Traces of Nut

Tasmania - July 2008

2008-09-12T13:43:00.000-07:00

In July 2008, we headed to Tasmania for 8 days. I have always wanted to visit Tasmania having heard that it is scenic. While it is only a small island, 8 days was simply too short to cover the whole island. We concentrated on Launceston, the East Coast and Hobart.
Days 1 & 2: Launceston
We flew into Launceston (Tasmania's second largest city and Australia's third oldest city) via Melbourne. Approaching Launceston, I could see a lot of farmland below, and I wondered if I was flying into another Canterbury-like area.

	The airport in Launceston is fairly small; so small that we actually picked up our luggage straight off a luggage trolley. I was slightly bemused and thought "was it not a CITY that i was flying into?" We didn't do much else on Day 1 apart from roaming the CBD. Plus, the heaters at our accommodation (Launceston Backpackers) didn't come on until the evening.
	On Day 2, we went off to Cataract Gorge. It only took us 10 minutes to walk to Kings Bridge from our accommodation. It was amazing to see "wilderness" so close to a CBD.
	We opted for the easier walk i.e. following the pathway beside the northern cliffs to the First Basin. An alternative would be to follow the Zig Zag Track which goes up to the top of the southern cliffs.
	It took us a further 25 minutes (with plenty of photo stops) to get to the Gorge Restaurant from the Kings Bridge. View of the Gorge from the Gorge Restaurant, where we stopped for morning tea. Despite the tranquil atmosphere, I didn't fully enjoy the morning tea because I was busy trying to avoid a roaming peacock.
	View of the First Basin and the suspension bridge (which was closed at the time I was there). Spent the rest of Day 2 in the CBD.

Day 3: St Helens - Binnalong Bay
On Day 3, we picked up our rental car and began our journey to the East Coast. The original intention was to drive to St Helens via Scottsdale (Route A3), but our GPS unit directed us to St Helens via Route A4 instead. We learnt to be more specific with the unit thereon.

	St Helens is a fishing port and the largest town on the East Coast. What we were unprepared for was that there was no cellphone coverage (through Vodafone Australia) here.
	After checking into our accommodation (Sweetwater Villas), we headed to Binnalong Bay (approximately 10 kms north east of St Helens) to enjoy the white beaches...
	... and red lichen-covered rocks.
	Finally, it was time to leave Mr Sandman and the white beaches and head back to St Helens. There are not too many shops in town that are open for dinner. So, we ordered takeaway from a public phone in town. Even more surprised when we ended up picking the takeways from a rather posh hotel/resort in town.

Day 4: Mt Elephant - Freycinet Peninsula - Swansea
We left St Helens and headed towards Elephant Pass to try the pancakes which I've read so many good reviews of. After a dizzying ride uphill (or perhaps because I was behind the wheel?), we finally arrived there. The pancakes are excellent and the shop is full of character. Doesn't matter so much the ride was dizzying.

After filling ourselves up with pancakes, we continued our drive to Freycinet Peninsula. The roads are narrower than what I am used to and had to be on constant alert for dead baby wallabies in the middle of the road.

	When we arrived, there were low clouds about. We were directed to Cape Tourville for a 20 mins circuit walk to enjoy the coastal view and check whether the view of Wineglass Bay would be affected by the low clouds.
	After Cape Tourville, we decided to proceed with the walk to the Wineglass Bay Lookout. We were greeted by these roaming baby wallabies in the carpark, and we saw a couple more during our walk.
	After recording our trip intentions in the logbook (so that searchers can locate us in case we went missing), we started our journey uphill.
	After 45 minutes of uphill walking (and a few rest stops for me to catch my breath), we arrived at the lookout!!! The walk to the bay itself would have taken another hour (return), but we were running out of time, so I had to be satisfied with the view from the lookout.
	A different view from the lookout...
	On our drive out, we managed to stop over at Honeymoon Bay, which I thought is a lovely place and worth a visit.
	Another view of the same bay...
	We also stopped by Richardsons Beach - recommended by the visitor centre for a view of the Hazards. It would have been nice to linger around but the sun was starting to set, and we thought it was best to continue our drive to Swansea before it gets too dark.

Day 5: Port Arthur

	We managed to visit Schouten Beach which is right behind our accommodation (Swansea Holiday Park) before we left. The beach is lovely and I instantly regretted not having an extra day here. There is also a coastal walking track with an interesting name( Look.tite.ter.mair.re.le.hoin.er) nearby which we had to miss.
	Port Arthur Historic Site (convict era site) has over 30 historic buildings and ruins, although the most photographed building is perhaps the Penitentiary (in the pic).
	The inside of the Penitentiary. Given the history of the place, it felt slightly spooky exploring the buildings. I've to admit I went through the pictures taken to ensure there were nothing strange in them (perhaps I've just watched too many of those paranormal activity programmes).
	Our entrance pass included a harbour cruise which took us past this Isle of the Dead cemetery.
	View of Port Arthur site from the Mason Cove... The entry pass was for two consecutive days so we came back for a while the following day to cover some of the other buildings. Overnight at Port Arthur Caravan and Cabin Park.

Day 6: Eaglehawk Neck - Hobart
On the way from Port Arthur to Hobart, we stopped by Eaglehawk Neck, an isthmus flanked by Norfolk Bay and Pirates Bay. In colonial times, the isthmus was guarded by ferocious dogs to ensure no convicts escaped from Port Arthur. There are several geological features around this area.

	Blowhole
	Tasman's Arch
	Tessellated Pavement - natural occurring inter-tidal rock platform
	Dootown - the houses and shacks in this area have names which contain "Doo" e.g. "Doo Little", "Love Me Doo" etc. - it was interesting.

After exploring the Eaglehawk Neck for much of the morning, we drove on to Hobart. Back to civilisation - we got our cellphone reception back!
Days 7 & 8: Hobart
Hobart was a slightly bigger than I anticipated and I was happy to get rid of the rental car here. I found it too stressful trying to navigate around a city and trying to find a park for the car. We initially stayed at the Central City Backpackers (which was an excellent base to explore the CBD) before moving to the Mercure (for some good comfortable sleeps before heading to WYD). Some sights around Hobart:

	View from Constitution Dock.
	View from Constitution Dock.
	Arthur's Circus at Battery Point - a circle of cottages built around a village green.
	Salamanca Market - We managed to fit in a trip to the market, which is only held on Saturdays, before boarding a bus back to Launceston.

Haast & Wanaka - June 2008

2008-07-25T19:28:00.000-07:00

We travelled to Haast & Lake Wanaka through the West Coast. This trip is similar to the one I took in December 2007, except we stopped at slightly different places. The scenery is slightly different as well, given the different seasons. West Coast is cloudy (luckily not rainy this time). We spent 10-15 minutes killing sandflies everytime we stop to take pictures - in the end, we were contented just driving past and admiring the scenery from the car.

	Hokitika (approx 255km from Christchurch) - We decided to stop by at Cafe de Paris for brunch (food was very nice there) and drive around Hokitika afterwards. Stumbled upon this concrete boat structure...
	Lake Ianthe (approx 55km from Hokitika) - quiet and amazing reflections...
	View of Fox Glacier from the the lookout - I still think a walk to the terminal of the glacier (one hour return) is more worthwhile, that's if you have plenty of time.
	Bruce Bay (approx 220km from Hokitika)
	View from Knights Point (approx 270kms from Hokitika)
	Haast township - The town is very remote and small. We stopped to grab a bite before trucking on to Hawea and Wanaka. The drive from Wanaka to Haast is scenic, but it was getting a bit dark to take pictures.
	By the time we reached Wanaka, the meter tells us we have driven 707kms! View from Apartment 166 Beacon Point, Wanaka (where we stayed)
	Another view of Lake Wanaka... we saw the lake from at least three different sides during the entire weekend.
	View from Cadrona range (between Wanaka & Queenstown)

Lake Tekapo - April 2008

2008-07-25T14:44:00.000-07:00

We had some relatives visiting from overseas in April and what better place to take them than Lake Tekapo! :) Instead of posting more pictures of the lakes, I thought I'll post pictures of some of the other places we managed to fit in on our trip.

	The Tin Shed - a shop selling woolen goods and other souvenirs on the way to Lake Tekapo. From memory, the shed is located after the turn-off from State Highway 1, on the way to Geraldine. There is a farm at the back with alpacas, ponies, kunekune pigs etc.
	The holiday home we rented in Lake Tekapo (the Arosa Lodge) - it was very homely.
	Our trip to Lake Tekapo usually involves a drive to this salmon farm, where we get our salmon and sashimi from.
	Meridian Energy Power Station

Bangkok - December 2007 / January 2008

2008-07-22T00:43:00.000-07:00

We spent about 5 days in Bangkok. Overall, I was impressed by the culture, the achitecture and design of certain buildings, the river/canals as well as the Thais' reverence for their royal family. By the way, I found out that Bangkok's actual name in Thai is Krungthepmahanakorn Amornrattanakosin Mahinthrayuthaya Mahadilokpob Noparat Rajataniburirom Udomrajanivej Mahasatharn Amornpimarn Awatarnsatis Sakatadtiya Wisanukamprasit.
Day 1
Checked into Trinity Silom hotel and took a ferry and tuk-tuk to dinner.

	View while waiting for the ferry to take us across the Chao Phraya river...
	The other tuk-tuk...
	View from the restaurant courtyard...

Day 2
We chartered a boat (pic below) near the Saphan Taksin sky train station for approx 2000 bahts to take us on a cruise for 2 hours. It was simply amazing and I thoroughly enjoyed the cruise. Some sights along the way:

We stopped by an orchid farm along the way...

...and a small floating market (Taling Chan Floating Market)- I have always wanted to visit one since I was ten. We had to wait for one of the canals to open up (can't quite remember why) so we decided to tuck into our food.

At the end, the boat landed at one of the stalls by the river (had to pay a small landing fee) and we ventured off to the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra Kaeo). Interestingly, I found that that the 24-inch image of Buddha is not really made of emerald but of a single piece of jasper. There are three different sets of gold clothing, which are changed by the King of Thailand in a ceremony at the changing of the seasons - hot season, rainy season, and cool season.

Day 3
Shopping and Thai foot massage - my feet were so relaxed I thought they have gone to sleep.
Day 4
Chartered a "taxi" for approx 200 bahts to take us to the Ancient City (Muang Boran). The park is roughly in the shape of Thailand and reproduces (on a smaller scale) important buildings from around Thailand. The entrance fee is reasonable and I thought the trip was worthwhile.

Day 5
Visited the Dusit Palace complex which houses the Vivanmek Mansion (largest golden teakwood mansion in the world) and the Ananda Samakhom Throne Hall (impressive Italian architecture masterpiece).

Would definitely like to revisit Bangkok another time.

Penang - December 2007

2008-06-27T02:52:00.000-07:00

I could not recall my first trip to Penang (in 1995), so another trip was in order.

	View of Penang Bridge from hotel room - longest bridge in the country (as far as I'm aware), at 13.5km.
	Wat Chaiyamangalaram (Thai buddist temple) where the Reclining Buddha resides. Our taxi driver referred to Wat Chaiyamangalaram as Buddha's sleeping chamber. Opposite this wat is a Burmese Temple in which the Buddha stands upright.
	The Reclining Buddha (33m long).
	Kek Lok Si Temple ("Temple of Supreme Bliss") - The main attraction here for us was the souvenir stalls. We concluded that it was best to act uninterested. We got offered more than 50% discount at one stall without even opening our mouth.
	Gurney Drive - great for food but a little too crowded for my liking.
	View from hotel window at dawn

I decided that I must mention the accommodation (Grand Continental, Penang) - the word "grand" should drop right off, as far as my touring party is concerned. The rooms were tired looking and were rather disgusting. However, the view was pretty good and the pool was pleasant(but I can't really sleep at the pool, can I?).

Melaka - December 2007

2008-06-27T01:31:00.000-07:00

Since I've never ever been to Melaka, we decided to take a day trip to Melaka from KL. We left from Puduraya in KL and arrived in Melaka Sentral. From there, we took a cab to the town centre.

	Upon arrival at the town centre, we made our way to Hoe Kee for the chicken rice balls, in case the shop got busy during lunch time. Perhaps I'm not really crazy about chicken rice, I thought it was OK. After the meal, we were on our way - sightseeing by bus no. 11 (as everything was close by).
	Miniature windmill opposite the Stadhuys. A wee bit surreal seeing a windmill in an Asian country.
	Christ Church at Dutch Square. The bright red buildings in the Square were quite a sight.
	St Paul's Church on top of St Paul's hill. Originally called "Nosa Senhora - Our Lady of the Hill".
	Tombstones with Latin and Portuguese inscriptions at St Paul's church - it was probably a good thing the place was quite crowded, otherwise it might have been a bit spooky for me.
	St Francis Xavier's statue - He was a regular visitor to St Paul's church and his body was interred here for nine months before being taken to his final resting place in Goa. Can't stop wondering whether the statue (the hand) needs to be fixed or whether it is meant to be that way.
	Porta de Santiago - one of the four main gateway into the Portuguese fortress of A' Famosa. I finally get to see the actual building!
	Replica of Melaka Sultanate Palace - excellent place to refresh my memory on those historical stuff (and also an excellent shelter from the sun!)

Putrajaya - December 2007

2008-06-21T15:53:00.001-07:00

We took a day trip to PutraJaya, the federal administrative centre of Malaysia. It is a planned city and reminds me of Canberra. We started off by taking the KLIA Transit from KL Sentral. When we arrived in Putrajaya, we prepaid for the taxi to zoom us around the various tourist spots in Putrajaya (in one hour) before taking us to the Mines Shopping Fair.

	Seri Wawasan Bridge with its sail-ship apprearance.
	Putra Mosque - the principal mosque for Putrajaya.
	Istana Darul Ehsan - one of the royal residences of the Sultan of Selangor.
	Perdana Putra which houses the Malaysian Prime Minister's office complex.
	Istana Melawati - second national palace and serving as a royal retreat for the King. (According to our taxi driver - best viewed from faraway).
	Seri Perdana - official residence of the Malaysian Prime Minister.
	Mines Shopping Fair - I had to come here to see the canal running through a mall. There wasn't all that much at the mall (or maybe I was just sick of shopping after 5 days in Bukit Bintang).

Kuala Lumpur - December 2007

2008-06-21T14:19:00.000-07:00

My family and I stopped over KL last December. We arrived close to midnight and prepaid for a taxi (less than RM 70) to take us to Bukit Bintang. The hotel (Corona Inn) was average but given that we were going to be out most of the time, I was not fussed. It was close enough to the shopping and the food. (Apparently there were "ladies of the night" operating around the area - according to my fellow travellers who were jet lagged). Sights along the way:

	Transitting at the Changi Airport - We stumbled upon this sunflower garden in our bid to find "fresh air". I have never seen bigger sunflowers in my life.
	View from the Skybridge at Petronas Twin Towers. We arrived before 8am but still had to queue for almost 2 hours to get our free tickets (limited) to the Skybridge.
	Instead of chartering a taxi, we took the hop-on-hop-off bus which took us to the various tourist spots in the city. It stopped for 5-10 minutes at every stop which is long enough if you only wanted to stop for pictures.
	Tugu Negara (or National Monument) - dedicated to the heroic fighters in the cause of peace and freedom. Each of the bronze figure symbolizes leadership, suffering, unity, vigilance, strength, courage and sacrifice. (Memories of school lessons coming back now...)
	Istana Negara (or National Palace) - royal guard. We were lucky the bus stopped long enough for us to witness the changing of the guard ceremonial as well. I have always thought you only have such ceremonial at Buckingham Palace.
	Malaysia's national flower - Bunga Raya (or Hibiscus) at the Hibiscus Garden with Lake Gardens.
	Sultan Abdul Samad building in front of Dataran Merdeka (literally Independence Square). It was good to see the actual building, rather than from books and postcards.
	Dragon's Beard Candy - This candy deserves a mention. I've been looking for it since I last had it in 1996 and I finally found it in Sungai Wang Plaza. It is basically candy (repeatedly stretched and folded, and covered in glutinous rice flour) wrapped around crushed peanuts. It would have been fascinating to watch the process, but the stall only sold the finished products that day.

West Coast, Wanaka & Tekapo - December 2007

2008-01-30T21:30:00.000-08:00

In mid-December, I took a 3 day trip to Wanaka and Tekapo (through the West Coast and Haast Pass) with my brother and a friend. Covering this route in 3 days is a bit hectic but achievable.
Day 1: Christchurch - Arthurs Pass - Hokitika - Fox Glacier - Haast Pass - Wanaka

	Departed Christchurch around 7am. Low clouds encountered on the way to Arthurs Pass, where we stopped for breakfast.
	Otira Gorge Viaduct: Located a few kilometers beyond Arthurs Pass.
	Fox Glacier ("Te Moeka O Tuawe" in Maori; which means the sleeping place of Tuawe) in the West Coast of NZ's South Island. The terminal of the glacier is approximately an hour's walk (return) from the carpark.
	Due to the rainy weather, the waterfalls look great. However, it meant having to cross tiny "streams" on our way to the terminal.
	A closer view of Fox Glacier...
	Ship Creek (near Haast) - found this to be a nice quiet beach - lots of sandflies though!! We drove through the Haast region. My first impression of this place - nice but unfortunately the rainy weather did not permit any picture taking. Ah well, an excuse to come back another day ...
	Thunder Creek Falls: 55 kms east from Haast. A short walk from the main road.
	Wanaka: Stayed overnight here. We arrived late evening but luckily not too dark to enjoy dinner by the lakeside.

Day 2: Wanaka - Queenstown - Lake Tekapo

	Started the day with breakfast by the lake. Then we went off to Stuart Landsborough's Puzzling World. There, we tried the Great Maze and visited the Illusions Rooms (including the Tilted House, the Ames Forced Perspective Room, and the Hall of Following Faces) and the Roman-styled toilets (do go even if you don't have to and bring the camera too!) There're also plenty of free puzzles to play with.
	After spending the morning at the Puzzling World, we drove to Queenstown through the Crown Range Road (my first time). This route is shorter than going through Cromwell and is very scenic. However, a part of the road after the Cadrona township is fairly steep and zig zags down towards State Highway 6. I'd be freaking out if I were the one driving.
	After a short trip to Queenstown, we drove to Lake Tekapo through Cromwell and Lindis Pass. Saw a lot of lupins along the way. Plenty around this region in December. Overnight at Lake Tekapo.

Day 3: Lake Tekapo - Lake Pukaki - Mt Cook - Lake Tekapo - Christchurch

	Lake Tekapo on a cloudy morning - I've never seen the lake early in the morning but it's not that impressive when the sun is not out...
	Lake Pukaki
	Mueller Glacial Lake: This grey milky coloured lake is approx one hour return walk from the White Horse Hill campground (near Mt Cook Village). The upwards climb was certainly a bit challenging... perhaps breakfast beforehand would have helped.
	Back to Lake Tekapo when the sun is out - note the colour difference!
	View from inside the Good Shepherd Church
	Outside view of the church.
	Up close with Lake Tekapo

For more pictures, visit the following:
Lake Tekapo - December 2007
South Island Lakes - November 2007

Lake Tekapo, Lake Pukaki & Mt Cook

2007-11-22T21:09:00.001-08:00

I revisited Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki during the Canterbury Show Day. This time, I ventured a little further to the Mt John Observatory and the Mt Cook Village as well. Lake Tekapo has always been one of my favourites (if not THE favourite), but this time, I found Lake Pukaki even more breathtaking. These photos do not really do these lake enough justice - you've got to be here yourself (on a clear sunny day) to appreciate these lakes.

	Lake Tekapo: This lake usually has a stunning turquoise colour (the result of glacier-ground rock sediment in the water). I think it was the colour of the lake that won me over and lures me to return almost annually. I was a little disappointed I did not see it this time - the lake appeared more blue than turquoise. Tekapo is a Maori word meaning night sleeping place (Taka = "sleeping mat"; Po = "night").
	Church of the Good Shepherd: This church, which lies on the shores of Lake Tekapo, is arguably one of the most photographed church in New Zealand.
	The church has an altar window which frames the view of the lake and the mountain.
	Lake Alexandrina: This lake lies beside Lake Tekapo; this picture is taken from Mt John Observatory (where there is also a great view of Lake Tekapo). Oh yeah, there's a timny cafe at the Observatory where you can sit and enjoy the view (which we did).
	Lake Pukaki: This lake has a nice shade of blue (also caused by glacial flour) and the scenery is breathtaking particularly when you can see the peak of Mt Cook (Aoraki) in the background (apparently not that often). The meaning of Pukaki in Maori is "bunched-up water".
	Reflections in Lake Pukaki...
	... more reflections - can't get enough of them!!!
	View of Mt Cook on the way to the Mt Cook Village...
	Mt Cook (Aoraki): The highest mountain in NZ. Aoraki means "cloud piercer".

West Coast - October 2007

2007-11-19T23:17:00.000-08:00

	Spent the Labour Weekend visiting the West Coast (from Westport to Karamea). Stopped by Lake Brunner on our way to West Coast. The lake, named after Thomas Brunner, has the Maori name Moana Kotuku, meaning “lake of the white heron”. (We didn't see a heron though).
	Was quite impressed by the scenery in Karamea. Unfortunately it was raining most of the time - so we didn't take too many pictures. The weather cleared for a while for us to take a walk and snap this clear reflection at the Mirror Tarn. Would like to revisit this region some day...
	We were based in a holiday home in Ngakawau. The great thing about this place is that the beach is merely 15-20m from the backdoor! Could hear the waves crashing in continuously...
	Keep forgetting to buy C a cake for her birthday so we made use of natural resources at the beach - it is afterall the thoughts that count :P
	Here's what we have to say before we left...

Akaroa - September 2007

2007-11-19T22:26:00.000-08:00

	Drove to Akaroa to check out Le Jour du Marché (Market Day) and the 2007 French Fest. Enjoyed the French music while walking down the main street in Akaroa. Had escargot/snails at the market (yay!). A little disappointed there weren't more things French...
	We took the scenic route on our way out. Great views (see pic) but a bit dizzying. We even "chased" after a bunny which insisted on running in middle of the road right in front of the car...
	Stopped for late lunch at the Hilltop - good decent sized meals and breathtaking views. Could have sat there until dinner really.

Nelson Lakes - June 2007

2007-11-18T22:21:00.000-08:00

	Spent Queen's Birthday in the Nelson Lakes region. We stayed at the Alpine Lodge (in St Arnaud village) which is very close to Lake Rotoiti. The other main lake in this region is Lake Rotorua (not to be confused with the one in the North Island!). Found this region very peaceful. Unfortunately, the weather did not permit us undertaking too many walks around the region.
	In Maori mythology, the lakes were created by the great chief Rakaihaitu digging holes with his ko (digging stick). One great hole became Lake Rotoiti (small waters) and ...
	... the other Lake Rotoroa (large waters). Later geologists described the lakes as basins scooped out by glaciers.
	Another highlight - standing on the Alpine Fault Line.

Sydney - April 2007

2007-11-18T00:55:00.000-08:00

	Catching up on my blog entries... haven't logged on for so long that I have even forgotten how to log on! Uploading some pics of my third trip to Sydney in April 2007. Got a good bargain to jump in a plane and hop across the Tasman for a few days. It is meant to be a cruisy trip so we spent quite a bit of time people-watching while sipping coffee :) New places covered this time include:
	Sydney Opera House: We did a tour of the Opera House, and I was sufficiently impressed by the Concert Hall to want to attend a concert there some day.
	Luna Park: We did a few rides here but did not have enough courage in the bag to try them all.
	St Mary's Cathedral: Missed the Crypt - will have to visit that the next time I'm in Sydney.

Rangitoto

2007-02-18T23:37:00.000-08:00

I'm finally giving this blog a go... I was hit by the "blogger-mania" at home a little while back, registered a blog name (thanks to my sis) but never got round to making a post. Let me start with my weekend in Auckland...

I took the time to visit Rangitoto Island with my sis. The walk to the summit (about 45 mins to 1 hour) was a little more challenging than I had anticipated - the supposedly "gentle" climb was still a little much for me (who is obviously unfit). The view from the summit made the climb worthwhile though. We also saw the "Queen Mary 2" cruise liner on our ferry ride back - everyone was trying to take a picture of the cruise liner on its only day in Auckland. I took the last flight out of Auckland and hence, missed the CNY reunion dinner. All I had for dinner was a biscuit and cup of coffee from Air NZ.