NZ Trip ( Hamilton - Rotorua )

Went around Hamilton on 28th morning. It was raining the night before and the morning was wet too. Huhu. Sajuk bah kalau hujan. 

Braved the rain and toured the Hamilton Gardens. Free admission! And it's amazing to see so many types of plants and flowers and the way they maintain it is amazing. Different gardens with different themes

Like this one is inspired by the Indian gardens. I especially love the Rose Garden they have. Summer in NZ means it's the blooming time for roses. Sweet smell of roses greets me when I reach the area. Awesome!

Yang paling merah ni yang paling wangi. ^_^

We also visited Waikato Museum. It's also free admission. Hahaha. Sangat happy ok kalau jumpa yang free admission. 

The museum is worth a visit if you are the type of person who love to know more about the history of a place.

Then off we go to the Hobbitons. An hour drive along scenic view, rolling hills and grazing cattles and sheeps in the vast land. 

The little white dots on the green pastures are sheeps. They are always always eating. Makan saja mana nda gumuk. Lembu pun sama. 

The Hobbitons is like in the rural areas. Imagine when the director of the film LOTR went to scout for area of filming they used helicopter to go around because the roads going to these places last time was so small! Thanks to the film now they commercialized the place and it's accessible for tours.

The weather changes like my mother's mood. Satu kali panas terpaksa buka sweater, then skijap angin datang, sajuk mengigil, skijap lagi hujan terpaksa pakai payung. So unpredictable. 

This is the most famous hobbit hole. Recognize this one? Paling selalu kena nampak in the movie kan. Anyway the hobbit holes, not all of them can be accessible and don't expect to see the insides of the hobbit hole here. The scene inside was filmed in the studio. There's only one hobbit hole where you can go in. (Tapi teda apa apa di dalam tu).

At the end of the Hobbiton tour you will be at the Green Dragon Inn. Here they will serve your choice of complimentary drinks and you can actually order food as well.

The Hobbiton tour is 75NZD per pax.

Reached Rotorua on the same day but we only started touring around today (29 Nov). You will know you have reached Rotorua once you smell fart in the air. Yea, the sulphur smell is so prominent in the air here because it is the heart of the geothermal activity.

Here in this town also is the heart of the Maori culture. And me being the lover of anything cultural, it's like heaven to me

The beginning of a tour

Learned a lot about the Maori culture today. And do you know that there is no more pure blooded Maori around. All that's left now are the mixed descents.

Geysers amazed me. We only have hot springs back home and I never seen anything like this. So powerful. Awesome.

Boiling hot water just shooting up from te rocks.

There's a blue lake nearby the geysers. It's alkaline waters.

Met up with my friend, Rachel, who is currently working in NZ. So good to see her. She joined us touring the Redwoods.

Check out the size of the trees!

Basically Rotorua is a place full of geothermal activities. Love Rotorua! And the hot water at the motel we are staying is also from the hot spring.

The Studio Motel and this is our room. 

It's a very cute place and it's decorated to really feel like home.

Off to another town tomorrow after staying two nights here.