100% Pure New Zealand

Hah! I owe my blog so many posts already. I was extremely busy with my work and part-time study in the past months but last November 2011 before the year ends, I was able to travel again. I had a week off from work and went to New Zealand - this is one of those countries I’ve been wanting to go for the longeeeeest time and finally, this is it!!! It was my sister’s 30th birthday and as always, she wanted to celebrate it somewhere so I suggested that we go to NZ.

Day 1: We arrived at Queenstown, New Zealand at 1pm via Qantas Airline from Sydney. I adjusted my watch two hours ahead of Oz time. As soon as our pilot announced that we were about to approach the Queenstown airport in 20 minutes, I took time to glimpse on my window and I was surprised to see that the Southern Alps were starting to appear between the clouds. This is actually my first time to see snow cap Mountains in a close-up shot from my plane window. It seemed that the mountains and the sunny weather initially welcoming us in the South island.

It sounds contrasting when I used the words ‘snow caps’ and ‘sunny weather’. Well, my brief explanation is that although November is already the spring month in NZ, I later on found out from one of the locals that it was snowing in Queenstown 2 days ago before we arrived.

NZ offered airport shuttle service all over the country. We booked online for a fixed fee of AUD17 per person. The advantage of availing this service rather than taking a cab is we don’t have to pay extra just in case we find ourselves stuck on the traffic or any road works. I booked all our airport pick-up and drop offs both in Queenstown and Wellington.

Day 2:  My sister and I woke up very early on our second day. We had a scheduled full-day tour at Milford Sound – New Zealand ’s nomination for the 7 wonders of the world. As soon as I opened my bedroom window, this is Queenstown at 5.30 in the morning. I quickly grabbed my iPhone and uploaded it on my Facebook mobile.

Our tour operator for the day is called “Kiwi BBQ Bus”. It was a small group tour coach suitable for travellers who are seeking a personalised trip to Milford Sound. As we began our tour out of Queenstown, we travelled around 2.5 hours (I think) before we arrived at Te Anau but along the side we enjoyed the views of lush farmlands and more mountains. Our driver Nick was very knowledgeable not only about South Island but even New Zealand as a country.

Our stop-over at Te Anau was for half an hour so we did a bit of stretching and strolling around the area before we travelled again for a few more hours to Milford Sound. The good thing about the tour coach is we had several photo stops along the way which is more advantage than being in a bigger bus. We were only 16 passengers that time so there was so much space at the back seat for me to take photos left and right.

One of the best parts of the tour is our picnic-style lunch by the creek in the middle of Fiordland National Park. Nick was a multipurpose driver, guide and cook at the same time. He asked us to do some bush walking for 20 minutes while he was cooking and preparing the food but little did he know I sneaked out to take this photo of him.

This is why it was called “Kiwi BBQ bus”

The barbecue lunch includes a classic Kiwi BBQ of marinated beef kebabs and sausages, a good range of salads, fresh bread and fruit juice. Vegetararian patties are also available on request. 

After lunch, we continued to drive to the Milford Sound and it was astounding how the lush scenery turned slowly into snowy mountains. Nick gave us a few moments to get out of the coach to take some photos.

When we reached Milford Sound, there was a long queue for the cruise. Everyone was so excited to go on-board and we were informed to keep a look out for seals and dolphins. And yes, there were plenty of them. The cruise lasted for almost 2 hours and we were just relaxing inside the boat while sipping a glass of wine.

We really enjoyed the spectacular landscape and wilderness of Milford Sound. This is definitely a must see to any traveller who is going to visit NZ. It was such a long day for us when we went back to Queenstown but a BIG DAY to remember.

Day 3: Dale from Nomad Safaris who will be our tour guide for our quad biking adventure picked us up from our accommodation in the morning.  I observed that he speaks in a very clear American English and I could not even hear a single Kiwi accent so I asked him and this led him to explain his roots. Dale was originally from Chicago, USA and he decided to move to NZ 13 years ago after responding to a job advertisement for a NZ company’s outdoor activity. One thing I loved about travelling is I get to know more people like Dale and sometimes it was bizarre to think how people moved places or even country to do their passion.

Dale was kind enough to discuss the waiver that we need to sign prior the activity. He gave us our protective clothing, boots and helmets. We had a quick training in a farm property of how to turn the bikes on and some techniques of how not to fall off. The farm itself was also stunning with picturesque of valleys and rolling hills. After half an hour of briefing and training, we were now ready to conquer the tricky Queenstown hills. It was scary at first knowing that quad bike accidents do happen but the further we rode the more stunning the view.

The quad bike headquarter

A quick training at the farm property

The Queenstown Hills

Dale prepared a morning tea and biscuits on top of the hills. Good spot to watch the Shotover jet speeding along the Shotover River.

And don’t you think my sister and I looked tough on our outfits…..

We received a special exhibition quad bike ride from Dale. He said that he’s not doing this to all tourists but since we were the only two people scheduled that morning then he can do this for us. I felt like I was in a roller coaster ride in a rocky and uphill road and any time I can be thrown in the air. Oh well, thanks Dale for such exhilarating bonus from you although it scared me to death.

It was around 12.30pm when Dale dropped us back to our accommodation. I could not thank him enough and of course Nomad Safaris for this wonderful adventure. We spent the rest of the day strolling around Queenstown CBD and buying some souvenirs.

I noticed that from the day that we arrived, most of the shops were selling “All Blacks” souvenirs and stuff like Adidas jerseys and shirts down to mini key chains. I had no idea of what it was all about until I came across this window shop that gave me the answer.

Rugby is regarded as NZ’s national sport and the New Zealand men’s national rugby union team was known as the “All Blacks”. The Rugby World Cup 2011 has just finished last October which is 2 weeks before we arrived that is why the whole country was still celebrating their victory.

I could really see the overflowing support of the Kiwis on this team as I toured around NZ. It was not only in the shops, airports but even in their homes and cars too. Another proof was this photo that I took while we were driving in the suburbs of Wellington.

Day 4:  We booked a Double Decker bus for a half-day tour in Arrowtown but alongside we also got the chance to visit Lakes Hayes, Gibbston Valley for their famous wines and cheese, AJ Hackett Bungy Bridge and Edith Cavell Bridge .

Just a bit of trivia that I found out from the tour - Arrowtown River is one of ‘The Lord of the Rings” locations where Arwan Evanstar (Liv Tyler) carried the dying Frodo (Elijah Wood) across the river on the horseback with Black riders close behind them. I remembered watching this scene on the ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’ and Arwan flooded the river when the Nazgul entered the water.

Since it was our last day in Queenstown, we decided to treat ourselves with this yummy lunch hamburger in town. The queues outside tell the story why it should not be missed out when you go to Queenstown. Excellent value and quality for such a massive burger.

I was in college when I saw the trilogy of LOTR but I was not a big fan though. All I know I love the sceneries shown in the movie but I did not know that those filming locations in reality existed and all shots were taken in New Zealand. I thought everything was just a big studio set-up.

Here I am reading the book of the LOTR filming locations while waiting for our late afternoon flight to Wellington via Air New Zealand.

It was absolutely pouring and freezing when we arrived in Wellington at night. We booked a LOTR full-day tour the following day so we were praying for a sunny weather to come up in the next morning.

Day 5: Nah! It was still pouring but whether rain or shine we were picked up in our city accommodation at 8.30am by Nathan of Rover Tours. We were in a small group size of tourists coming from Australia, China, UK and USA. Our first stop was in Kaitoke Regional Park for the morning tea and then we proceeded to Rivendell location and walked through NZ native forest.

The tour entails imagination as our tour guide led us to the filming locations while simultaneously showing some photos and scenes from the movie.

Rivendell became the home location for the elves and obviously who else is the famous good-looking elf character in LOTR but no other than Orlando Bloom as Legolas. This is one of my favourite parts of the tour when Nathan wore his elf ears. Although, I wished I was with Legolas in this photo but shortly I found out that Nathan was actually one of the “extras” in the movie. And guess what? He played the role as one of the elves and got the chance to hangout with Orlando Bloom in real life. What a lucky guy!

In this photo, Nathan claimed that he was the one who is holding the flag from this scene in the movie.

As we continued our tour, we were amazed with the diversity of native tree ferns in the forest. One of the incredible ferns is the Silver Fern – leaves are dark green but when any light hit the underside of the leaf there’s something like a silvery effect that is more striking. Nathan said that silver ferns were used by the Maoris (native of NZ) to mark trails and find their way at night because their silvery lining on the underside reflects moonlight. This became NZ’s national emblem and often you will see it on clothing, souvenirs and even NZ currency.

As my sister used her camera flash to take me a photo, it’s true how it creates a silvery effect.

If USA has Universal Studios then NZ has Weta Cave. We went to Weta Cave as part of the LOTR tour but I had no idea how many different things Weta does from digital effects, props, displays and characters from the movies. We watched this 20 minutes video showcasing the movies they worked for in the past aside from LOTR, there is King Kong, The Lost World, the box office movie Avatar and currently they were working for the upcoming movie ‘The Hobbit’. It’s a great way to see the behind the scenes production.

After Weta cave, Nathan took time to drive us around Peter Jackson’s house in one of the suburbs in Wellington. He advised not to take any photos or video in respect to Peter Jackson’s privacy. In this instance, I could see how locals (such as Nathan himself) respect and paid tribute to this Award Winning Director for his contribution in introducing New Zealand to the world through his movies.

We stopped at Scorch-O-Rama café (formerly known as The Chocolate Fish Café) for a ‘Fellowship of the Rings’ lunch.

The café is not glam or fancy but it became the famous meeting and hangout place of the cast and crew of LOTR.

The Fellowship Food Menu for the day

In the afternoon, we headed to Mt. Victoria lookout where you could see the Wellington city and the harbour in 360-degree view.

Mt. Victoria is also one of the first filming locations of LOTR.

This time Nathan showed to us where the terrified Hobbits hid from Black Riders in the dense forest of the mountain.

And here I am reenacting this scene from the movie. Sorry, I could not get Elijah Wood’s side view angle and facial expression. I should look terrified but I could not help but smiling. The funny thing is our American couple in the group volunteered to play as Hobbits on my background.

Remember this scene from the movie - a Black Nazgul on his horse. I tried to shoot the photo in the right as silhouette just to create this night effect scene.

Here we are playing like Hobbits hiding and running in the woods.

Our LOTR tour ended with a final souvenir from Nathan which is a beautiful map of the Wellington region’s LOTR filming location.

Thanks to Wellington Rover Tours and I just loved it all the way…..

I don’t remember taking a photo of the map but for the purpose that I can show you how it looks like I searched a sample one online :)

Day 6: For our last day in NZ, we decided to visit the Te Papa Museum which is just a walking distance from our hotel. Not everyone will include this on their tour itinerary but I suggested that we took time to visit and see what’s inside. It’s free to the public except for other exhibitions at some extra cost.

The museum is huge with so many floors and I don’t think we were able to check out each floor. I particularly loved the “Awesome Forces” section where most powerful natural forces are explained in an interactive way with big monitors, funny games and even a simulation of earthquake in the house. There are many more interesting things to do and see in the museum from Science and Discovery to Arts, NZ History and Culture and even Travel. Te Papa also has a nice shop with some unique ‘Kiwi’ gifts and a restaurant and café which means you can spend the whole day in the museum if you want to.

We had lunch in a nice Thai restaurant in the center of Wellington and enjoyed our last day wandering around the city. Our last hirit for the night was a Frapuccino at Starbucks. I don’t know how time flies but it was 11pm when we went back to our hotel and started to pack our stuff as we need to be at the airport by 5am.

This trip was truly a 100% pure wonder, 100% pure exhilaration, 100% pure indulgence

and 100% PURE NEW ZEALAND

TOP 5 Movie Quotes

       

I was having this conversation with my friend when she shared some of her favourite movies so I decided to list down my all my fave ones too but this time I want to pick-up my TOP 5 movie lines that struck and inspired me while watching the film. These movies also brought me into tears.

Every man dies but not every man lives – These are the words of William Wallace from the movie BRAVEHEART when he was trying to inspire the Scots to battle the British. We might not be in a physical war but we are facing different battles in our every day life. There’s no doubt that each of us will die sooner or later. That’s given I guess. But the important questions we need to ask ourselves are - How did I live my life? Or have I really, really lived it well? Did I live my life to the fullest? It doesn’t matter if you’re young or old and how many achievements you received in your entire life but what really counts is how do you actually used God’s given talents and  gifts not only to yourself but also for the benefits of others. We do not live just to die in vain but instead we live because we have this purpose in life.

To lose balance sometimes for love is part of living a balanced life – I think this was mentioned by the Bali medicine man to Julia Roberts nearing the end of the movie EAT, PRAY, LOVE.  We thought that when a relationship ends or it was not a happy ending like we used to encounter in any fairy tale stories then life seemed to be miserable. We struggle to search for a perfect love and even live a perfect relationship – something that we are constantly preached in order to have a balance life but little we know we became more of a better person after the hurts and failures. Balance means you were able to experience both worlds – the negative & positive, sadness & happiness, love & hate etc.

There’s nothing stronger than the heart of a volunteer –from the 2001 movie PEARL HARBOUR.  If there was one story of heroic deed that really inspired me until this day that was no other than the story of my kababayan  Efren Florida, the 2009 CNN Hero of the Year from Philippines who started a ‘pushcart classroom’ to bring alternative education to poor children. Together with some volunteers, they go to slum areas with their “pushcart classroom” filled with books, school supplies and a blackboard to teach basic reading and writing and proper hygiene to underprivileged children. To devote his time and effort in helping others made him one of those people with a greatest heart of a volunteer.  Like what he said on his acceptance speech in New York City – Serve well and serve others above yourself.

You can erase someone from your mind. Getting them out of your heart is another story – I believed this was not a quote but a movie tagline from ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND.  How many times we wish that there’s a “delete” or “backspace” button on our heads to simply erase the person and any hurtful memories. There are some people who remained in our hearts because they had a huge impact in our lives and whether it takes days, months, years or lifetime before we totally forget that person, I think the important thing to deal with this is to accept that they are part of us. They probably left some good or bad marks but we should learn not to dwell from the past yet learn from the experiences and mistakes.

With great power comes a great responsibility – Uncle Ben was right when he uttered these words to Peter Parker from the SPIDERMAN movie. In general, I would say that the more successful you are in life, the greater becomes your power and influence but also the more complex your responsibility will become. No matter how you tried to avoid or ignore this liability – we cannot change the reality that responsibility is in our shoulders.

Love Post

This is one of those days when you have nothing to do at the office but pretending you’re working. I was staring outside my window in a cold winter morning while watching the leaves of the trees fall on the ground. Okay, I have no scientific explanation for this but I read that tree’s roots, branches and twigs can endure freezing temperatures, but most leaves are not so tough.  I write about this because I want to relate this with my experience about love.

It’s been nearly 3 years ago when my relationship with my ex-boyfriend ended up in a way that I did not expect. I asked myself, did I give my best in the relationship? Did I make the most of every moment I was with him? Did I fearlessly fight for him? So many questions are spinning on my head that time and it’s tempting how I want to think of it as a failure.

I’ve never experienced the kind of feeling to be in love and at the same time the kind of feeling of hating someone who became part of my life. I could not put into words my mixed emotions. And it’s normal to think for anyone who had been in a break-up condition to think of “second chances” or the words “forget” and “move on”. Not easy, I tried both but second chances led me to broken promises and false hopes whilst cliché as it seemed to forget and move on with my life are the best things that I could do to pick-up the broken pieces.

I think the real pain comes in when you know that you could no longer love the person as much as you want to. You are no longer part of their secrets, dreams and even heartaches. Regrets lies when you did not do what you have to do and say what you have to say. In the course of our relationship, I don’t believe I was not tough enough like the leaves on the tree but fate same as the approaching winter season have decided that we separated ways. That’s how nature works or shall I say that’s how life works. No one could control it, no matter how badly you wanted to hold on into that someone.

I was sad that it was over and I cried when I had to but I did not give-up love. I did not feel bitter or cynical about it because love is infinite. Now, I am happy that I allowed myself to fall in love again. If there’s one truth about love that is everyone has the capacity to love and be loved.

Photographer Wannabe

I started doing photography early this year. It was not a kind of hobby that I want to get into because almost everybody was ‘hooked’ into it. Mine was with no intention and it was neither on my plan nor my budget. My boyfriend and I walked into this electronics shop one time to buy some DVDs when we came across this Canon 50D. It was sold in a very good price with original starter kit lens (17-85mm), a Canon bag, a charger and 2 extra batteries. With my boyfriend’s convincing power, I decided to purchase my first very own DSLR camera.

After a month, I found myself addicted into photography. I bought my camera a new sling bag, filters and additional macro and zoom lenses. I controlled myself from doing some shopping of clothes, shoes or make-up. I simply invested my money for my beloved camera. My boyfriend and I began to explore more of Adelaide to shoot and practice our cameras. By the way, he had his Nikon D90 and been doing photography for quite some time. Hence, he has a good grasp of different types of cameras and how to use ISO, aperture and shutter speed combination.

I want to share some of my favourite photos for the past 3 months. I am still in the process of learning the basics but I am very eager to learn more camera techniques to attain the proper photo exposure and composition. In my opinion, anyone can take photos but you really need to develop an eye for photography. It’s a trial and error of the elements and what kind of photos do you want to achieve in the first place.

For those photographers wannabe, I suggest that you enrol yourselves to photography workshops or simply read photography books. Whenever I have my free time, I read books or do some online search and sometimes talk to friends who are into photography as well. I am sure that they can provide further or additional information for you to learn.

 


All photo opts were taken in Adelaide, Australia particularly at Semaphore Kite Festival, Adelaide Zoo and Botanical Garden. 

For more photos, please also visit my flickr website at  http://www.flickr.com/photos/maantolentino/

 

Lola Choleng

It’s been a long and strenuous flight from Adelaide to Manila. I had two stop-over in Sydney and Brisbane before I landed in Philippines again after 2 weeks.

Yes, I just came back from my holiday in Pinas when I received this heart breaking news that my lola Choleng passed away. I had to ask some permission from my boss if he could give me a couple of days to be home again. I was lucky enough that he granted my request and as soon as he said that there’s nothing to worry about then I immediately booked my flight for the next 2 days.

My grandma was 95 years old and was living and been taking care of at the nursing home in California . The last time that I saw her was when she visited the Philippines in 2002 and since then she could no longer go home. My lola’s final request was to be buried in her country particularly in our hometown in Mamatid, Cabuyao, Laguna. Most people kept on asking how come she was away from her homeland for more than 30 years yet she chose her ashes to bring to Pinas when time and money matter for those loved ones she will be leaving behind. Actually, I totally understand…we totally understand. In other words, she wanted to be home. She wanted to be on the same burial ground with her parents and my lolo.

I greeted everyone including my long lost relatives upon my arrival on the first night of the wake. I had to ignore my migraine and my tiredness that moment. I met my auntie Cora whom I haven’t seen for ages. I think for 15 years. My auntie took care of my lola in America during those times when we could not be there for her. She brought home the ashes that Thursday morning together with my ate Maal who flew to California to attend the viewing and cremation. I cried into tears when I watched the simple AV presentation created by my cousins and my sisters. The last days of her funeral were the meaningful ones. I heard some old stories from lola Purita, my lola’s youngest sister and of course stories from my mum and my aunt. We laughed and cried after hearing all the experiences she’d been through as a sister, a wife, a mother and a grandmother. It could not be denied that she was truly a woman of strength and patience.

We did not expect that many people will attend her funeral and many politicians from Mayor to Governor would shower her with nice funeral flowers and wreaths.

Let me thank Mayor Jun Hemedes, Congressman Timmy Chipeco and Governor ER Ejercito.

 

Sometimes I wonder why some family reunions only happened in a moment like this. Eulogies will be delivered by family, relatives and friends when the person who passed away will no longer hear all the affection and praises. Why can’t we say “I love you” or “Sorry” when she can still feel the thoughtfulness and sincerity. Why only during this time we will eventually realised the sacrifices and unselfish deeds. My lola’s death remind me that life is too short and any moment your life can be taken away from you. We should not take for granted those people who are part of our lives and we should always let them know how much we love and care for them. We cannot turn back time and we should not let regrets over us.

To our dearest Lola Choleng,                                                                                                 You will surely be missed and we know that God is now embracing you in heaven. We thank you and we love you. Always guide us up there.