an effortless 1st attempt at capturing a photo of a long-legged grey crowned crane proved to be an easy task as the winged vertebrate sparsely moved at all and totally oblivious to my presence. though less challenging, the beauty of its golden feathered crown managed to hypnotize my left eye through the viewfinder for countless exposures. taken at the aviary park, taman mini indonesia indah in january 2011.
the location:
an 8km bicycle trip on an asphalt covered track through a pocket of rainforest that is bukit cerakah agricultural park, 3km north of shah alam city centre tested our endurance limit. the ride, comprised of 17 of my colleagues, who together took a day off yesterday, became part of our pleasure hunt as an escapism from any work related agenda, saved for some who had the courage (or shame) to discuss matters concerning the tax gap and data correlation with the mainframe’s capacity and users’ abundance requests. taken while tackling a downhill slope near taman budaya, as soon as we reached the top from an uphill task by pushing the bikes. obviously we spent half of the trip riding and the other half pushing. july 2011.
the location:
after putting up an engaging show, little rock and the south pacific at the mare’s leg cove near cathedral cove ended the day with gentle waves helped by a breezy afternoon and a clear blue sky. the packed audience reacted by giving a sitting ovation and demanded an encore. june 2010.
the location:
a second visit to alton towers in staffordshire in the summer of 1995 was more of an indulgence of mine to become a guide to first timer friends on our bus trip all the way from coventry. pic was taken of the lake (that has since became a waterpark :() surrounded by the alton gardens using a minolta dynax 500si slr.
the location:
a determined white egret retracted its neck and took a mid air flight from perching on a pole to swoop and capitalize on an unaware prey near the new waterfront, kota kinabalu. june 2011.
the location:
an amazing pyrotechnic display from the australian team lit up the skies above putrajaya during the 1st malaysian international fireworks competition in august 2007. the event which took place for several nights near the putrajaya international convention centre was drawing more than 3 million attendees and the beginning of a few more shows the following years. pic was taken facing southeast 2 km away from persiaran tasik in the neighbouring cyberjaya.
the location:
i always envision this particular moment, ever since i was a wee lad, looking at people dearest to me and them being happy with me. it became a reality last week when my three significant others, after sweating themselves to the activities around the large playground nearby, rested on the greens at batu metropolitan park, near jalan ipoh and did exactly that. july 2011.
the location:
the semporna floating, structures built on shallow waters of the celebes sea that comprises of accommodations, restaurants and tour operators stands proudly in welcoming visitors to semporna. the bajau inspired architecture edifice lies on the eastern tip of borneo. march 2007.
the location:
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» soul searching road trip oznz – day 13 (18/06/2010)
just slightly after the town of cambridge, we exited sh1 at piarere and entered sh29 towards the north. the weather was cloudy and cold, less than 7°c. our 1st destination of the day was to visit matamata, made famous by the lord of the rings movie location for hobbiton, the grassy slopy hills where the hobbits lived. however the actual location is a private farmland somewhere near matamata and you have to pay a lot to join the tour with a tour bus to visit the movie set. and the base of the tour is in the small rural town. i’d decided long before the trip that the only way we would be joining the tour depended on the weather. if the weather was clear with a blue sky and everything, only then we’d joined. drab weather does not a good picture make. that is my mantra. it was not worth spending nzd66 pax to take photos in hobbiton if it’s cloudy. unfortunately, the weather did not permit us to go on an expensive tour that particular morning. instead, i just parked the car near the visitor information centre, called i-site in new zealand, walked 50m to the i-site, and even the structure are designed like a hobbit’s dwelling. it was enough for us to take photos in front of the i-site. inside, zack bought some lotr keychains and fridge magnets. later we crossed the main road, the broadway, and right in the centre lies the welcome to hobbiton signage with the statue of gollum sitting next to it. they all took turns posing with gollum and i snapped as many photos as i could muster.
▼ the matamata i-site
▼ from another angle
▼ hobbiton tour bus
▼ more hobbiton inspired building
▼ gollum statue at the broadway
once they grew tired of walking around the town area, it was time to take our leave and we left the town at 11:00 am and used sh27 towards tirau. we reentered the highway (sh1) and our next destination was only planned the day before because zack and ija could not find any souvenir shops in hamilton and we needed something to bring home. there are none tourist flocked town in the vicinity other than rotorua! the journey was concentrated on reaching the town. pretty soon, my favourite smell of sulphur came flying back into my nostrils and i inhaled it with joy. after reaching the town, both kids were sleeping, therefore i had no other choice but to wait inside the car while zack and ija went to get some stuff at the souvenir shops at pukuatua st. it took them roughly half an hour before they came back with shopping bags in both of their hands. i started the car, retraced our trip and raced our way back to hamilton and completed the round trip by 2:00 pm. kak maz invited us to have lunch first before we continued our journey with the hosts leading the way.
back on the journey, diman led us towards the east, using sh23 through rough terrain, mountainous farmland, turning into smaller roads at te mata and cruising through kawhia rd. until we reached the carpark to waireinga/bridal veil falls, about 35 km from hamilton. ija and aina travelled with diman’s car and left just the four of us inside companion #4. alif vomited once inside the car just before we reached the carpark, we had to stop and clean his shirt and seat. yomi was fine, as usual.
▼ putting on the proper gear at bridal veil falls car park
▼ companion #4 rear
▼ getting friendly with the stream
the 10 minute walking track through dense native trees, full of ferns was full of wonder, it follows a small stream of pakoka river. the walking pattern reminded us of our trekking towards cathedral cove the week before. alif as usual insisted on walking with islah and elias, only yomi became tired and we had to alternately carrying her on our shoulders.
▼▼▼ the walking track
the track comes out of the dark tiered trees into an opening with the sound of crashing falls overwhelm the soundless atmosphere. it was a spectacular view indeed. we stood on the first platform and observed excitedly towards the 55m plunge waterfall. then we walked to the second wooden lookout and the views kept getting better. for diman, kak maz and their children, this was their second trip to the falls. later we followed them descending the 300 plus wooden steps to reach the base of the waterfall but halfway through, there’s another lookout point that gave a stunning view of the falls, surrounded by dark foliage as a frame. 10 minutes later we reached the last platform, perfect view of the large pool at the base of the falls with a bridge crossing to the other side of the river. we sit on the wooden seats and rest. everybody was tired but smiled and laughed and joked about the downhill climb and the marvelous waterfall. it was bliss.
▼ the opening near the falls
▼ looking back towards the track
▼ 1st lookout point
▼ all you need to know about the falls (i guess)
▼ the top of the falls before plunging 55m towards gravity from the 1st lookout
▼ the scenic bridal veil falls from the 2nd lookout point
▼ zack and yomi on the 2nd wooden platform
▼ a wide panoramic view
▼▼ alif and his cousins
▼ looking back towards the 300+ steps after reaching the falls base
▼▼ view from the 4th lookout point
▼▼▼▼ group photos
▼ from the wooden bridge crossing pakoka river
▼ enjoying the view
▼▼ long exposure of pakoka river by mounting the camera on the wooden handrail on the bride near the base of the falls
▼ islah, aina & ija
▼ tilting to the left
the descent was quite tiresome but ascending the steps was another behemoth to tackle. we climbed slowly, putting our foot slowly one by one, the kids were surely on our shoulders this time around. we stopped countless times along the steep steps. after a gruesome 15 minutes climb, we returned to the 2nd lookout on top of the falls. everyone was relieved with joy except ija, who was really closed to passing out, and had to sit and rest on the wooden floor of the lookout platform for quite some time.
▼ reaching the top
once everybody had regained their strength, we all strolled slowly through the track and our cars came into view 10 minutes later. the public toilet near the carpark was the third long drop toilet (a rudimentary toilet consisting of a small outhouse over a pit where all the wastes are dropped to the lowered ground and we can see if lights permitting, the artistic wastes of human) that we found after the one in cathedral cove and boundary creek near lake wanaka. this was the 2nd time that i had to use and it was quite exciting. it gave a certain but indescribable feeling that you became a wiser person after coming out of it.
we came out of the forest nearly 4:00pm and diman and kak maz suggested that we moved on towards the western shore some 20 km away. after driving passed the beachtown of raglan, we pressed on until we came to ngarunui beach, a famous spot for surfers and surrounded by paddocks with lots of cows in it. from the carpark, we walked a downhill track about 500m towards the black sandy beach and closer, we knew for sure why the surfers love it. waves upon waves consistently came crashing the shore. the light was leaving and through the darkening views, there were some cool dudes still surfing on the waves. and it was cold winter waves! we let the kids played on the vast sandy beach and everybody was having the time of their lives. it was almost completely dark when light rain started to hit us and we walked briskly up the slopes and got into our cars. i treaded diman’s route carefully and we ended the journey at 5:30 pm, already a night time in june.
▼ ngarunui beach sculpture greeting us
▼▼▼ on the hill above the beach
▼▼▼ the views of the surfing beach
▼ at the beach
▼ almost dark
that night, i had my first bath after that early morning in yha franz josef glacier 4 days earlier and it was refreshing. soon kak maz, zack, diman, ija and the kids left to do groceries and more shopping at the warehouse and i was accompanied by aina, aslam, islah and elias at home. we just watched tv and ate and stuff and when they got back from shopping, we finally rested after spending 380 km on the road with companion #4.
next» soul searching road trip oznz – day 15 (20/06/2010)
a quiet and serene view of the only point of drop offs at mamutik island, the tiniest island of tunku abdul rahman national park in sabah, deservedly lauded for sabah parks’ minimalist approach to island eco-tourism development and conservation. june 2011.
the location:
nitzus 