Street art

Auckland (top) & Jogjakarta, Indonesia (bottom).

Although these photos were taken in different cities & give off vastly different vibes, they have one thing in common - looking at them makes me want to travel again!

New Zealand: Wai-O-Tapu

Apart from a lone hot spring, which continues to stump us with its existence, Singapore doesn't have any geothermal land-forms, so I was ooh-ing and ah-ing like a suaku (i.e. person who has been living under a rock) over every bit of bubbling mud or steaming soil when I visited the Wai-O-Tapu Geothermal Park in Rotarua, New Zealand.



This is the Lady Knox Geyser which erupts every day at 10.15am as part of an informative mini show. I was a bit disappointed to find out that the eruption was induced, even though the staff assured us that the geyser would still naturally erupt about once every 24 hours if it were left to its own devices.





There was lots of fog that day, which made everything seem even more mysterious and magical. Some of the photos turned out a bit too foggy though - apparently film captures fog much more than the iPhone does.


Earth-coloured



I wish they'd had more explanations and diagrams showing how the geothermal features had been formed or how they "work", but it was still a really great experience. I loved how unearthly everything looked.

(Canon AE-1 & Kodak Portra 400)

New Zealand: Tongariro Alpine Crossing

That's Mt Ngauruhoe on the left, which was used as Mt Doom in the Lord of the Rings movies.
(Yes, I did squee a bit when I saw it.)






The gorgeous Emerald Lakes




Snow-capped Mt Ruapehu peeking out from behind Mt Doom




The rest hut suddenly seems very, very far away when you're in need of the bathroom.


(Canon AE-1 with Kodak Gold 400 & Kodak Portra 400)

I've gotten really behind on blogging (again!) lately, because a lot of my free time has been channeled towards finishing a crochet gift for a friend. But I'm back with more NZ photos, so I hope you aren't tired of them yet!

It's easy to see why some people consider Tongariro Alpine Crossing the best one-day hike in New Zealand. The uphill bits were a challenge for my weak, unexercised limbs, but the gorgeous volcanic landscape made it all worth while (especially those amazing turquoise pools! I was tempted to dive right in more than once).

Looking through these photos makes me feel really thankful. I'm thankful for the friendly shuttle-bus driver who was able to make everyone smile even at 6am in the morning, for the company of new friends who made the journey even better, for the perfect sunny weather. I'm thankful that my legs didn't drop off like they threatened to :P

I'd forgotten to pack a polarising filter for this trip, which, combined with the bright NZ sunshine, meant that most of the photos turned out slightly over-exposed and hyper-saturated. I didn't like the effect at first, but now I think the extreme colours complement the alien-looking landscape perfectly.

Previously: NZ via iPhone, Lake Taupo & Taupo Town

New Zealand: Taupo Town

sheep watching me watching them



Above: Waikato River, hills & farmland, natural hot spring along the Otumuheke Stream

The hot spring was hands down my favourite attraction in Taupo. There's nothing like soaking in a super-heated river, surrounded by rocks & moss, with pebbles between your toes. No need for electricity, or a changing room, just the essentials.

If exploring all these hills & rivers makes you hungry, head to:

Replete for coffee and killer carrot cake. They also have a kitchenware and food section, with exotic teas and Orla Kiely tins that I drooled over but did not buy.

Dixie Browns for good steak & fresh scallops. If you plan to go there for dinner on a weekend, be sure to make a reservation as they're often fully booked on the day itself.


More NZ photos:
iPhone snaps
Lake Taupo


***

Google Reader officially shuts down today, ugh! If you're still looking for a replacement, I recommend checking out Feedly. Switching over is a breeze and its UI is very similar to Google Reader's. I've also heard good things about Bloglovin although I haven't tried using it yet.

New Zealand: Lake Taupo

More New Zealand snaps, taken with the AE-1. These are my favourite photos of the gorgeous Lake Taupo.

My trip was probably much less epic than a typical NZ vacation, because I stayed at the Lake Taupo area the whole time and visited places that were within 2 hours' drive of the town. Even so, there were many things to do and see because New Zealand is awesome like that. Can't wait to rent a camper-van and go explore the rest of NZ one day!

I did a bit of research (read: googling) beforehand and got all excited about visiting Lake Taupo, because I read that it's the same size as Singapore. When I finally got to the lake, my first thought was, Wow, our country's so small, because I could see right across to the other side from where I was. It was very cool and also very humbling.

I'm planning to share more New Zealand photos over the next few weeks, so check back soon!

New Zealand: iPhone snaps

It's always exciting to collect freshly-developed film, but it's twice as exciting to pick up scans from a trip to New Zealand, like I did today. It'll take a while for me to sort through all those film shots though, so in the mean time, here are a few iPhone photos to kick things off! Isn't New Zealand gorgeous? I'm already dreaming about going back...