May 27 - biking Yarra Valley

Spent the morning dealing with logistics of a missing bikini bottom and towel. Headed out to Yarra valley with yvette for a bike around the vine country. Beautiful rolling hills,  lush green trees forming an archway overhead, clear skies and superb bikes. 

Had a field day tasting syrahs and Shiraz - which come from the same grape apparently. And learnt of the existence of sparking Shiraz. Who knew??

Wine tasting at wild cattle creek vinery and Killara vinery - which was founded by an Italian couple and featured Italian wines including the Chardonnay , moscato and prosecco. Best of all was the romantic vibe of the place. Pics below. 

May 25 - the penguin parade at Philip Island

Kicked off the morning with a brisk run down the Melbourne harbor. Of course with the obligatory photo stops.

Then stopped by a farm where there was whip cracking, share shearing and sheep herding demos - a good dose of farm realties. 


Followed by the koala conservation center , spotted some koalas lasting around on eucalyptus trees digesting off their meals. How cute they looked


If I don't have any proof - did it even happen? No pictures allowed but it was as real as anything I've seen. Flocks of blue penguins, a little bigger than a rabbit, swam out of the ocean at sunset after a log day at work , shook the excess water off their ruffled waterproof feathers and waddled their way to their burrows in groups based on he neighborhoods they were living in. Some even waited at the entrance of their burrows for their partners to join them. What a loyal, hardworking , good looking bunch. Not to mention a curious bunch - they stared straight back at us human forms staring at them with mouths open in wonder. Am sure they were thinking - didn't three humans have to go to work, earn their food, feed their little ones and get some rat for tomorrow too? Silly humans!!

May 24 - the most livable city?

Impressions of Melbourne  - a big , beautiful , busy city by the water. Great waterfront living, restaurants , love the extensive tram network throughout the city.

Victoria market get more like a flea market - or the market in Bangkok where there were so many cheap, sub standard items by the heaps. What for my attention was the good cheap fruits and vegetables - they looked super fresh. Also the fresh bread - bummer I just brought a loaf earlier that morning. Tasted the borek with spicy potato - a lot of bread. What was surprising is that the longest line was for the 'American hot doughnut'.

Came back to the hostel and watched rapunzel - books tours for tomorrow and the next day.

Headed back out to the docklands and the central pier - was a good walk. Reminded me
Of Newport - a newer , more modern version of it thought. The London eye replica was beautiful but held no appeal.

May 23 - my final day in NZ

Auckland - definitely a big city feel to it.  It was pouring the entire day. Started the day by doing laundry - yes practicalities still exist.   I walked to Victoria park through the harbour.  Saw kids playing rugby on the field. Walked past the sky city where folks were bungy jumping from.

Had coffee while I was waiting for the Kelly Tarlton bus - got to see penguins for the first time ever. They were cute creatures - envious of how animals can behave like no one is watching even when everyone is watching all the time.


Saw some sharks too - just seem like big fish to me ;) but you wouldn't catch me
in the shark cage underwater experience nevertheless.

And then packed my bags and said good bye to New Zealand.


Was a great visit and would love to go back again. 

May 22 - way to Waitomo

And then there were two. That's what Waitomo means -
The second cave. Another trivia - the place was known as Bay of Plenty coz Captain Cook got a lot of help from the local Maoris here compared to Povery Bay.


In any case - signed up for the black river rafting. It was more like tubing and involved 2 jumps into the water. Tested my nerves surely. I was so stunned during the practice jump itself. But I went through it any ways. Was definitely nervous despite repeated requests to 'relax'. Wish I knew how to relax.

We scrambled , waded , squeezed through the caves ,  tubed some
Portions and I actually fell int the water too. But the glowworms in the caves were worth it. That and the human eel. Hope I get the pics but here's a couple of memories

Headed onward to Auckland later that evening - it was a bit of a culture shock - the big city fee, watch out for your electronic devices et al. Went out for a walk in there night towards the harbour - got a couple of good shots but there were not many people on the street. And a yelling drunk guy reminded me of SF and I felt at home ;)

Spent the second half of the day on the cave experiment- the stalactites and stalagmites limestone caves that are formed over million of years.

We went through a dark cave in a boat in utter silence with millions of glowworms on the cave ceiling glittering like diamonds overheard. Unfortunately no pics allowed here. 

May 21 - for the love of Hobbiton

Was a bit skeptical at first to do the 'touristy' thing - but dear god what a delightful trip that was. It made the hobbits come alive - I almost expected bilbo or frodo to wak out of Bag end any second. It was so real ... There's so much detail that goes into making of any movie. But this one was downright painstakingly done - from 30 different species of animals and  birds, trees , gardens , chimneys, lakes and of course hobbit holes - there were so many little things that were thought of.

I can't decide If producing a movie is so much fun or so much work ....
I must be having a good vacay .,.

Though I have to say met 2 creepy guys at 2 different bars in one night. Not my evening definitely or maybe matamata is not my town. I think I'll stick to hanging out with hobbits!

May 20 - from middle earth to under earth.

On sun up, headed over to Waiotapu - Rororua's premier thermal wonderland. A plethora of mud pools , geysers , craters with colorfully metal deposits.

The mud pools go up to 100 degrees Celsius and seemed like something gross was going to jump out of it any second.

The geyser was called Lady Knox geyser -'and it blows at 10;17am every day like clockwork. You'd smell something fishy - and you'd be right. They trigger yeh geyser to erupt by throwing some detergent like chemical in there manually for the 'show' every day. A bit made up - but am impressive show nevertheless. Here's what it looked like

The best part of it was the walk through the thermal park - we passed the Devils ink pot , Devils bath , champagne pool , rainbow crater - from the most dark to the most serene and peaceful.