(I had typed this up in my laptop at the end of the day, but had no Internet access so could not upload it until July 14th)

Happy birthday to me!

I was warm when I went to bed, but I was cold when I woke up Jin and I finally rolled out of bed about 7.35am, and went down for breakfast. We made pancakes which turned out fine this time! We had pancakes with lemon juice and maple syrup, and kiwi and banana on top. Yums.

We made it to the top of the mountain without chains, as it was such a lovely day. There was barely any ice on the road, and there were many people making their way up too. We parked at Daypark 4 yesterday; this time we had to park at Daypark 5 which was further down

This time we didn?t bring any foodstuff with us, because we learnt from yesterday that we wouldn?t drink our water nor eat any of our food (although we were very thankful for the fruits and the yoghurt during the wait for roadside assistance) as we opted for hot food from the Happy Valley Bistro.

I decided to sign up for Discover Ski today, because I figured that I might as well try skiing while I?m all the way here. We arrived at 9.45am, so I got my skis, boots and poles and hung around until the 10.30am class started.

There were about 9 or 10 of us, with 3 Asians (the other 2 were a couple). Here?s what we learnt (in order):

• Learnt about our skis and poles, and how to strap ourselves in.
• Glided on one ski.
• Strap both feet in, and learn to glide forward and backward.
• Learnt to side-step up a slope.
• Learnt to stop by forming a wedge (?V? shape).
• Glide forward on both skis, jump (to test balance), and stop
• Glide forward, slow down with a small wedge, keep going, stop with a bigger wedge.
• Learnt to form the opposite wedge to stop going backward, and same formation to climb up a gentle slope.

This was all in one tiny section of the slopes

Then we moved on to:

• Learning to turn left and right by maintaining the wedge, and turning the feet, but without leaning.

And then:

• Go down the slopes in small sections by turning left/right, and also weaving.

When we made it all the way to the bottom, we took the chair lift up, and waited for our instructor, Chris to give us a final briefing before dismissing us.

During the simple glide and jump, Chris actually asked me, ?This isn?t your first time skiing, is it?? to which I told him it was. He said I wasn?t bad. Woohoo!!

I was one of the few in the group who didn?t fall at all during the lesson. There was one other man, but he had skied before. Everyone else fell, especially the Asian couple. Perhaps they weren?t very good at English, but they didn?t really follow the instructions. For example, when we were taking turns to do the simple glides, we were supposed to side-step up, but for some reason, they were trying to push themselves forward, and of course kept sliding back. And even when we glided forward, we were supposed to do a small wedge to keep our speed under control, and Chris had to keep yelling at Steven (the Chinese guy) to do a wedge… all the time! I think Chris was rather impressed that for a first-timer, I caught on pretty quickly and was able to maneuver rather well. It?s really like ice-skating, or rollerblading, and since I can kinda do both (albeit at a very basic level), it?s easy to pick this up.

In fact, I didn?t fall at all whenever I skied today. I did fall though, but on other occasions…

I skied all the way down practising what I learnt, and when I made it to the bottom, I didn?t want to get in line with the long queues at the chair lifts, so I tried the other lift (the one you sit on and it drags you up along the snow – I don’t know what it’s called), but because it was my first time and I didn?t know what to expect, I promptly fell right off. Unfortunately, my ski pole got caught in the seat thing, and although they yelled at me to let go, I did try, but it took a few seconds before I managed to let go completely. Because of me, they had to stop the lifts because the seat I was on had been yanked off. Someone even had to come down on a motored snowcar to see what was wrong. It was sooooooo embarrassing…

I went back to wait for another try, but many of those in line just kept going until finally one lady smiled and allowed me to give it a go. I managed to get on without falling this time, because one of the workers yelled at me to stand straight.

However the lift only went halfway up the slope (I didn?t notice!), so when I got off I called Jin to find out where she was. She was at the cafe, so she glided down. In fact, during my class, she had a break at the cafe with hot choc and fries, and after that she continued with her snowboarding. Yesterday I had been really cold; today I was really hot!

We made it to the bottom, and then took the chair lift up; then we took a break. Well, I needed a break because I hadn?t had one, so we had hot chocolate each, and she got a donut and I had a chicken salad sandwich. It was such a lovely day out so we sat outside and had our meal, before having another couple of runs down the hill.

There was once when we got to the top of the hill, and there was another small slope higher which was accessible by the same type of seat lift; so I had a go on that lift and I managed to get up fine; but I dismounted too early, and I slid back into the next skier and we fell!!! It was so embarrassing. We had to scoot out of the way for the next skier, and she even had to help me unbuckle my ski. I had trouble putting my ski back on (like the true beginner I was) and glided down to where Jin was laughing at me.

The wait for the chair lifts were ridiculously long though… there were too many people today. We spent most of our time waiting in line instead of spending it in the snow!

After the second run, Jin wanted to go to the lower mountain, so she went up while I had another go down the hill. I got onto the chair lift with a boy, but my ski got stuck and it snapped off when I was seated, and the worker had to run after me to hand me my ski.

It was about 3.30 when I returned all the rental stuff and took the chair lift back up to the main center. I sat with a white lady from South Africa and chatted as we went up; and promptly fell on the ice the moment I got off.

My boots had no grip at all and I couldn?t even walk up a tiny slope as I kept sliding; so I had to crawl on my knees up the slope and crossed over to the other side to wait for Jin. There was free hot blackcurrant juice which kept me warm while I waited, but I didn?t need to wait too long. As we were walking I unfortunately found out that my sunglasses were broken… in fact, during the ski lesson, the left leg had lost the nuts, and the only way to keep them on was to wear the hat; but as we were walking, I found out that the other leg was lost; so I had to bin them. And as we were walking and talking, my blackcurrant juice went down the wrong way and I suddenly had to stop, squat, and cough to Jin?s surprise.

The walk down to the car wasn?t as bad as it was yesterday even though it was further, mainly because there was no wind today. It was really a beautiful day!

I wanted to make a snowman, so we drove down to the flat fields near Chateau Tongariro. I tried to make a snow angel that didn?t work out; I tried to make a snowman that turned out pathetic. Well, at least I tried… the snow just wasn?t right for the snowman.

We drove back to the National Park Village and Jin wanted to look for a leash for her snowboard, so we followed some signs until we found a ski shop. The leash was too expensive for her liking though, so we left and went back to the lodge.

The past few nights whenever we came back we always found our heater was not working, and today was no different. I had to ask someone to come up and fix it.

After a lovely hot shower each, we dragged ourselves downstairs for dinner about 6pm. We each had the same thing we had last night – Jin with her Indomie Goreng and fried egg, and I had the cheese bake + pak choy + garlic. She had juice this time though, and I had the Belgian hot chocolate. We only had the pear for dessert because we were so full.

I?m not stiff yet, although Jin was quite stiff today. My shoulders are a bit sore though, and my knees are bruised from yesterday. My right hand is a bit weathered, because when I slipped on the icy road yesterday, I landed on my right bum and my right wrist. Today it was made worse because when I fell off the simple lift, the pole strap yanked across my wrist, and I have a bruise to show for it. It?s like I ?single-handedly? stopped the lift from working… literally!!

My shins are also aching because the ski boots are really stiff. I think it?s also partly because my pants which I pushed into the boots with my socked feet were not smoothed down properly and the folds must have pressed against them. They had hurt from the moment I wore them, and the pressure was there the whole day. I didn?t think of the pain when I was skiing, but everytime I stopped (when I got in line for the lifts, when I took a break for lunch) the pain was very ?visible?. When I took them off, I could see the swell on my shins. It?s very similar to wearing ice-skating boots; the boots are very stiff and held the feet very firmly. I find ice-skating boots very uncomfortable too.

Personally I think I prefer snowboarding to skiing. Yes, skiing is a lot easier (and I didn?t fall at all, even when I got off the chair lift compared to snowboarding) but that?s the thing… beginner skiing is so easy, whereas beginner snowboarding is loads harder! And although I don?t really mind falling, what puts me off about falling when skiiing is that it?s so hard to get up. There are the poles and the skis to think about… I?ve seen people struggling to get up when they fall during skiing. Even when I fell off the simple lifts, it was a real struggle trying to get up again. For snowboarding however, it?s so easy to get up as there was only the board to think about. And since snowboarding is a lot harder to control and maneuver, it?s a greater challenge for me.

We thought of getting up early to do half-day snowboarding or skiing, but Jin is too sore and stiff right now to even consider it. I think I won?t be too stiff tomorrow (but then, you never know), and am tempted to snowboard again. But I don?t wanna do it alone… and anyway there are still plenty of things I want to do in Rotorua!!

Jin has been asleep since about 8pm. I?m not even tired out, although do feel a little tired.

Well, that?s how I spent my birthday this year… learning to ski and snowboard!

(I had typed this up in my laptop at the end of the day, but had no Internet access so could not upload it until July 14th)

I had an awesome day today!

We thought of waking up early enough to catch the 8am shuttle to Mt Ruapehu, but we couldn?t get up so we stayed in bed until about 7.30am before finally rolling out of bed and down to the kitchen for breakfast. We found out that the roads would only open at 8.30am anyway, so there was no point waking up that early.

We had breakfast of Indomie Goreng and I made a hard boiled egg too, but I was too full after the instant noodle, so we brought the egg along in a bag with some Brunch bars and bananas and water bottles. We dressed up and then drove to Whakapapa and had chains installed on the front wheels of the car so that we could drive up the icy roads to the slopes.

We took a very slow drive up the mountain, where I found it freezing collllddddd… We parked, and then took a long walk up to the rentals area, and signed up for lessons (Discover Snowboard for me, Next Step Snowboard for Jin). Then we took a ski lift down to the Happy Valley slopes which was the beginner slope.

Jin already had boots and a snowboard, so I went to get mine. Jin taught me to put the boots on. When I went to get the snowboard, the guy was very cheeky… he told me to face one way, and then he suddenly gave me a push… and it was all to find out my stronger foot. He said that he did it to one girl, who then kept walking and he had to call her back.

Jin?s lesson would only be at 12 noon, but Discover Snowboard was every half-hour, so Jin suggested I also take the 12 noon lesson so that we wouldn?t be waiting for each other unnecessarily. It was only 10.45am, so Jin suggested that I try a fair bit of snowboarding. She taught me to bind my left (front) foot to the snowboard, and then tried to teach me to scoot with one foot. I was horrible at it She also tried to teach me to use the edge (heel or toe) and I couldn?t manage it. I kept falling over and I was really frustrated. I also tried strapping both feet in and wasn?t really much better at it.

Finally at about 11.30am we decided to head back up for our lesson so we took the ski lift back up the Happy Valley slope. I waddled over to where a group of people with snowboards were waiting near the ?Whakapapa School? signs and at about noon, a group of instructors came out to speak to us. They split us into under-13s (9 of them) and over-13s (7 of us). Fortunately I wasn?t the oldest one – everyone else was probably in their late 20s or in their 30s. I was the only Asian though; everyone else were whites who seemed to be from or are staying in NZ.

They started by teaching us to glide with one boot strapped in and the other boot free; and then to try to turn the board with the one boot still strapped in. Halfway down the slope, they told us to strap the other boot in, and then told us to try to balance with the board; and to stop the board, to lift our toes so that the heels would dig into the snow. Then we were to try little turns by lifting our back toe up, and pressing our front foot downward. I kept falling I was horrible at the turn. Managed it at one point though. However there was once I collided with another beginner and getting all tangled up with him.

After trying it all the way down, we took the lift back up with one boot still strapped in the board, and as I got off the lift, I fell… Fortunately one of the instructors was there to help me down.

This time, they taught us to use our toes instead of our heels; i.e. by digging our toes instead of digging our heels. Using the same concept to turn, we would need to flatten our front foot, and dig our back toe in. I managed this better than the heels, although I also kept falling.

The important thing is, as one of the instructors told me earlier, was to keep my hips square with my legs; to keep my body straight, and to always keep my knees bent. For the toe-digging, the torso should be straight, and the knees bent; knees can bend ahead of the snowboard.

The lesson finished about 1.45pm, and I was about to have another go when Jin came down. Jin told me that she had been the only one in her class, and she had her own private lesson, which was so cool!! I tried to glide down (not very gracefully), and then decided to go for lunch. The queue at the ski lift was long so I suggested we walk up. I regretted it as it was really tiring to carry the board uphill…

In the Happy Valley cafe, we got some hot chocolate and some hot fries… after we got warmed up, we decided to have another go on the slopes.
The wind was getting quite strong at this stage, but we decided to try anyway. I fell numerous times, cursed several times, but more or less go the hang of it with the toe-digging way instead of the heel-digging way.

We got in line for the ski lift (wasn?t going to climb back up again!!!) and some idiotic white guy cut our line, by conveniently chatting up this white girl in the next line, and glided in front of us.

I fell again as we got off the lift… this time very ungracefully. I fell sitting on the back binding of the board… AND IT HURT!!! It hurt so bad I fell on my back and slid all the way down the small slope, and my hat came off. I was kinda in other people?s way, but I couldn?t get up because I was in pain. One of the men manning the lift took my hat and gave it to me and told us not to block the way. It was embarrassing, but hey, it hurt!!!

I had to wait a few minutes for the pain to subside, before I strapped on my boots again and had another go down the slope. The wind was really bad this time, and when we reached the foot, they said the lift was going to be closed soon (about 4pm). Jin and I took off our boards and held them as we went up the lift. We strapped them on again one last time and then glided our way to the rentals section where I returned the board and boots. Then we took the other lift back up the carpark.

I had a fall and slipped on the road once, and hurt my right ass and my right wrist. The injury wasn’t serious, but it was still painful nevertheless. We finally made our way to the car where horror of horrors… the battery was flat. Jin had accidentally left the car lights on!!! We tried asking the car next to us if they had jumpstart cables but they said they didn?t, and they left us without offering any other help.

Fortunately that very morning Jin had signed up for comprehensive motor insurance over the phone, and she called roadside assistance. It would take 45 minutes they said, to get someone from Whakapapa Village up, and since we didn?t have a choice, we removed our boots, crawled to the back seat where we had brought a duvet from her home, and snuggled there trying to keep warm. There was a jam on the roads as people were trying to drive down anyway, so we convinced ourselves that it didn?t make much of a difference.

AA came up in 30 minutes instead of 45 minutes, and in a matter of minutes had the car jumpstarted. We didn?t even need to wait or anything, we could straightaway drive off!

Our chains were removed before we barely started down the roads; but I suppose it was easier downhill than up, and Jin made it very slowly down the hill. We got back to the National Backpackers, and had a nice warm shower each. At about 8pm we went down to make dinner – Indomie Goreng for her, pasta cheese bake for me, this time with garlic and pak choy; and we had a fried egg each. Jin told me that some people have been pinching our milk though, as there was only 2/3 left – we had only used a little bit this morning for our Milo. Well… I suppose you can?t expect much from a budget lodging like this. Anyway, we cut fruits for dinner, and then went back up to bed.

Jin?s asleep now, and I?m awake typing this. I took a painkiller, and I hope that my bum won?t be too sore… as we want another go on the slopes!! Thinking of doing ski this time, although would love to try snowboarding again. But I only have 2 days here, and I might as well try the works.

(I had typed this up in my laptop at the end of the day, but had no Internet access so could not upload it until July 14th)

We woke up about 7.30am and I was freezing cold! Jin was all warm though.. she had slept in only spaghetti strap and shorts! Me? I was all bundled up with 2 layers in the top as well as the bottom, plus gloves + socks. And I was still cold…

We were the first ones in the kitchen, and we tried to make pancakes… but the pancakes turned out black. Maybe the pan was too hot But they were certainly inedible. Jin had made Indomie Goreng for herself already anyway, so I just made another packet for myself.

We checked out a little after 8am, but we heard that the roads to Whakapapa were closed. Bummer!!! (Whakapapa Village was the base of Mt Ruapehu which we wanted to go to for snowboarding) However we decided to try our luck later by driving down to Turangi in the afternoon, and see if the roads would open later.

I had decided to try the bungy as well as the tandem skydive, but the wind was insane! So we went to the Taupo Bungy first and asked if I could bungy in spite of the wind. They said it was not a problem… and I was the first one of the day at 9.15am! I managed to use an AA voucher so that I paid only $88 for the jump instead of $105, but I added on a video and photo DVD as well.

I was very nervous, and it took the second try before I went off. What I liked about them was that they were so no-nonsense about it, and they made it feel like it was a normal everyday occurrence (which it probably is for them, since they work there!). I had asked to skim the water, but I was nowhere near touching the water. The jump was over in a matter of seconds!!

What they didn?t tell me was that I had to make a hike back up. I thought it was a short walk, so I ran initially, but I got tired and had to make a few stops on the way up. It was actually part of a nature trek, I think, because I saw cycle treks as well as warnings to look for abseiling and such. There were also ?Danger? signs warning about falling rocks.

I finally got back up amidst the freezing cold, and we had a look at our photos and the video before we went off. It was super! The only thing was, it wasn?t as exhilarating as I hoped it would be. Perhaps because I?ve bungeed before in Koh Samui so I knew what to expect. It was actually shorter than in Koh Samui – it was only 47m (Koh Samui was 50m).

I had booked for a tandem skydive with Freefall Skydive for 1pm, but we weren?t sure whether I could actually dive because of the gale. I called them, but they told me to call back at 12.30-12.40pm. With so much time to kill, we decided to try to go to Honey Hive which promised free entry and free honey tasting. We first went to a shop and left Jin?s snowboard there to be waxed, then we went over to Honey Hive.

But… Honey Hive was closed!!

I tried calling them but I got to a fax instead. Another car with a white family also stopped, and the man went down to take a look at the inside, and we asked what he saw but he said it was all cleaned out inside.

So we drove back to Taupo town and stopped at the Information Centre to check on the information about the roads to Mt Ruapehu, but according to them, the roads were still closed. It was a beautifully sunny day though, so we hoped that the snow would have stopped and the roads would be cleared by afternoon.

We had a cuppa in a cafe, where I tried a Mexi-Choc, which was hot chocolate with a hint of chilli. It was pretty interesting, and not bad actually. We then went back to the snowboarding shop only to find that her board has been edged, but not waxed yet. Apparently they were understaffed, so we waited until it was waxed (only $35 for edging+waxing) and then we pushed off. Jin found out that Honey Hive had a fire a few weeks ago which was probably why it was still closed.

It was about noon and we didn?t know what to do, so we went over to Taupo Airport and see the Freefall Skydive people anyway. We waited there, and while waiting, they played a DVD for us. The wind had considerably died down since morning, and I was very fortunate… WE COULD SKYDIVE!!

I had an AA voucher for 10% off the DVD photo+video, and I opted for the full package – from 15000 feet + DVD + T-shirt. I didn?t know the AA voucher was still valid even for the package, which was cool! It was applicable only for the price of the DVDs, but still, better than nothing, right?

So I got all buckled up and there was a British couple with me in the plane. The lady told me that they had been up in the air the past 3 days but couldn?t jump because of the wind. I guess I was very fortunate because I could jump on my first day!

We were up there in the tiny plane and it was really scary because I was right next to the flexi-glass sliding door… it was like, if it accidentally opened, I could tumble right out!!

I was the first one out the door, and as advised, I screamed as I left the plane. In fact I kinda kept screaming throughout the experience. I wanted to try the swimming action and the ?Superman? action but somehow I just couldn?t get my hands to move. The air was just keeping them up!

Then my skydivemaster told me to hang on to the harness and the parachute suddenly bloomed up. And I had a fantastic view of Taupo! It was probably for over a minute and all I could think of was my poor cold nose and my upset ears but I still enjoyed the view nonetheless. I did want to ask him if I could steer the parachute, but I admitted to him that I wouldn?t really dare try.

We got back down to the ground safely and waited for the couple. There was a last video shot of us jumping up and down and screaming.
We had to wait for the video to be processed, and we went to a little video room to watch it. Boy, I looked awful! Because I was screaming all the way, I guess. The couple managed to do stunts and all that and I didn?t

Jin and I got back on the road and made our way to Turangi. We stopped by the Information Centre where we found out that the motorway to Whakapapa was open!!! Without much ado, we hit the road!!

We made our way to Whakapapa Village, past the Chateau Tongariro (it costs $200 a night) and tried to look for our motel (National Backpackers) but couldn?t find it, so we stopped by the Info Center. I saw my first snow here… and my first contact too. When I got out of the car, I was striding without thinking and fell and slip on the road right away. It was pretty funny and embarrassing too because there were a bunch of teen boys nearby playing with the snow.

With more care, I made my way to the Info Center with Jin, and went to find out where the National Park was. We thought of trying to get a room at Skotel instead (which was within Whakapapa Village, which is at the base of Mt Ruapehu), and we tried to go there, but Jin?s car couldn?t get up the slope where the Skotel was, so she slid back out. We thought of trying a 3-point turn, but she couldn?t see behind her, so I got out of the car and guided her to an entry lane into a private parking lot, but as she tried to turn out, the car got stuck. It was a nightmare then… there were a bunch of teen boys and girls sledding nearby but they didn?t bother coming over to help. Jin saw a family walking nearby, and quickly asked the man for help. He, his wife, and his daughters were very willing to help us push the car, and we finally managed to get the car moving again. He advised us in the future to not step on the accelerator as it would just dig into the snow; he told us to just accelerate lightly.
Well it was an auto car so it was hard to control. Still, what an adventure

Because of that stupid slope, we decided not to stay in Skotel and made our way over to National Backpacker?s at National Park instead, which was a good 12 km away. Although we had booked our rooms, we hadn?t confirmed them… thankfully they were still available!! We checked in and dumped our things in our room, then we made dinner. Dinner was Indomie Goreng (again!) for Jin, and I had macaroni with cheese bake. There was too much though, and I ate less than half. We struggled through some pears, and then we turned in to sleep.

(I had typed this up in my laptop at the end of the day, but had no Internet access so could not upload it until July 14th)

We were supposed to wake up early today, to see Toby, Jin’s farmer friend, shifting the cows at 7.45am. I was awake since about 5am, and couldn?t go back to sleep. Perhaps because I was excited; but I didn?t feel excited, although I did think of the skydiving and bungy jumping. I think it was mostly because of the cold.

The past week, I?ve been sleeping with a pair of gloves and a pair of socks on because of the cold, but I?ve noticed that everytime I wake up, only my right glove remains. Both my socks and my left glove will always have disappeared – and I would have to strip the bed to look for them! This happens not only at Jin?s, but also in my aunt?s at Auckland.

My back has been aching too, since the second day I was here. I don?t know why it is, but it is. And it got worse when I stayed at Jin?s because I was sleeping in a sofa bed which isn?t completely straight (there are ?dents? where the folds are) and it?s rather hard. I like firm beds, but I didn?t know the damage this bed could do to my back. After the first night my back hurt but not really very badly; this morning I couldn?t bend forward without hurting Fortunately Jin had some Deep Heat rub which has helped alleviate some of the pain. I don?t want to hurt before I?ve done some serious activities! But then, since when has back pain ever stopped me?

Oh, one thing before I forget… the weird thing about New Zealand is that in the houses, there are no locks on any of the doors; the doorknobs are merely there to open the doors out from their doorframes. The only room in the entire house which has a lockable door is the lavatory – even the shower room/bathrooms have no locks! By the way, because it?s a typical white man?s land, the lavatory and the bathrooms are separate. The lavatory typically does not have any sinks or hoses in them. A bit of pain for me, really

Anyway, this morning, I finally rolled out of bed by 7am, and was dressed and ready by about 7.30am. It was raining – nay, there were hailstones! I?ve seen my first hailstones!!

Because of the rain and the hailstones, we didn?t leave early to see the cows. Jin and Matt made pancakes, and we waited for the rain to subside before we piled the things into the car and went on our way. Poor Matt would be left alone as he was not following us on this holiday… Jin said it?s the first time they?re spending their holidays apart! Matt even gave me a hug and told me to take care of Jin. He?s such a nice sweet guy.

Anyway, so we finally made our way about 8.30am, amidst the rain and hailstones. Jin drove for the first 3 hours, and unfortunately I was sneezing and sniffing ( I DO NOT WANT TO BE SICK ON MY ROAD TRIP!! THIS IS MY FIRST ROAD TRIP, MY FIRST SNOWY WINTER, AND MY FIRST VACATION FOR AGES, AND I WANT TO ENJOY IT!!!

However although I was sneezing and sniffing, I wasn?t feeling miserable, although a bit sleepy. I took a nap before I took over the wheel for the next three hours. Then Jin drove a little bit more, and as we neared Taupo, we made some tourist stops.

We first stopped at the Huka Falls, which at this lookout point was just part of the long Huka River. The falls were very strong and rushed; the river was so lovely and clean and clear. It was aqua green with white foam, rushing through with such ferocity, that I feared it and admired it at the same time. One of the signs explained that it eroded the soil (it rushed from a narrow path to a sudden wide river) and over time it will continue to erode.

Then we drove over to the Craters of the Moon, and it was $5 entry per person; but I figured hey, I came all the way here via a RM3k++ flight, what?s $5?! So we went in. The lady advised us that it would take about 45 minutes to an hour, and to always keep to the trail.

They name it Craters of the Moon because of the huge craters formed by the sulphuric thermal gases that spout out from the ground. Interestingly there were no rangers or personnel placed in the park; we were left to roam freely on our own. They did put up signs of ?Danger? etc, and Jin and I kept faithfully to the trail. This place was a real sight to behold – there were tufts of steam, both large and small, spouting out from the ground! Even when we looked down some of the smaller craters near the trail, we could not pinpoint the exact source of the steam.

There were a few ?lookout points? placed in the park near gigantic craters; one of them was a ?mud crater? which was full of mud which wasn?t bubbling when we were there. However, off to the side, we did see some bubbling mud.

We could hear hisses and bubbling sounds as water boiled, or the thermal gas escaped the ground. There were certainly a lot of greenery – they apparently thrive on the hot gases. One of the signs said that skin burns at 50?C; some of these plants thrive at 70?C! Water boils at 100?C (duh!) and these gases are at 140?C. Whoo!! That?s hot.

Within the park, there were two alternative routes at the end; a steep climb, or an easy walk to the end. The lady had advised us to take the steep climb as it was worth it, so we did, and yes, it was worth it. From the top, we could see a beautiful view of part of the park, with the steam spouting as if the greens were on fire!

We then made our way back and headed on to the town of Taupo. We stopped by the Info Centre (i-Site) first to check out some brochures and info about Taupo, and then we went on to our stay for the night which is Tiki Lodge.

Tiki Lodge is a backpacker?s boarding place, with shared bathrooms and a common kitchen/TV room/lounge. In fact, right now, I?m sitting in the common lounge next to the pot stove fireplace (which Jin says is ?fake? because there?s blue fire, indicating that gas is used although there were pieces of wood in there).

The shared bathrooms were surprisingly very clean and tidy, and they even provided hairdryers. However Jin and I had opted for a double room with ensuite bathroom as we didn?t want to share bathrooms and weren?t sure what the people would be like. Our room is pretty near the common rooms.

After unloading our bags, we went to Pak n? Save and bought some food items including things to be made for dinner. Jin craved Indomie - and we found some!!

We made dinner of Indomie Goreng at the common kitchen, with some pak choy which she brought from home, and some chicken breast which we had bought from Pak n? Save. We even had some mango and yoghurt. Yummmm.

Everyone was supposed to clean up after him/herself, but some of the earlier lodgers had just left unwashed utensils in the sink which was extremely thoughtless. We just washed the things we used though. We won?t clean up after other people!

Jin was tired so she went to bed early, and I was feeling a little tired but I wanted a walk around town. So I bundled myself up and walked around the town alone. It was only after 8pm, but the town was as dead as a doornail. Almost all the shops were closed, and there were hardly any people in the streets. I must say that I suppose the town is safe, but having grown up in a city (ridden with crimes likes snatch thefts, rape and the like, no less), I was a bit nervous being all alone. I constantly looked behind and around me to make sure no one was tailing me either on foot or in a car, and anytime I felt uncomfortable about walking down a street, I skipped the street.

I did find a street where there was some form of nightlife; it was where all the pubs were. There were certainly more people there than in all the other streets.

There was also a 24-hour McD, and the petrol stations were still open. However I finished my walk quite quickly and got back to the lodge by about 9pm. I was glad to be back because my nose was almost frozen! I forgot my scarf to wrap around my nose.

So now I?m drinking teh-o next to the gas-wood fire enjoying the warmth. Jin is asleep and I suppose I?ll have to go soon too. Tomorrow I?m planning to bungy and skydive – and as I?m the one doing it and not Jin, I?ll need all the sleep I can get!!

Today was another uneventful day in Dargaville. Jin wanted to take me to her school in the morning, but she had a doctor’s appointment so I slept in. I woke up late, and made myself a simple breakfast of my aunt’s banana-chocolate muffin (yummmssss!!!) and watched Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind on DVD. Yeah yeah I know that it’s a weird thing to do on a holiday… but hey, I’m on holiday. I’ve always wanted to watch that movie anyway eversince I found out the storyline.

Jin came back and then took me for lunch at Blah, Blah, Blah cafe where we had panini (delicious!!). I had the smoked chicken panini. Then we went to her school (Dargaville High School) as she still had classes. Because she had to sit in with some of her students for detention, she got one of her colleague, Karen to take me around. Karen is a lovely, bubbly woman (she’s got a 15-year-old daughter, but she doesn’t look it!!) who the kids obviously love, and she took me with her on her “duty”. I saw the school’s staffroom, office, gymnasium (the gym has not only a weight room, but a climbing wall!!!!!!!!!!), and peeped outside the library. They have an indoor pool, but I didn’t see it. It was Mufti Day today, which is when the kids could wear any casual clothes (instead of their uniforms) and they could do crazy things with their hair. Some of the staff got into the spirit of things by tying/dying their hair and some even wore outrageous costumes! Mufti Day was also when people donated $2 for a charitable cause ($1 goes to the school and $1 to a local helicopter rescue thingy).

The school is really near her house, and as she had one more class to go, I walked home and watched the last of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

When Jin came home, she took me out to Baylys Beach which was one of the most BEAUTIFUL beaches I have ever seen! Actually it’s just flat with very strong waves. But it’s beautiful to me. The beach, according to Jin, stretches for 100 km. The wind was very strong, and the sand was blown over the beach, just skimming its surface. There were sand dunes, and seaweed on the shore. I thought it was heavenly, in spite of the strong wind. I love the beach. I would love to walk along it just to destress, or just to pass the time.

After the beach, Jin took me to meet a real farmer and a real farmer’s wife – the first I’ve ever met! They’re a lovely old couple who were so warm and welcoming. When I arrived at their place, even though they didn’t know me, they gave me a hug and a kiss. And when I left, they gave me a beautiful greenstone (jade) piece in a wooden frame, which can be removed and worn around my neck if I wanted.

We then rushed back, and Jin made some potatoes for Suzie’s party. The party was supposed to start at 6.30pm, but we only got there about 7pm (in typical “Malaysian time”!!!). It was a nice quiet 4th of July party – nothing rowdy or crazy. It was a quiet get-together sitting at the living room, eating potluck dinner (everything was super yummy), and then we left early to pack )

I’m too lazy to transfer the photos now, so maybe I’ll do that later. Will be on the road tomorrow onwards though, so I don’t know if I can get Internet access. Might be able to blog again only when I reach KL!!

(Updated post entry with photos on July 14th)