There and back again
Hehe, somehow I find that that quote wraps up our trip perfectly :D
But yes, I was supposed to show you some pictures from our holiday. Telling a lot more about our trip would make a way too long story but some highlights...
So, the first stop was Singapore. Hot, humid, wet, sunny. Nothing too spectacular but a place worth visiting. A good place for shopping, especially if you like those small allies with lots of little shops and stuff.
The next stop was Port Douglas in Australia and as I told earlier, the high point was the snorkling at the Great Barrier Reefs. When we took off and the boat was jumping around like hell and I get easily sea sick I was wondering why I'm there... but as it turned out the sea sickness pills worked like a dream and what we saw there was so unique that I'm forever grateful for my sisters husband who originally was the one who wanted us to go there (he scuba dives). If you ever have a chance to go to Australia, this is the place where you should go if you find sea life even a bit interesting. (We have a few pictures from underwater but I don't have them yet.)
After that we went to Sydney. A cool city - The historial Rocks was the best place.
And then finally the place I had been looking forward - New Zealand. We first took a bus from Christchruch and then a ferry to North Island and Wellington. In Wellington we took a LotR tour during which we saw at least: the places of the studios, Peter Jacksons house, Weta Cave, the place where Bree had been, The Shortcut to Mushrooms -place and a the places of few other scenes following that, Rivendell, parts of Isengard... and more. And we heard tons of stories, even some I hadn't heard before (that makes him a very good guide :D).
Rivendell
Well, I wouldn't make a good elf :p
From Wellington we drove to Ohakune, near the Tongariro National Park. Tongariro is the home of Mount Ruapehu and a couple of other filming places. We couldn't go to Ruapehu because it would have been a day trip and we should have had proper hiking gear with us. But we did visit the place where Gollum catches a fish on their way to Ithillien.
Near Ohakune is Gravity Canyon I told about earlier. Here a couple of pictures to prove that I actually did the Flying Fox:
From Ohakune we went to Rotorua where we explored the Maori culture. We visited Te Puia where we saw traditional Maori games, songs and the Haka, and ate traditional Maori food. A great evening. Rotorua is also thermal area and in Te Puia there is a big geyser we also saw.
After Rotorua it was finally time to go to Matamata and Hobbiton. For me it's the heart of Lord of the Rings and I was finally there. Can you believe the feeling when I saw this:
Bagshot row
Bag End
Hobbiton
Our trip to Middle-Earth was unforgettable and if I ever get a chance I'll go back and explore the South Island and it's filming places.
From New Zealand we went back to Australia and Adelaide where my mom had been during our trip to New Zealand. We met my mom's cousin and his family and had a couple of nice evenings with them. There's nothing special in Adelaide but it's a nice city and the natural park near it was great since we had a chance to pet and feed kangaroos.
Then it was time to start the journey home and the rest is history. Dubai is a place worth visiting if you necessary don't want to see historically important sights but like sun and shopping. The shopping malls are incredible and also quite cheap. The old Souks are rather irritating with all those salesmen trying to sell you stuff but if you can handle those and are ready to bargain, sure. The jeep safari at the desert we took was fun and the waterpark we visited on our last day was also just great.
Camel riding
There really are so many little details and stories I'd like to share but it's just impossible without making a whole book. If we ever meet face to face and the discussion turns to travelling, I'll share more :)
You can find the rest of the pictures here.
But yes, I was supposed to show you some pictures from our holiday. Telling a lot more about our trip would make a way too long story but some highlights...
So, the first stop was Singapore. Hot, humid, wet, sunny. Nothing too spectacular but a place worth visiting. A good place for shopping, especially if you like those small allies with lots of little shops and stuff.
The next stop was Port Douglas in Australia and as I told earlier, the high point was the snorkling at the Great Barrier Reefs. When we took off and the boat was jumping around like hell and I get easily sea sick I was wondering why I'm there... but as it turned out the sea sickness pills worked like a dream and what we saw there was so unique that I'm forever grateful for my sisters husband who originally was the one who wanted us to go there (he scuba dives). If you ever have a chance to go to Australia, this is the place where you should go if you find sea life even a bit interesting. (We have a few pictures from underwater but I don't have them yet.)
After that we went to Sydney. A cool city - The historial Rocks was the best place.
And then finally the place I had been looking forward - New Zealand. We first took a bus from Christchruch and then a ferry to North Island and Wellington. In Wellington we took a LotR tour during which we saw at least: the places of the studios, Peter Jacksons house, Weta Cave, the place where Bree had been, The Shortcut to Mushrooms -place and a the places of few other scenes following that, Rivendell, parts of Isengard... and more. And we heard tons of stories, even some I hadn't heard before (that makes him a very good guide :D).
Rivendell
Well, I wouldn't make a good elf :p
From Wellington we drove to Ohakune, near the Tongariro National Park. Tongariro is the home of Mount Ruapehu and a couple of other filming places. We couldn't go to Ruapehu because it would have been a day trip and we should have had proper hiking gear with us. But we did visit the place where Gollum catches a fish on their way to Ithillien.
Near Ohakune is Gravity Canyon I told about earlier. Here a couple of pictures to prove that I actually did the Flying Fox:
From Ohakune we went to Rotorua where we explored the Maori culture. We visited Te Puia where we saw traditional Maori games, songs and the Haka, and ate traditional Maori food. A great evening. Rotorua is also thermal area and in Te Puia there is a big geyser we also saw.
After Rotorua it was finally time to go to Matamata and Hobbiton. For me it's the heart of Lord of the Rings and I was finally there. Can you believe the feeling when I saw this:
Bagshot row
Bag End
Hobbiton
Our trip to Middle-Earth was unforgettable and if I ever get a chance I'll go back and explore the South Island and it's filming places.
From New Zealand we went back to Australia and Adelaide where my mom had been during our trip to New Zealand. We met my mom's cousin and his family and had a couple of nice evenings with them. There's nothing special in Adelaide but it's a nice city and the natural park near it was great since we had a chance to pet and feed kangaroos.
Then it was time to start the journey home and the rest is history. Dubai is a place worth visiting if you necessary don't want to see historically important sights but like sun and shopping. The shopping malls are incredible and also quite cheap. The old Souks are rather irritating with all those salesmen trying to sell you stuff but if you can handle those and are ready to bargain, sure. The jeep safari at the desert we took was fun and the waterpark we visited on our last day was also just great.
Camel riding
There really are so many little details and stories I'd like to share but it's just impossible without making a whole book. If we ever meet face to face and the discussion turns to travelling, I'll share more :)
You can find the rest of the pictures here.