Day 4: 29/03/2015 - Hello Mount Cook! Hooker Valley Track Experience

-------------------------------------------------------------

HELLO MOUNT COOK

DAY 4: 29/03/2015

That cold mountain air woke me up from my deep sleep after a long tiring day yesterday. The Park Centre is really cruel for charging for the basic necesities, in a way its smart to get money but still, its a bit cruel for the guests. Aku pakai berlapis baju malam itu dalam 5 lapis rasanya, seluar 3 lapis termasuk yang dalam itu (Ooopss), stokin dan selimut micro fiber yang aku bawa dari rumah. Nasrul lagi kesian, xbawa selimut pun, baju pun pakai 3 lapis je lepas tu cakap tak sejuk sangat.. feeling2 beruang kutub. First thing in my mind was the hot shower dekat toilet mungkin dapat melegakan kesejukan melampau ini. Tanpa melengahkan masa aku bawa semua toiletries aku berjalan jauh gila ke toilet dalam keadaan sejuk menggigil . Memang nikmatlah bila air suam panas sedikit tu dalam pagi-pagi sejuk ni. Lama jugak aku mandi pagi tu macam tak nak stop. Tapi masa itu emas, bak kata orang.. target nak gerak ke Mount Cook National Park Village dalam 7-7.30 pagi. End up lepas habis breakfast dan berkemas semua, pukul 8 pagi lebih baru kitorang gerak and yes, with Alan. Sepanjang jalan ke Mount Cook National Park Village banyak sangat rabbits yang mati kena langgar tengah jalan. Kira macam kucing dan anjing la kat Malaysia cuma bezanya rabbits ni taklah sepintar dan sepantas kucing dan anjing. So, banyak sangatlah bangkai-bangkai haiwan sepanjang jalan.

Sepanjang perjalanan, Alan pun memang tak banyak cakap sangat orangnya, ditanya baru jawab tapi jelasnya dia memang enjoyed his whole time in New Zealand. Dalam 30 minit kemudian kami sampai sudah di Mount Cook National Park Village tapi xbercadang nak pergi situ, cuma kalau ada lebihan masa saja pergi Visitor Centre dia yang free itu. Sini banyak facilities ada termasuklah hotels, hostels and other centres seperti Sir Edmund Hillary Edmund Centre, orang pertama panjat Mount Cook dan Everest kalau tak silap. Semua tu lebih dari bajet kitorang so out of the list of priority. Dari village ni kitorang drive masuk sebuah jalan yang ditanda dengan Hooker Valley track. Ada satu lagi cabang jalan sebelum jalan ni ke Tasman Lake tapi itu bukan dalam perancangan sebab kami tak cukup masa dan satu trekking activity pun ambil masa yang agak lama. Dalam 10 minit drive, we all arrived at a parking area and by the time we're there, xberapa banyak kereta yang sampai seawal ini, adapun, campervans yang bermalam dan beberapa khemah. Aku tak boleh bayangkan macamana dorang ni berkhemah dalam keadaan sejuk ni dahlah, sini lebih tinggi.. maksudnya jauh lebih sejuk malam tadi.. GILA!. Selepas selesai Alan cakap selamat jalan dan terima kasih dia terus berjalan ke arah kiri, dan kami pula ke arah kanan. Aku siap bawa selimut micro fiber aku sebab kat sini memang sejuklah nak mampus!

Lepas ushar-ushar kawasan fasiliti yang ada di Hooker Valley base camp ni what I can say camp ground ini sangat lengkap dan bersih. Considering location dia di tengah-tengah National park yang sangat sedikit orang pekerja dan locals alike, toilet dia sangat bersih. Siap ada pantry and dining area tapi pelawat tak boleh buat unggun api dekat campground, cuma dapur gas pada capacity tertentu je dibenarkan. So, perjalanan trekking kami yang pertama di New Zealand memang dalam list aktiviti yang utama untuk dibuat sebab aku dah tengok banyak videos dan reviews from visitors who came here and it seems worth the sweat. Tapi Nasrul macam tak pasti nak trekking, sebab aku dah inform dia awal-awal yang kami akan trekking dekat mount cook dan tempoh masa anggaran pulang balik 2-3 jam. Tambah pula, pengalaman di Glentanner yang buat kami kesejukan buat dia agak hesitate nak trekking, pasti suhu di Hooker Valley lebih sejuk. Memang betul, suhu di sini lebih sejuk time kami sampai, yelah.. tinggi dan masih awal pagi, tambah lagi kawasan ini kawasan lembah yang dikelilingi gunung ganang. Pasti sinaran matahari yang masih rendah tak dapat menyinari kawasan lembah ini. Tapi aku pasti aktiviti ini akan jadi pengalaman yang berbaloi-baloi. Dalam terketar-ketar walaupun berlapis-lapis baju dipakai, kami terus berjalan. Laluan awal, kami dikelilingi pokok renek sepanjang jalan, cantik.. seakan-akan fairy tale lagi. Tak tahu macam mana nak gambar kan.. seakan-akan taman dalam hutan.

Tak jauh dari parking lot, ada sebuah tugu peringatan yang terletak di atas timbunan batu yang agak tinggi. Laluan ke situ ada disediakan, tangga yang disusun dari batuan sekitar rezab ini. Nothing special sangat jadi lepas ambil gambar kami sambung perjalanan. Time ni punaunty-aunty jepun mula memenuhi kawasan tugu more reason untuk bergerak. Sepanjang perjalanan, persekitaran mula berubah, dari rimbunan pokok renek kemudian melalui kawasan lapang berbatu dengan pokok renek lebih sparse kedudukannya. Tiba di satu kawasan, ada anak tangga yang akan mengarah ke sebuah platform batu di atas bukit kecil, point untuk melihat panorama persekitaran. Kawasan wajib bergambar, memang cantik.. dengan permandangan Mueller Lake (tasik pertama yang dilalui) dengan Mount Cook di belakang. Puas bergambar dan menghayati sekejap permandangan alam yang indah ini, kami pun turun balik untuk meneruskan perjalanan. Di hadapan, ada jambatan pertama, yang merentasi laluan sungai yang mengalirkan air keluar dari Tasik Mueller. Angin sejuk yang kuat memang lazim kalau kawasan lapang atau tasik di New Zealand, termasuklah di sini jadi aku tak mahu lama-lama atas jambatan. Air tasik mueller sangat cantik dan lembut. Tak sama dengan Tasik Tekapo atau Tasik Pukaki, Tasik Mueller tampak ber... berkrim? hahaha.. warnanya seperti warna biru dicampur dengan krim putih, seperti baby blue.

Dari seberang jambatan, tiada platform atau tempat khusus untuk view tasik Mueller, hanyalah yang sebelum jambatan tadi. Ada laluan ke gigi tasik tapi kelihatan sedikit jauh dari laluan trekking kami, jadi kami lupakan saja. Lagipun jauh lagi perjalanan kami.. Ini baru tasik pertama. Laluan kami sepanjang Tasik Mueller secara perlahan-lahan masuk ke lapangan batu semula, menjauhi tasik. Lama jugak kami berjalan, melalui track yang berbatu kerikil sesekali melalui jambatan kayu, sesekali melalui tangga.. kami tiba di jambatan kedua yang kelihatan lebih tinggi dari yang pertama. Di kelilingi batu yang besar, jambatan ini melalui sungai di bawahnya yang membawa air dari Tasik Hooker ke Tasik Mueller. Tasik Mueller juga kelihatan dari sini, tetapi Tasik Hooker masih tidak kelihatan lagi. Selepas melalui jambatan, laluan seterusnya lebih kurang sama tapi sedikit berlainan. Ada kalanya cerun, adakalanya ada batu besar yang mengagumkan, ada juga hamparan lapang yang seluas mata memandang.. perlu datang sendiri untuk mengalaminya! Sungai yang dasarnya batu menemani perjalanan kami seterusnya.. kadangkala hilang dari pandangan kerana laluan kami yang menjauhinya. Selepas ini perjalanannya lebih kurang sama tetapi sebaik tiba di sebuah lapangan yang luas dengan jelas sekali gunung di kiri dan kanan dengan Mount Cook melatari, cahaya matahari sudah semakin terasa. Pelawat yang melalui kami semuanya sudah tanggalkan baju sejuk sebab panas. Kami pun agak panas tapi masih okay lagi.

Terasa macam lama sangat kami berjalan kaki even I can feel tapak kaki aku melecet sikit tapi berbaloi sangat bila setiap permandangan indah yang kami lalui semuanya cantik-cantik belaka. Kalau ada masa lebih memang aku akan buat banyak trekking kalau pergi New Zealand lagi. Untuk mengabadikan pengalaman itu, haruslah bergambar puas-puas di sini, bukan sebab itu saja tapi juga kerana latar belakang seolah lukisannya buat gambar lebih awesome! Selepas jambatan ketiga dan terakhir ada lagi laluan terakhir untuk tiba ke Tasik Hooker. Di hujung laluan ini pelawat perlu berjalan mendaki laluan yang semakin cerun untuk sampai ke kawasan tepian Tasik Hooker. Selesai dengan dakian itu, kitorang dihidangkan dengan permandangan Tasik Hooker! Laluan berakhir dengan sebuah kawasan tempat rehat menghadap tasik glacier dari atas, Tasik Hooker. Kalau yang rajin bawa makanan tu boleh juga piknik di sini especially sekali dengan family. Tasik Hooker ni dikelilingi dengan lebih banyak batuan berbanding Tasik Mueller. Ada juga laluan pergi ke bawah untuk berada lebih dekat ke gigi tasik tapi sepertimana Tasik Mueller laluannya juga jauh lagi jalan ke bawah. Automatik cancellah! Warna air di Tasik ini sama dengan Tasik Mueller, biru susu. Cuma bezanya ada ketulan ais yang terapung di permukaan airnya. Jauh di hujung tasik pula kelihatan glacier berwarna biru vibrant yang menampakkan keratan rentas glacier apabila ianya pecah jatuh ke dalam air.

Memang syok lepak dekat tempat ni sebab kedudukannya yang tinggi terasa seperti nak terjun je dalam tasik. hahaha. Tapi, itu hanya imaginasi semata sebab tinggi sangat dari atas ke permukaan tasik, aku kira ada dalam 200-300 meter, itu belum lagi tengok dasarnya. Tambah lagi, siapa tahu suhu air tasik ini berapa kan? Yang pasti sangat sejuk! Lepas lepak sebentar dalam 45 minit di situ kami berangkat pulang. Jalan balik laluan tadi tapi kali ini lebih laju berjalan sebab sudah puas tengok view yang sama tetapi masih begitu indah permandangannya. Lagipun, demi mengejar masa juga sebab jam dah menunjukkan 11 lebih sudah. Perancangan sebenar selepas Hooker Valley ialah lunch di tepi Tasik Pukaki tetapi, nampaknya semasa dilalui semalam tiada kawasan khas untuk makan di sepanjang jalan Mt Cook, adanya di jalan ke Tekapo iaitu berpatah balik ke sana. Lebih baik cari yang on the way ke arah Twizel supaya tak bazir minyak. Akhirnya, kami membuat keputusan untuk hanya makan lunch di camping facilities pantry sahaja lagipun semuanya lengkap si situ. Jalan balik memang tidak berasa jauh kerana we walked very fast back to the camping facilities building. Pada masa ni, cahaya matahari dah melitupi hampir semua kawasan lembah bermakna hari dah tengahari dan panas dah terasa sedikit.

Tengahari itu lepas makan dan kemas-kemas barang sedikit kami teruskan perjalanan mengikut perancangan itinerari yang aku buat. Memandangkan semua settle termasuklah lunch dalam jam1 petang, kitorang tak singgah visitor centre sebab perjalanan seterusnya pun jauh. Nun, ke Dunedin, bandar warisan Pulau Selatan, Selandia Baru! Jalan semalam lalu baliklah dan sudah agak familiar sampai Twizel, feeling macam local. Permandangan tanah lapang itu memang kebiasaan di New Zealand tapi laluan hari ini lebih banyak biri-biri nampaknya. Sesekali ada sekumpulan lembu yang gemuk-gemuk sihat belaka meragut rumput dan kadang-kadang ada rusa. Mula-mula pelik juga tengok ladang rusa tapi bilangan rusa dalam satu-satu kumpulan tidak besar seperti kambing biri-biri atau lembu dan rusa yang dibela tiada tanduk. Setiap ladang nampaknya serba lengkap, moden dan teratur. Itu permandangan lazim hari ini. Banyak juga tasik yang kami lalui dalam perjalanan ini tapi tidak setanding Tasik-tasik sebelum ini. Airnya masih hijau tetapi gelap dan tiada keistimewaan sangat. Pokok-pokok dan tumbuhan sekitar pula banyak yang sudah meluruhkan daunnya. Tiba-tiba kami ternampak pokok yang agak familiar, seperti epal. Dengan jakunnya nampak pokok epal liar tepi jalan, buah dah lah banyak! Sepanjang Jalan Otematata ke Oamaru memang banyak pokok epal tumbuh meliar bukanlah banyak seperti ladang tetapi mungkin setiap 300 meter ada satu. Ya.. kami jakun.. first time tengok apple di pokoknya.

Sekejap-sekejap kami berhenti untuk ambil gambar di tepi jalan jika ternampak permandangan yang menarik. setibanya berdekatan Oamaru, GPS yang kami telah setkan tadi kami jadikan panduan untuk ke Dunedin. Asalnya, nak singgah di Oamaru sebentar kerana mungkin berpeluang nak tengok penguin dan seal secara dekat dan melawati pekan Oamaru yang kelihatan menarik dalam Google Streetview tetapi GPS buat gila. Kami dibawa masuk jalan dalam yang mungkin lebih singkat dari jalan utama tetapi jalannya kecil dan berbukit bukau.. masih selesa untuk pemanduan. Jalan dalam ini permandangannya sama sahaja cuma ladang lebih dekat dengan jalan dan bererti boleh tenung biri-biri lebih dekat, tapi aku dah bosan ngan biri-biri. Aku cuma nak drive 100 km/j sampai Dunedin supaya sampai awal. Bila dah keluar dari jalan dalam, kami dah dekat Main Road menghala direct ke Dunedin di sebelah kanan dan Oamaru ke kanan. Samada mahu pusing balik nanti atau teruskan ke Dunedin? Aku takut nanti sampai hostel lambat jadi aku cakap dekat Nasrul yang kami takkan singgah Oamaru. Dia seperti biasa okay sahaja. Jadi aku ikut kanan dan terus ke Dunedin. Dari sini memang ada lagi ladang-ladang di tepi tepi jalan tapi lebih banyak penduduk di sepanjang jalan ini. Barns pun lebih banyak, rumah-rumah comel New Zealand juga banyak di sepanjang jalan ini.
Sesekali jalannya berada di ketinggian yang tinggi jadi boleh nampak permandangan yang sangat indah! Time ni kitorang isi minyak lagi sekali sebab tangki tunjuk hanya 1 bar sejak isi di Twizel semalam.



Bila ada bayangan laut mulai kelihatan di sebelah kiri kenderaan, kini kami sudah dekat dengan Hampsden, sebuah pekan kecil di sebelah tenggara kepulauan selatan. Tapi bukan pekan itu yang kami tujui, sebaliknya kami bercadang untuk singgah di Moeraki Boulders. Ianya terletak selepas melalui pekan Hampsden di kawasan pantai Moeraki. Whats Moeraki Boulders? Ianya sekumpulan objek bulat yang terdampar di pantai ini. Objek bulat ini berdiameter lebih kurang dalam 1-2 meter dan ianya bukannya buatan manusia tetapi wujud secara semulajadi. Bola ini terhasil dari gabungan cengkerang haiwan, tulang dan pasir mengalami prosesnya tersendiri setelah bertahun-tahun lamanya sehingga terhasilnya sfera semulajadi yang hampir sempurna. Cuaca di pantai Moeraki petang itu kurang baik, macam nak hujan ketika kami sampai. Bila tak lama lepas sampai dan habis bergambar, hujan renyai semakin kuat tapi masih boleh tahan. Kami pun terus balik ke kereta sebab takut nanti hujan semakin lebat nanti susah pula sebab kami ikut entry ke pantai yang free jadi kena jalan jauh sedikit. Kalau mahu sampai terus ke Moeraki Boulders boleh juga ambil entry yang lagi satu tetapi kena bayarlah $2 (kalau xsilap) kepada restoran yang menyediakan laluan ke Moeraki Boulders.

Dari Hampsden, kami terus sahaja ke arah Dunedin tanpa henti. Semakin dekat dengan Dunedin, permandangannya semakin berubah. Semakin banyak kedai dan bangunan. Jalan pun sudah lain. Tak lama kemudian permandangan Dunedin dari jauh kelihatan semasa kami melalui jalan yang terletak di atas kawasan bergunung. Beberapa minit kemudian kami sampai di bandar warisan selatan, Dunedin. Kami sampai di bandar Dunedin sekitar jam 7 petang jadi hari ini takkan singgah di bandar, lalu sahaja. Tapi from first glance memang banyak bangunan warisan di sekitar Dunedin dan yang paling famous ialah Railway Station Dunedin. Selepas melalui kawasan bandar kami terus cari hostel tempat kami bakal menginap malam ini yang terletak jauh sedikit dari pusat bandar. Sesat itu lazimla tapi GPS kali ini membantu jugaklah eventhough banyak meracau. Sampai di hostel kami terus cek in dan letak semua barangan di katil untuk tanda chop katil. Pusing-pusing keliling hostel dan kami pun keluar pergi cari Pak'N'Save Dunedin. Sudah 3 hari berlalu last kami beli barangan untuk lunch jadi, sekarang masa untuk top up makanan. Aku memang sudah rancang sejak mula selang dalam 2-3 hari pergi beli barang keperluan makanan dan minuman. Tentunya pilihan utama sebolehnya Pak'N'Save and secondly New World.

Pak'nSave Dunedin

Kitchen hostel tempat kami menginap di Dunedin

Tak jauh drive dari hostel.. mungkin dalam 5 minit sudah sampai di Pak'N'Save Dunedin. Selesai beli barang kami balik ke hostel sahaja aktiviti malam ini sebab esok akan cuba untuk cover sebanyak mungkin aktiviti di Dunedin. Di hostel, menu malam ini adalah macaroni dengan sos tomato dan bawang. Memang sederhana sangat makanan kami sepanjang di New Zealand kerana konsep backpacking kan, semua mahu semurah mungkin! Macaroni pun brand budget dan tentunya harga murah tapi aku tak ingat berapa. hahaha.. Di hostel ini penginap di sini nampaknya tak mesra langsung dan aku pun sangat letih hari ini. Tak banyak conversation dengan manusia di sini selain seorang mamat asian yang makan cereal sebagai dinner di sebelah aku. Tak fasih English tapi nampak mesra alam vibe dari dia, so layan. Ending malam ni sangat plain.. mandi dan tidur terus. Tapi sebelum itu, caj penuh-penuh powerbank dahulu dan sementara internet di Dunedin ni unlimited boleh la surf2 merepek dan inform keluarga tentang keadaan semasa. Hari yang letih dan aku pun low batt macam handphone aku jugak. Until next day!

Dinner, vegan macaroni.. ko hado?

Ciao..

Day 2-27/03/2015: Meeting Australian Natives

No, we didn't go to the outback or cultural centre to meet the aboriginal people but its the animals! Since this is the first time I'm in Australia, of course meeting with kangaroos and Koalas are top priority. So, since a few months ago, I have been researching about where to see upclose these Australian native animals with the cheapest price and fairly satisfying experience. So Featherdale Wildlife Park and Taronga Zoo popped up when I asked the question in tripadvisor. Whats the difference between these two venues? Well, if you have budget for these kind of activity.. Taronga Zoo would be your choice, they have more animals including non native animals, they have better views surrounding the city, sky gondola ride going up to the hill, and world class zoo. So, they charge $53 for adults and mind that taking pictures with koalas would be $19. So, its obvious for me to opted for Featherdale because of the almost double price. Everything is in contrast for Featherdale, the main reason for the choice is definitely be the price even though it is a little bit out of the city.

So, that morning we landed at Sydney airport on schedule around 10am local Sydney time. Memang agak mengantukla sebab tidur2 ayam je dalam flight yang mengambil masa about 9 hours direct dari Kuala Lumpur ke Sydney. Sesampai je terus ke imigration cek up and inside the flight we were given entrance card to be filled and passed to the immigration counter. Masa berbaris nak ke imigration counter semua alatan electronic macam handphones, tablet, laptop semua tak boleh guna.. ingat! tak boleh!.. nanti kalau kena tangkap didenda (tak ingat berapa tapi kalau xsilap dalam $1000) so, takyahla nak cari nahas cek-cek phone ye. Declarelah siap2 barangan korang yang bawa tu including segala macam makanan, ubatan, peralatan berkaitan dan etc. Janganla nak selindung2 ke, malas ke because if you are found to bring those things without declaration, korang boleh kena denda atau kena tahan. At the immigration counter, I find the Australian immigration officers are very friendly and will chat with you like a friend, despite macam-macam orang kata dorg strictla apa. Yes, they are strict because you will have to check every single thing through extra procedures, check lagi then baru boleh keluar tapi immigration staff dia still mesra alam. That morning everything went well, even serunding daging & ayam plus coffee 3 in 1 Nasrul pun lepas. Seeloknya janganlah ikut kawan saya seorang ni ye.. sudah tahu dilarang tapi gamble je bawak. But nasib kami memanglah bagus..



Maka bermulalah perjalanan kami lepas semuanya melepasi immigration Sydney! Terus kami pusing-pusing airport cari toilet sebab lama kot masa nak proses imigresen. Ambik gambar sikit and terus cari arah ke train station yang very the easy nak cari, jalan je terus ke hujung sampai directly nampak counter train reception. Seorang pakcik berjanggut serupa macam pakcik Quaker Oat tu duduk situ melayan penumpang-penumpang nak beli tiket. Time kami sampai tak banyak orang pun, so kami terus tanya macam mana nak dapatkan kad multi daypass. Dia kata dia dia jual one way pass je and kalau nak kad2 lain ada jual kat bawah. Since, kami kurang familiar lagi dengan transport Sydney, kami redah je beli one way pass yang berharga $17.80 (termasuk bayaran untuk laluan airport $13). Kenapa ada extra charge ke dan dari airport? sebab the land where they build the railway is owned by someone else so, that person or company or whatsoever decided to charge every single one of people who utilize that route $13 per person. Lucrative bukan! Takyah keja dah, duduk sambil minum kopi dapat duit gitu je.

Train Sydney memang efficient, setiap 15 minit gitu dah ada train. Train dia dua tingkat semua tempat duduk tak macam train kita ada yang kena berdiri. Masa mula2 tu memang rasa jakun tengok seat train dia boleh pusing2 ikut korang nak dok macamana, Dalam 10-15 minit gitu, sampai dah Sydney Central station. Kira macam inilah tempat utama orang Sydney nak naik train, kira macam KL sentral la konsep dia. Ada dalam kurang 30 platform semuanya kat central ni termasuklah train yang keluar dari bandar Sydney. Sebagai panduan semua, kat sini WIFI free okay, jadi cepat2lah update media sosial bila dah sampai sini. Tapi, at first we didn't know about this and terus kitorang cari arah ke hostel untuk letak bag kat bilik dulu. Before arriving I have checked masa check in hostel and masa kitorang memang right on time sebab time tu dalam pukul 12 dah. But, sebelum jumpa hostel kitorang sesat kejap dalam usaha cari hostel kitorang. Punyalah jauh jalan kitorang sampai tanya2 kedai-kedai keliling semua rupa-rupanya hostel sangat dekat dengan central. jalan kurang 10 minit dah boleh sampai. Beberapa bulan sebelum travel date, kitorang dah book kat booking.com semua hostel and of course, harga paling murah menjadi keutamaan. Tapi, hostel ni memang berbaloi sebab harga dan location dia betul-betul seberang Paddy's Market tempat shopping souvenir paling berbaloi kat Sydney.

Sampai kat hostel, hasil dari research online and panduan travellers dari tripadvisor, Sydney City Hostels ni entrance dia susah nak nampak and dia nye signboard pun tersembunyi. Cuma ada signboard Mountbatten Hotel yang jelas kelihatan dari main road. Lepas settle hal-hal cek in, bomu kaunter pun bagi kami kunci sorang satu. Kami pun tanya sekali kalau nak simpan beg kat hostel lepas cek in sebab esoknya kitorang plan nak jenjalan lagi before pergi airport sebelah malamnya. Ada hostel yang bagi free kalau simpan sekejap, tapi hostel ni caj $2 setiap bag. Bilik hostel kitorang dekat tingkat atas nombor 5. Keadaan hostel agak baik, bilik mandi and toilet dia bersih lengkap dengan sabun free. Kitchen pun complete siap ada free coffee, tea, bread, garam semua just WIFI kena bayar kalau nak access dari alatan electronic sendiri. Kalau surf internet boleh guna PC yang disedia kat dining area dia. So, xpayah sebab memang nak ke Central je pun nak ke Featherdale lepas ni. Lepas rehat-rehat kejap and makan tengahari kat hostel, we walked back to Central to catch up with train to Blacktown stop. Memula memang kena tanya information kaunter kat central yang terletak kat tengah2 ruang utama foyer station Central ni. Lepas puas bertanya semua hal yang perlu kat makcik kaunter we decided tak nak ambik multi daypass and change to opal card. Opal card ni ala-ala ezylink singapore or touch'n'go boleh naik hampir semua public transport kat bandar Sydney termasuk ferry terpilih. Cuma perlu topup je bila dah nak habis. Kad ni boleh beli dari convenient store ala-ala 7eleven kat merata Sydney, top up pun kat situ jugak. Kalau bandingkan dengan multidaypass yang harganya $24 tapi opal kena topup ikut belanja korg. For day one ktorang spend around $20 on opal so, lebih jimat.

Back to our story, train time tu memang tengah tunggu penumpang kat platform dia and kitorang terus naik tingkat 2 for better view. Perjalanan ke Blacktown Station mengambil masa lebih kurang sejam macam tu. Dari Blacktown station pulak, kitorang kene naik bas nombor 725 ke Featherdale Wildlife Park. Masa kitorang pergi tu ada some other tourist sekali pergi so, kalau ragu-ragu boleh je tengok dorang stop kat mana. However lepas 10 minit perjalanan signboard Featherdale terpampang kat tepi sebuah kompaun di tengah-tengah kawasan perumahan. Bas berhenti betul-betul depan Featherdale so, very convenient for visitors who use public transport. Masa kitorang sampai sudah dalam pukul 2.30pm so, masih ada 2 setengah jam lagi untuk explore all the animals. Waktu operasi Featherdale Wildlife Park adalah pukul 9 pagi sampai 5 petang. Masuk-masuk kompaun Featherdale, kitorang terus berjalan melalui kawasan carpark ke aras kaunter tiket. Entrance fee $29 per adult but actually boleh dapat murah. Korang mesti rajin belek-belek free brochure kat airport sebab salah satu ada voucher discount 20% untuk setiap tiket. Kitorang yang terlebih excited masa landing xperasan ada voucher tu and bila nak balik Malaysia baru ternampak. Bummer!

Anyway, macam-macam binatang yang korang boleh temui dekat sini and mostly if not all are Australian native animals. Kebanyakannya burung-burung dari pelbagai spesis termasuk burung australia yang famous kookabura (nampak macam burung kingfisher). But of course, tak sah kalau tak berjumpa dengan kangaroo dan koala. Memang puas hati bila kat Featherdale ni kangaroo bertaburan sana sini melompat sini sana. Tapi yang bebas untuk tatapan pengunjung ni semua yang kecik-kecik sebab yang besar agak bahaya kalau dibiar face to face dengan pelawat. So, masa kat Featherdale kebanyakannya dihabiskan masa bermesra dengan haiwan ikonik Aussie, kangaroo. Trick untuk dekat dengan kangaroo ni korang kena beri makanan kat dorang and kangaroo akan datang dekat tanpa segan silu. Makanan untuk kangaroo disediakan dengan harga $1 dalam bentuk kon ice cream berisi rumput-rumput. Kalau malas nak bazir duit, amik je daun-daun dari pokok sekitar park ni, kangaroo pun makan jugak. Pengalaman lain yang berbaloi dekat Featherdale ni ialah bergambar secara dekat dan percuma dengan Koala. Yes, percuma. Tidak seperti Taronga zoo. Sangat berbaloi. Tapi dia ada time dia, and kebetulan masa kami  masuk area Koala tu memang time bergambar. Jadi, apa lagi wefie puas-puas dengan encik Koala! Selain binatang-binatang utama yang dah disebut ada jugak binatang lain seperti wombat, echidna, emu, walabi dan banyak lagi binatang-binatang lain. (Aku memang geek tentang hal2 binatang jadi semua binatang Aussie aku tau)

Selepas aktiviti pertama selesai, kitorang pun berangkat balik ke Circular quay sebaik pengumuman Featherdale nak tutup pukul 5pm. Jalan sama untuk balik, naik bas lepas tu ambik train ke arah city centre. By the time we reached Circular Quay, its already 6.30pm and nightlife at the quay seemed lifely sebab its Friday night. Duduk kat waterfront ni pun cukup menarik jugak, people watching konsepnya. Sambil menikmati permandangan ke arah Sydney bridge yang dilatari skyline bandaraya and Sydney Opera House di sisi satu lagi. dekat bawah Opera House ni ada deretan bar ala chic gitu, tempat locals and visitors alike lepak sambil menikmati keindahan bandar Sydney. For this first day, we decided to just lepak kat waterfront ni je. Tak pergi dekat dengan Opera House pun.. dari jauh je.. amik gambar je ambik view malam kat sini. Seperti tourist yang lain, kami pun ikut teruja ambil beratus-ratus gambar kat sini. Memang cantik view dia.. termasuk permandangan skyline Sydney dan Sydney bridge yang ikonik.

Lepas puas lepak kat Circular Quay, we walked back to the jetty where the ferries were, nearby the train station. So, carilah signboard ferry yang menuju ke Darling Harbour! Opal card boleh guna untuk ferry line ni. Malam pun dah gelap memang cantik permandangan Sydney bermandikan lampu berwarna warni dengan bangunan dia yang superb. From this jetty, the ferry will go on a less than ten minutes ride to Darling Harbour. Masa kat jetty, sebuah kapal pelancongan tengah docking kat tepi ferry kitorang. Memang besar dan luxurious kapal ni, kalau nak naik memang tak mampu lah kan. Anyway, ferry yang kami naiki terus gerak melalui bawah Sydney Bridge yang cantik itu dan menuju ke arah Luna Park, funfair paling tua dekat Sydney. Situ ferry stop kejap hantar ambik orang. Meriahlah funfair ni, lampu terang benderang, memang menarik orang ramai untuk datang ke sini tapi bukan dalam list untuk dilawati kami. Next, ferry jalan lagi melalui satu lagi cluster bangunan di pesisir quay di hadapan. Tak lama lepas itu, kami pun sampai kat Darling Harbour. Kat sini lagi banyak bar-bar dan restaurant sepanjang waterfront. Nampak semuanya agak high end punya area and tourist pun tak ramai berbanding circular quay.

So, malam pun dah semakin gelap dalam jam 9pm macam tu and premis-premis biasa pun banyak tutup melainkan bar, restaurant, convenient store and beberapa exceptional shops. Dekat Darling Harbour ni ada jugak tourist attraction dekat hujung baris bar tadi tu, ada Madame Tussauds, Aquarium and satu lagi tak ingat apa dia. Kalau family oklah kalau nak masuk but, tak termasuk dalam list kitorang jugak. So, we kept on walking sampai ada macam escalator below there's this bridge. Sampai kat atas rupa-rupanya ini Pyrmont Bridge, laluan pejalan kaki merentasi Darling Harbour yang kelihatan seperti mempunyai sejarah yang lama. I wasn't incharge for Sydney itinerary so, didn't do much research about this beautiful structure but cantekla. Jalan lagi turun dekat wharf kat bawah ada sebuah bangunan besar sekali lagi penuh dengan tempat makan dan bar-bar. Ada Hard Rock Cafe at one end of the building but as soon as we got near it was empty, only a few people inside. So Rock is dead, I guess. A few moments later lepas cukup melihat , both of us decided that we should get back to our hostel and get some proper rest sebab agak letih dan mengantuk since we both didnt have enough sleep. Immediately, we went to the signboard map at a corner and it shows that the nearest public transport would be lightrail and bus. We chose lightrail. We directly dash to where the directions shown where the lightrail stop supposed to be, but it was underconstruction!

No train station indicated nearby Pyrmont Bridge according to the signboard map. So, both of us decided to walk back ke jetty tempat kitorang sampai tadi.. memang jauh berjalan balik but seems like there were no other choice at this point tambah kitorang dah letih kot. But as we arrived kat jetty, the jetty was closed pulak!! Tetiba sunyi sepi jetty tu memang no doubt tutup. One by one tourist checked out the jetty, sama macam kitorang rasa hiba nak balik macamana. Lepas relax kejap kat tangga tepi jeti tu kitorang ternampakla kat signboard map jetty ni ada tunjuk train station terdekat sedangkan signboard kat Pyrmont Bridge tadi tak tunjuk! Kene jalan sikit ke arah York Street and station Wynyard terletak dekat tengah-tengah taman seberang Jalan York Street. Time dah nak dekat station susah sikit nak jumpa sebab dia underground, jadi pergilah kedai convenience store tanya locals. Masa kitorang cari station Wynyard kitorang tanya minah blonde ala model kat sebuah kedai ala-ala 7E tengah bayar barang, dia dengan baik hatinya berjalan ke station sama-sama untuk tunjuk station tu tapi sebenarnya dia memang nak pergi ke arah tu. LULZ. So, on the way turun bawah ternampak supermarket Sydney yang diura-urakan antara paling murah, Coles.. a floor or more before reaching Wynyard station platform. Tips kalau nak jimat habis, konsep bajet teruks, mesti ushar supermarket suatu tempat dulu. standardla roti bodoh akan jadi pilihan paling murahan! Sebelum pergi travel pun kalau boleh research harga standard lagi elok. For Australia, I didn't do any research on this tapi I did for New Zealand. Jadi, kalau harga benda makan lebih kurang baik xpayah la gigih bawa dari Malaysia, buat payah je.

Dekat Coles, kitorang beli sebuku roti bersaiz gardenia jumbo tu berharga 99c sahaja (lebih kurang RM2.85) which is lagi murah dari Gardenia (RM3.50). Air mineral pun kena beli sebab takde botol lagi and hostel takde water dispencer harga kalau xsilap lebih kurang $1 jugak mcm tu untuk saiz besar. So, selesai membeli barangan wajib, kitorang terus bertolak balik ke hostel. Dah lewat, dalam pukul 11 pun tak makan lagi kitorang time tu. Sampai je hostel lega rasanya! yelah malam ni baru boleh tidur dengan nyenyak compare to semalam tidur-tidur ayam dalam flight, tambah dengan letih berjalan hari ni. Tapi itu semua syok kot sebab letih-letih tapi puas hati sebab dapat tengok and experience new things kat negeri orang. Lepas ambik air panas dari kitchen di tingkat bawah, aku biar je maggi aku kat bilik tidur sambil aku keluar kejap nak ambik angin kat entrance hostel. Masa aku duduk kat steps entrance hostel, ada sorang mat saleh datang mendekati aku, "Mate, you have 50 cents?". Aku kehairanan, tak biasa dengan orang putih mintak sedekah dan rupa dia tak macam orang mintak sedekah pun. Bersih dan presentable to say the least.. okay, sedikit comot. Aku pun membalas, "No, I left my wallet at my room upstairs". "Oh, smart.. smart.. guy", dia balas. Kemudian dompet yang aku ingat aku tertinggal kat atas rupanya ada dalam poket aku tapi aku buat selamba je supaya mamat mintak sedekah ni tak perasan. Dia datang duduk sebelah aku. Aku pun seriously tak tau nak buat apa dalam situasi itu dan layan je lah mamat ni. Dalam setengah jam jugak aku borak ngan mamat ni sebab aku dapat tanya dia tentang plan nak pergi Blue mointain esok hari dan dengar macam-macam cerita dia. Tetiba aku teringat maggi yang aku biar dekat bilik tadi! Mamat ni pulak rancak bercerita, baik aku tunggu sekejap lagi. Selang masa berlalu aku  dah tak tahan, aku mencelah,
             "Umm.. I think I need to get back to have my dinner upstairs".
             "Oh, sorry mate! Its nice talking to you.. I'm Edward", balas Edward.
             "Ya, I'm EJ. see ya! bye", balas aku lega akhirnya dapat isi perut akhirnya.

Aku terus naik atas cepat-cepat, forsure maggi dah kembang habis dah ni. Masa balik jalan malam tadi ada 2-3 orang roommates dah masuk tido kat bilik, so aku decide nak pergi makan dinner kat kitchen bawah je supaya tak ganggu diorang tido and ada meja besar kat bawah. Nasrul pulak aku tak nampak dalam bilik.. maybe masih dalam bilik mandi. Kat bilik ada satu end table je, kerusi pun ada satu. Hostel pun dah sunyi sepi time ni, semua orang dah masuk tido la kot. Sesampai kat kitchen, ada sorang mamat Asian tengah buat keje kat laptop dia kat meja dinner. Aku selambe jerla makan 3 kerusi dari dia. Dua orang dalam satu bilik, aku tak selesa lalu aku terus direct cakap kat mamat tu, "You're from room no. 5?", tanya aku sebab aku nampak buku Korean dia kat katil seberang katil kitorang.
           "Yes!", balas Korean tu.
           "We're roommate and I saw your book in the room this morning"
So, borak-borak pendek sekejap kat kitchen dengan Korean ni dapatlah kenal-kenal and dengar cerita dia sikit. Korean standardla, english dia kurang fasih sikit. Jadi chit chat kitorang diringi bahasa isyarat dan yang sewaktu dengannya. Macam tu la kat hostel, kengkadang kita kena start conversation with other travellers sebab everyone's in the same shoes. Tapi ikut memasingla, everyone ada personaliti masing-masing jugak.. ada yang berminat nak bercakap.. ada yang kekwat.. ada yang malu.. macam-macam ada! One of my target list travel kali ni ialah to get to know other people from all over the world.. because before this aku dah pernah backpacking pergi Europe for 2 weeks, but it never crossed my mind to get to know other travellers. Maybe because I was young, I travelled with my friends so, its nothing that I thought of. Thinking back about it, memang I should have done it. And yes, I got the opportunity this time, so concept mesra alam harus dipraktikkan with other travellers.



Day one done! Ikuti entry seterusnya!

Bali Trip Throwback 3

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CLIMBING DAY

DAY 3: 02/06/2012

Our third day in Bali started a bit later than our first 2 days as our main highlight of the day in the itinerary is during the sunset, the Kecak Dance. First in our itinerary today is watersports activities at Nusa Dua located not really far from our hotel. They offered some packages of activities consisting of all sort which we ended up taking the paragliding, flying buoy thing (similar to they banana boat but more extreme) and snorkelling (which was actually diving because we had to carry oxygen tank). It comes with a bottle of mineral drinks and a packet of bread. The bread is not as snacks but to feed the fish! Overall, I'd recommend this activities to people who enjoy this kinda stuff but some people may not be able to enjoy this because of the thrills. In comparison to the other activities that we had in Bali however, this is the most pricey so far but it is still cheap compared to paragliding say, in Penang though. After the exhausting and 'dizzy-ing' morning, we stopped by a nearby padang restaurant on our way back to the town area. The restaurant is a really humble premise and exceptionally clean. They serve Padang food, originating from the island of Sumatera in Indonesia. You can see Padang restaurant all over Indonesia and in Bali itself Padang restaurants can be found in town areas. As we sat for the meal, the waiters started loading our table with multiple selection of dishes served with white rice. It was the best lunch we ever had in Bali, seriously! It was Minang food at its best even though we were in Bali.

Delicioso Minang lunch

That 'hole' or 'cliff'

After the satisfying lunch, we found ourselves back on the road going to Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park (GWK). But before we make our way there, Pak Supir brought us to a public park somewhere at a luxury hotel cluster was located which I forgot the name of it. He wanted to show us a cliff that was eroded by the ocean waves that created a small 'hole or cliff' (?) which was quite cool. Nothing much to see around the area so we continued our journey to GWK. The park is located amongst the limestone hills surrounding the area. At first glance one might thought that the park is a historical place because the sculptures and buildings were as if one of Balinese temple buildings but as we got closer to the complex it is obvious that this park is new and created as a tourist attraction. After the gateway, we arrived at an open plaza with some shops and restaurants in the area. Beyond the plaza, we entered a walkway with giant limestone at both our side standing as tall as a 3 storey building. It leads us towards another open plaza with nothing much inside. 

On the left side of the plaza, a staircase heading towards a Garuda head is located on an upper ground venue. Still tired from the morning activity, all of us struggled climbing the giant stairs to reach the Garuda. Obviously the garuda was still in progress as the remaining parts were sort of under construction. Another stairs leads up to another sculpture of Vishnu which was also under construction. After reaching the top most location of the park, we were rewarded with a beautiful panorama of Bali and it was worth climbing up the never ending stairs. To get back to the main plaza we need to go down another stairs on the other side.

Pecatu Beach

So far our third day in Bali was the most tiring and there were still activities ahead of us as Pak Supir drove us an isolated location near a seaside. The location looks like a new tourist area with small country-side road leading towards it. Pak Supir mentioned that since Julia Roberts shot a few scene at this beach in 'Eat, Pray, Love', people came flocking by the beach everyday ever since. In order to get to the beach, we need to climb down a series of stairs passing by a small cave and finally to the sandy shores of Pecatu Beach. Some local business stalls greeted us at the beach selling mostly tropical beach wear. A bunch of people getting their sun bath by the beach and others walk around just enjoying the place. Pecatu Beach is a short beach with stone cliffs at some of the water edges, which I can imagine might be a nice place before it was famous because of its mysterious, secret beach location but now its crowded with tourist!

There we go again climbing up the stairs to get back to our car as we need to get to Pura Uluwatu on time for the Kecak Dance. The performance will start at 6 pm and we need to get there as early as possible to get a good seat. We reached Pura Uluwatu just at the right time as Pak Supir guided us towards the a pathway that leads to a 10 minutes walk, up dan down the stairs until we reached a garden where they sell the performance tickets. Along the way, we enjoyed the seaside view of the Pura itself which is located atop a high cliff on the other side of the pathway. There were monkeys lurking along the pathway as well, looking for opportunity to steal any shiny stuff that you have including glasses and mineral drinks bottle. There were already tonnes of people waiting to be seated in the hall when we arrived. One third of the seat have been taken, leaving us with plenty of seat options. We chose the middle row to get the best view of the whole performance. A few minutes later, the performance started and the audience kept coming into the hall, getting seated at any corners they could get. The performance was a combination of dance and acting telling stories of the Monkey god, Hanuman from the Hindhu mythology. There were fire flying around, a lot of group shouting "KECAK", Hanuman jumping in and out of the audience seat and dancing princesses. The show was good but I still prefer the Barongan dance for its Balinese originality.

Amazing view to the cliff at Pura Uluwatu

Don't play with fire, don't play with monkey either.

After a day of climbing stairs, Pak Supir has planned for us a nice dinner at fancy tourist restaurant somewhere at a beach side which if I am not mistaken was in Nusa Dua. As a local, surely he had find us a fairly good restaurant with the best deals and we were right. It was a nice ending to the tiring day and we had the nicest dinner in paradise before we head back to our hotel.

Bali Trip Throwback 2

-----------------------------------------------------------

ROYALNESS

DAY 2: 01/06/2012

Pura Taman Ayun's construction was sponsored by the Royal family

Our second day in Bali started with a breakfast meal at the hotel with view towards the construction site outside the hotel compound. Good way to start the day eyh? Pak Supir waited for us at the hotel lobby while we rushed to finish our first meal of the day. The first destination for today is a royal public temple, Pura Taman Ayun located at Mengwi district. As we arrived at the the carpark area, the pathway directly leads to an ancient looking bridge over a flowing small river. Over on the other side of the gateway, a stone pathway heads to a majestic gateway blocking views towards whatever on the other side of the brick fence wall. The front part of the temple complex is decorated with an open landscape garden with kemboja trees along the way. As we reached the inner temple gateway, we followed a pathway leading at side of the fence wall, towards the main temple area. Tourist aren't allowed to enter the temple so, we circled around the temple area which is surrounding with a shorter brick fence wall. The area consists of a few pagoda-like buildings or hut with each one standing as tall as around 10 feet high.
              

The wall seaparating outsiders from the main compound

The bridge and gateway

Finished with our first destination, we head off to Lake Bratan where Pura Ulun Danu is located. Our journey to Lake Bratan took quite a long ride on the road passing through villages and as we reach a scenic town along the way, our tour guide (more like driver actually) points out that the temperature outside is getting colder as we get even higher to the mountain top as he lowered down his window. We passed through a wonderful town at the side of a lake which looks totally amazing. Further uphill, we reached a place which obviously quite touristy. Apparently, as we reached there were some religious event taking place at the temple complex. There were girls dressing up in traditional performing costumes, local families walking around in traditional outfits and women carrying offerings on their head. We went in the complex with our eyes still gazing around the crowd observing their daily ritual activities. As we got closer to the temple, we can't help to notice Lake Bratan at the background. Its so enchanting that we didn't really paying attention to the Pura itself at the edge of the lake. Just off the edge of the water, a pagoda-like structure stands in the lake which personally got my attention more than the main building complex.

We spent quite a while at Lake Bratan as there where some other places around the temple complex which include a walkway with a small jetty, a recreational garden and a bigger garden at the front. As we were walking back to the parking area, I overheard a family with familiar language. I listen even more carefully as I was curious what I heard was right and it seemed clear to me they were  conversing in Iban language, one of the ethnic groups from Borneo. "what a small world", I said in my head as we continued passing by a row of shops. The driver brought us to a local farmer's market on our way to the next destination where the locals sell local produce in abundance, mostly fruits like strawberries, avocado, salak fruit, and many more (some I never seen before). We bought a box of strawberries and munched some during our journey. 

 

Next we went for a quick stop at one of the nicest view looking towards Lake Bragan from a higher ground and Bali never seemed to stop impressing us. Few photo session as remembrance of the captivating scene, we were off again on the road for our next stop. After a few minutes on the road going downhill, we stopped by for lunch at a restaurant overlooking an amazing scenery, and yes its a miles and miles away stunning paddy terrace. This one is more spectacular then the one we'd seen yesterday, As for the food, slightly better than yesterday and thanks to the panoramic view, it was a nice lunch. 

 

As usual, Pak Supir didn't join us for lunch and he waits patiently at the parking lot ready to get to the next stop. He planned all the itinerary for us as we mentioned where we intended to go and he will try his best to make it as efficient as possible. We drove all the way from the hillside to another temple at a seaside location. It is the iconic Pura Tanah Lot, also known as the snake temple. The temple building is located atop a giant natural stone facing the sea but before we reached our main target of the day, a Balinese gateway greats us that leads to a local craft and tourist market that stretch all the way towards the beach. We bought quite a number of souvenirs here which are mostly modern framed paintings for gifts and home decoration. Our tour guide earlier mentioned that its advisable that if the shopkeeper offered to roll the drawing for easier baggage handling, just say no. These paintings are not as high quality as the expensive ones, so they were probably made from low quality paint and may crack if rolled. He also mentioned that the paintings won't last as long because of this but guess what my painting at home has been hanging there for 2 years and it looks just as new! After a long picking and bargaining session at some of the shops, we quickly walked to the seaside.

When we arrived there, the place was full of people, mostly tourist and some local prayers. Stretches of golden sandy beach with stone cliffs and some huge stone on the seaside, people were standing there looking upwards at Pura Tanah Lot. Outsiders are not allowed to go to the temple on the stone instead, there were a small cave-ish enclave under the stone where locals pray to the snake deity that was said protecting Pura Tanah Lot. Some tourist lined up with the locals to be blessed at the entrance which also located next to the stairs heading up to the temple. We spent the evening until sunset at the seaside, enjoying the breathtaking view of Pura Tanah Lot with the sea as its background.