to Lake Taupo, but it was my first-time cruising the lake.
Lake Taupo is one of the biggest lakes in New Zealand. It is same big as Singapore. So, if I said that I cruised the lake for two hours, it can be said that I explored Singapore for two hours. We joined the 2-hours cruise by Ernest Kemp Replica Steamboat. The main point joins the cruise was so we can see the Maori rock carvings. Super duper grateful that the weather was really cooperative on that day. It was a bit cloudy, but as long as it was not raining, we're happy.
This is the famous of Maori Rock carvings, the icon of Lake Taupo. It was made by carver Matahi Whakataka-Brightwell and Jonathan Randell in the late 1970s. They were on a boat trip around the Western Bays when they saw the cliff. They decided to use it as a canvas for their Taupo artwork, and viollaa!
There are some others of their artworks around the cliff, but unfortunately, I couldn't get the good picture. This was my best shot.
Before heading to our next stop, we ate our late lunch. Tempe kering, rendang, and rice for our meal. We cooked it in Auckland. It was really simple, but we loved it because it was delicious and we shared it with friends.
That's all our journey for the first day. I will continue writing up the road trip.
Stay tuned peeps!
I extended my study
I supposed to finish my study on July. Yet, I couldn't finish it on time. Doing research in a foreign country with no background at all in the field is indeed not an easy thing to do. It was really hard during the whole process, especially the data collection. Waiting the email from the potential participant, transcribing the interview result, and analysing the data. It was really hard, exhausted journey, and hopefully it will finish soon.
The bright side from that, I stayed longer in New Zealand. Went to South Island in July, participated in a bunch of interesting events hosted by INAKL, met a lot of new people along the way. I am going to post my story about the trip to South Island later. Now, I just want to share some of my blogs while I am doing my job as International Student Ambassador in Auckland:
This picture was taken in MOTAT, a transportation museum in Auckland. You can ready the story here.
This was when me and my friend, Amel joined adventure jet in winter. It was really worth to try the attraction during winter. More story can be found in this page.
Never know that we can literally 'zipping' around the Waiheke Island for less than a day. Thankfully I got the opportunity to try it. The full story about it can be found here.
Stay tuned, I will update more story, especially my winter trip.
Cheers :)
What do you usually do when you are really bored of doing something?
For me, I usually jumping around from one website to another to find an inspiration.
Back to January 2015, it was summer holiday down here, in New Zealand. I was really bored writing my thesis, I ran out the inspiration to write, and most of my friends went back to their home. I know clearly that Auckland is one of the big cities in the world where there’s always someone held a live performance. I also know clearly that I can’t afford the concert ticket. So, I usually open the website (ticketmaster.co.nz), and didn’t buy anything.
But, that day, when I open the website, I saw something. I saw that The Script was going to come in May. I checked the ticket price, and turned out it was below the average price = I could afford to buy it!! I was so freaking happy. Since I didn’t want to watch it alone, I texted one of my partner in crime, asked her to watch it with me and she said yes.
Long story short, I bought the ticket in January and went to the concert in May. It was my first time went to a concert in New Zealand. The concert was held in Vector Arena. It is a big indoor space and fit around 12000 seats, can be used for sports or entertainment event. It's not that big compared to the concert places in Indonesia or Japan (because I had the experiences watch concert in Japan and Indonesia).
The concert should start at 7 pm but the gate open at 6 pm. I chose to watch it in the floor standing area. The reason, I wanted to watch them close up. I wanted to get the front line, then I came earlier.
The weather was nice, not that cold not that hot. I only wear one layer sweater and green pants. The gate opened in the right time and the crowd entered the hall. I always amazed with the way people lining up in here. They waited patiently. I remembered, the people behind us were a bunch of teenagers around 18yo to 20yo. They were five of them and two of them were a bit high. Because they talked so much and a bit too loud. Right before the gate opened, I really wanted to go to the bathroom. I was afraid I had to line up from the beginning again. But I couldn’t wait anymore, I had to go. I went to the bathroom and when I got back, they were gone. The line changed and I couldn’t find my friend. I was a bit panicked since my ticket was with her. Thankfully, I noticed the girls who were behind me earlier. I talked to them and they showed me where was my friend. All the people gave me the way to my friend. They didn’t think that I tried to steal their line or what. They opened their line, so I could get to my friend. I was touched. I don’t think I will get the same treat if I was in my own country.
It was my first time, and I noticed some interesting points:
- Everyone want to get closer to the stage, but they do it calmly, really calm. They were not rushing, they were more like “if I can get closer it will be great, but if not, it’s not really big deal”.
- There’s a food and drink stall in the lobby and we are allowed to have food and drink while watching the concert. Of course, they sell alcohol. People drink responsibly and I like it. I don’t really have any problem with people who drink during the concert. I just don’t like the smell of beer, I can’t stand it. Unfortunately, the lady behind me had a beer and it was a bit distracting for me. Thankfully, she finished after the opening performance finish.
- There was a last minute change of the performer and they (the organizer) emailed me, several hours before the concert. Informing that due to some reason (I forgot the exact reason), the opening performance had to change to someone else. Even though I didn’t really care about the opening, I was impressed with the email. Letting us know that there was some change.
Okay, I think I already talked too much, but I haven’t shared anything about the concert itself. The concert was a few minutes late, but still in the tolerable ways. The opening remarks when The Script enter the stage was beyond great. They also did some interactions with the audience. The best part of the concert for me was when Danny asked the audience that he wanted to do something crazy. He wanted us to call our ex, and the first person who got picked up by their ex, have to give the phone to Danny. You know what he did?? He holds the phone and he sang ‘Nothing’ to someone ex. It was a really awesome crazy idea. Lucky to you, a young lady, you could tell your ex that it was all nothing and Danny sang it for you.
End of the day, I was really happy finally I gain one more experience while in Auckland, went to concert. Time to off to bed.
See you again on my next post
Hello! It has been couple months since the last time I posted in this blog. I am really sorry that I couldn't be able to post it for such a long time. I have been busy with my research (wish me lot of luck to finish it on time), and I have a big announcement to make!! So recently I have been pointed as an ambassador for international student in Auckland.
With the Mayor of Auckland during the ceremony.
Then, the next question is what I am supposed to do?? Basically it's pretty simple, I have to enjoy Auckland and write a blog about it. But, the truth is never that easy. It's quite hard for me, jumping from dealing with my research, my part-time job, and the ambassador activities. However, I love this opportunity and I want to make it to be wonderful memory in my life time.
You can read more about me and other ambassador in here, and about my self in this page. This is the story when I watched the Blues rugby match: my first ever watch the rugby game.
I will try to update more in the future.
Cheers!
Historically speaking, Waitangi Day is when the Treaty of Waitangi was signed, 6th February 1840. It becomes a public holiday in New Zealand. This year, the day was on Friday, so we had a long weekend in down here. Therefore, me, in the middle of writing my research, I went to do my field research, accompanied by two of my friends. One of my friend, who has a car, lives in Pukekohe, the south-est part of Auckland City. So, me and my another friend took a train to Pukekohe on Friday morning. It took almost two hours from city center to Pukekohe. We started our weekend gate-away from Pukekohe.
Our first stop was Kaimai Cheese Factory, in Kaimai close to Matamata town, part of Matamata Piako District. We had lovely lunch over there.
Kaimai Steak Sandwich for $19.50. Indeed it is a big portion, but it made me full for the next eight hours.
After that, we continued to Matamata. My friends joined the tour to Hobbiton Movie Set. Meanwhile me, walking around the city center to do some research. It's a small town, so the city of the town is so small.
The coolest I-Site ever in New Zealand that I ever seen so far, the I-Site of Matamata.
Since the tour took three hours to finish, we decided to stay one night in the town and decide what to do in the next morning. Short story, we decided to just explore the town on Saturday morning, before we go back to Auckland.
We had our breakfast at Drew Drop Inn cafe, just cross the I-Site building. The must try menu is their Hobbit Pie, it is the best! We had great time during our breakfast, had some chat with the owner. She is a lovely lady. Don't forget to stop by in her cafe while visiting the town. Because you'll get more 'real-journey' to the middle earth.
We went to Wairere Falls after that. It is 22km away from the town center. This is the tallest water falls in North Island, New Zealand, 153m. It takes 45 minutes to reach the lookout, and it takes 90 minutes to reach the submit. We had no idea that the path was quite hard to do without any preparation. We only could reach the lookout. Maybe next time I will come back, to reach the summit. I want to see, how to look out everything from there.
When we went back to the parking lot, we're really tired and starving. It was almost 2 pm when we got back. Because we still wanted to spend some time in the Hamilton, we decided to have our late lunch in Hamilton.
Dear Auckland, Happy Birthday!
Happy 175th anniversary, Auckland.
Yup, 26th January is Auckland's birthday. Bunch of entertainments, exhibitions, and events were being held in the town. It became long weekend in Auckland, no school, no work on Monday. I went to the some of the events on Sunday. It was really awesome celebration for me.
I started my Sunday with going to Stardome in One Tree Hill. I went to the planetarium and joined the trip to Jupiter for 15 minutes only. So fast isn't? It was my first time go to a planetarium and I was amazed with all the information and the shows over there. Usually, visitor need to pay $10 for the show and $25 for the special show, but I only pay $2 yesterday. Because it was a special occasion due to Auckland's birthday. I did some groceries after that. Since, there is a big supermarket with cheap prices close to the planetarium. I don't want to miss it, buying what I need (I ran out shampoo and sausage) with cheaper prices. I continued my day with scrolling around the city center, shopping some stuffs, checking on the clothing prices, trying my luck to find a good price of cloth.
Anyway, back to the celebration of Auckland, I went to the port, queens wharf after that. They decorate the port into some play ground with the beautiful gate welcoming us.
The Gate
I listened to the story telling about Auckland and the country at the queens wharf. There are also some exhibitions over there. Some of them exhibit handmade cloth, painting, and other crafts. I didn't buy anything from there, except postcard limited edition.
Then, I spent my afternoon in Viaduct (10 minutes walk from the port), enjoying my ice cream while watching some kids playing around. Such a lovely. However, since it was really crowded and I have been out since the morning, I walked around looking for a spot where I can take a rest. Thankfully I found a bench where I can put my ass and have some rest.
But, guess what, the area where I sit was actually an area for a performance. It turned out that there are three street performances who's going to perform in the area.So I ended up watching the show for the rest of my afternoon. Then without realizing, it's already 9 pm, 30 minutes left before the fireworks. The fireworks is my main reason to go out on Sunday. I want to watch the firework from the good spot. So, me and my friends look for the best spot to watch it.
It is said that the fireworks will be off from two different places, the sky tower (top picture) and queens wharf (bottom picture). I was thinking it will be better if I could see both of them, so I decided to see it from viaduct. Thankfully I made the right decision, I could see both of the fireworks! The fireworks was better than during New Year's Eve, yet it will be better if they do it in different times. Oh well, even though it happened like that, I still love it. Overall it was lovely Sunday, I could watch bunch of performances, taking a lot of pictures, ate good food, and enjoying both of the fireworks.
Once again, happy birthday Auckland. I wish the town will be better in every aspects in the next future. See you next time!
Welcome to 2015!!
So many things happen in 2014, some of my close friends got married, some of them had a child, some of them got a better job, some of them travel more than before, some of them got prettier, and so on. Sometimes when I look around me, I felt that I haven't done anything yet for the past year. Yet, when I looked back into my past, I know that I did a lot and I learned so many things too in 2014.
My 2014,
I moved twice in less than six months, in March and May.
met new friends, which some of them become my very close friend.
got dumped while looking a part time job.
got a new job.
started my one year research, things became complicated and I have to keep fighting to finish it.
back to market again, I mean being single again.
lastly, I traveled more than before.
Well, everything happens for a reason and indeed I learned from those things. Let's not make the same mistake again in 2015. My wish for 2015?
I want my 2015,
finish my study and graduate in winter graduation.
get a full time job, which can support me living in this world.
meet a lot of new friends.
travel more, to South Island, to the north-est place in the North Island.
go back to Indonesia.
meet my parents and my siblings.
going to some particular place, to settle some unfinished business.
lastly, meet and know someone, who I can trust.
Let's working on it and have a wonderful year ahead everyone!
