Xmas Office trip ...........Awesome weekend

This weekend we had been on a mystery trip. We were not sure until we reached the actual places, where we were going and what activities we were doing. It was an amazing trip.... Thanks to Jon & Barbara, who arranged it without giving any hint to us.
We left on Friday evening on a bus. On the way we were entertained by Jon and bus driver David with Quiz and jokes. We reached Waihi beach and had dinner. We thought we will be staying there, but we were told to get inside the bus. We travelled to Welcome Bay in Bay of Plenty. We checked in to Ridge Country Retreat in an amazing location on a hilly forest area overlooking Tauranga.
On saturday, we had our breakfast and we left again for a unknown place and unknown activity. At 11AM we reached Whakatane. Just before reaching Whakatane, we came to know that we will be going to White Island. This is NZ's only active marine volcano.

 We were very excited to go. We took a boat, as the island is 50KM in to pacific ocean. That was an 90 minute unforgettable ride on the choppy waters. Boat was moving in all direction and lot of people had sea sickness. I never had such a bad feeling about travelling. I just wanted the boat ride to get over. As we were landing on the island, we were given a hard helmet and gas mask as part of our safety drill.
  Once we were on the island, it was just amazing. We saw nature at work...... Vivid colours of sulpher and other gases.... green water at -0.1ph.... boiling mud......... and people going in line and in gas mask as if we were in chemical war zone...........  after the volcano visit, we were back in the boat for another horrible journey. But this time it was better than the earlier one.

After that we went back to our hotel for a wash and an evening party. What a sight.... people getting drunk and dancing....
At the end everybody was sooooooooo tired.......




On Sunday we thought, we will have breakfast and will start our journey back to Auckland. But Barbara had planned something else for us.
We checked out of our hotel and left by bus to a farm for more adventure.... Once we got down, We wore safety jacket and we were off to jet boating. Amazing 30 minute high speed jet boating on Kaituna river....
After that, we left Bay of Plenty. On the way we stopped at Hobbiton Movie Set Tours. It's huge 1200 acre land with green grass up's and downs. Here the Lord of the Rings movie was shot and you can also see the actual NZ farm living.

So after lunch we had our so called team building exercises. But we were chasing sheeps as part of the exercise......... you don't belive me look at thissssssssssssss........

We did ride quad bikes blind folded.... Nice activites.
And finally on the bus, Jon gave funny awards to all and we reached Auckland.................

Conquering fear

I had always been afraid of driving either bike or car. It may be because, during my teenage days, I had a small accident when I was riding the bike. I have forgotten the incident. But it is somewhere always creeping in my sub conscious mind. So even though, I got my first car in 2003, I hardly drove it.

But when I was supposed to join the new job in New Zealand, main concern for me and my new company was how I will drive on New Zealand roads, as travelling is part of my job.

So when I landed in Auckland, the very next day I got a Mazda Ute 2.5ltr turbo charge. What a promotion......!!!! from 800CC small car to 2500CC huge Ute. I was pissed off, after seeing the vehicle. More than me my wife was afraid, how I am going to drive.  But I started driving the Ute.

Yesterday I got a new Toyota Hilux 3Ltr Ute from company. It's much bigger and better than the earlier one. And I have started enjoying driving this. I have not allowed to my wife to drive it yet. It gives unusal power in your hand when you are on driving seat.

I dream of driving a Hummer one day........... but not to own one.

I have been reading a book titled  "Winners Bible"  by Dr. Kerry Spackman. It’s a book about self improvement. One of the topics is about your strengths and weakness. So I asked couple of my friends to take anonymous online survey on me. In this you can write about my strengths and weakness. Then everybody’s report is summarized and given to me as a single report.

I was expecting more weakness than strengths. I was in for a surprise. Most of the weakness, people have written are known to me. And after all I am not such a lousy person, what I believe my self as……. Anyways time to improve on things people have pointed out.

But guys at the end of the day, I can’t be 100% correct…. So already I have an excuse not to improve..

New Goal

Couple of months back, I met an elderly lady, on the flight back from Singapore. I am not a person who starts to talk to any stranger. But when she started the conversation, I could not keep myself mum. What an amazing lady she was. She told me that, her son is also into photography.


So that’s how I met a friend last week. But after seeing the Camera lenses he has, I am depressed. No worries............. I have got a new goal to achieve and motivated for buying those in couple of months time. These bloody hobbies are like insects. Once it is in your brain……… you can’t sit peacefully until you satisfy them. But I feel this is better than  “buying expensive cell phone phase”, what I was into few years back.

Milford Sound...... Amazing place....

We have travelled a lot in New Zealand in last 2 years.  But no trip in New Zealand is complete with out a visit to Fiordland. We had been planning for this trip down South Island for long time.  I had heard a lot about Milford sound and Doubtful sound..... but never expected it to be so good.
Ok........ before starting about my trip, a little history before geography.
Fiordland National Park lies at the south west of the South Island of New Zealand. 1.2 million hectares in size, Fiordland is the largest National Park in New Zealand. It is the work of over 500 million years of constant sculpting as the land was relentlessly ground, split, fired, and pressured by the elements. Even today this process continues. Fiordland is characterized by low population numbers, few roads, and an isolated and untouched state. Its landscape is typically wild and mountainous and is a rare place where humans have made little impact on the environment. Instead, there lie countless mountains and fiords, rivers and lakes, and forests teaming with life. This whole area has been protected as World Heritage Area.

Intially we were planning to drive down to Milford sound. But the hotel guys and my wife-cum-driver scared me about the road. So we booked the trip thro' Real Journeys .
 

We left Queenstown early in the morning by Real journeys specially made bus.The whole trip from Queenstown to Milford sound is around 300km, but it's breathtaking and yearning for more. Just after couple of minutes from Queenstown the Cellphone signal was not there. So we were cut off from modern world. En route to Milford sound we reached Te-anu. Suddenly we were surrounded by thick blanket of fog.

After picking few more visitors from Te-anu we left for Milford Sound. On the way our driver cum guide of the bus showed us amazing places and gave us enough time to click hundreds of photos. Once we left Te-anu, the fog was gone in this air and we had superb sun light. Then on the way we saw "Mirror Lake". Amazing views. Just have a look at the photo. Since the lake was clear we had awesome view of mountains in the lake.

Then we stopped at Lake Gunn, which again had stunning views.  Even today I can't believe, that we had such a beautiful day, calm water and hundreds of photos.







Then we reached "Homer Tunnel" surrounded by bit of snow. This tunnel construction began in 1935  and took 18 years to complete. This tunnel has a steep gradient and emerges into the spectacular "Cleddau Canyon". On the way we saw a local parrot "KEA".

Then via Hollyford track, we reached Milford Sound. Here we were already booked for a two and half hour nature cruise. Sound is actually wharf. Sound cris crosses thro' mountain, opens into Tasman Sea.  

We got glimps of spectacular 1692m hign Mitre Peak and couple of water falls. I don't have any words to describe the views of this place. We also saw few seals and dolphins during this amazing journey.

 
 
 
 
 

After this once in a life time journey, I took a helicopter ride on to a glacier. It was hell of a journey. I was scared as the helicopter flew very close to mountain edges or tips. I can feel the adrenalin rush even now. I was holding safety bar in one hand and taking photos with the other. I saw melting glaciers, frozen lakes, pure ice........

Once I left from glacier top, we were flying to catch our bus which was waiting for us near Homer Tunnel. After landing we took the bus and we started our journey back to what people call modern world. But  "Ye Dil Mange More". It left such a mesmerising memory, that, I have promised my self to return back next year for a 4 day 58km Milford walk....................
 
 If I have used too many attributes or adjectives  in my writing, it's only to describe what I have seen  as one of the most beautiful place on earth.............

Nature & Me

Nature means a lot to me. It reminds me of greenery, freedom, childhood & myself. I have always been attached & attracted to nature.

My native place is Sirsi in India is a small town on the foot hills of Sahyadri mountain ranges with lots of green forest & green field. Because of the nature of my fathers job we travelled around lot of places. But my summer vacation used to be in this native place. I would wait for this vacation. It was eat, play & sleep in the forest or in the areca nut plantation. I always loved it as my grand-parents house was full of people & they would pamper me. Those are the sweetest memories which I still cherish.

Then I joined a residential school in Gajanur near Shimoga, which was on the banks of river Tunga. There was a mountain as backdrop for the school. Plenty of open space, greenery & walking distance from Tunga dam. What else can u ask for? Next seven years were spent here for studies. It was one of those good old daysssss.

From there I moved on to Bangalore for studies & to Delhi for Job. These big cities literally didn't had anything to be called as greenery. Busy city with busy people, where nobody has time for anybody..... including me. For last ten years I had been into the same life style of workaholics. During that time my brush with nature was only when we went to Himachal or Uttaranchal. But one day I had an job offer from a company in New Zealand. It was ten difficult days of deciding whether to stay in pressure cooker like job or to move to a new place & start from scratch. At last we decided to move to "UNTOUCHED WORLD" or "Land of Long white cloud".

Yes, New Zealand is "Untouched World" in many aspects & one of them is nature. It has enough beaches, walking tracks, adventure sports, breath taking scenery's...... list is very longgggg. Before we could realise, it is almost two years now in NZ. I have been hooked on to the hobby of photography. I hope the journey of life continues like this along with the nature for ever..................