Kia Ora, Aotearoa!
5:12 AM
Kia Ora means "Hello!" or "Greetings!"
Aoteoroa is the Maori translation of the word "New Zealand
Hello!! I haven't posted something in awhile just because I was waiting for this moment to come! It's like "I didn't post because I'm saving up for this glorious moment" thing.
If you didn't know, from March 29 up to April 10, I have stayed at New Zealand for an early summer vacation + a very grand yet simple (in ways) family reunion And yes, I haven't been online too much during my stay there because I was trying to enjoy my vacation, gadget-free. Well, except for the photography part just because I wouldn't miss taking pictures of New Zealand for the whole damn world. That place was beautiful, I tell you. And their culture is actually the one responsible why I fell inlove with the place.
Enough of the chit-chat, here's what my adventure in New Zealand looked like! :)
*will continue to add pictures whenever I feel like it hahaha
I wouldn't mind living here and waking up to this view everyday. Plus if you're actually looking for adventure, then you could go for a dip in the lake in your backyard. ;) Unfortunately, I wasn't that brave to try swimming in the lake, especially when I remembered hearing stories about brain-eating bacterias in lakes. I know, creepy right? At least I got to enjoy the view.
We stayed in this lakehouse for 3 days, and it was located at Rotorua, a place 3-hours away from Auckland.
After staying in Rotorua for 3 days, my uncle decided to take us here, a lake located in Auckland. I kinda forgot what the lake was called but it was my first time to step in these kind of places, because I think there's nothing like this in the Philippines. The thing that struck me the most in this place was the "IMAG_NE" sign, where one "I" is missing. It was then I realized that imagination starts with yourself. Yaay.
After visiting the musuem, we went on top of a hill in the middle of the city (sounds weird?) and had a chance to view the Auckland skyline. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take decent pictures because my phone's camera was too low qual for the scenery. But here's a picture of my sisters and I. This is my favorite one.
This was taken at Matamata, New Zealand or famously known as, Hobbiton. Yes, I got the chance to visit Middle Earth. The first picture is Matamata's musuem, but unfortunately we weren't able to go inside because of time constraints.
Guess whose house is this! :-)
These pictures were taken at Paihia, located at the far north of New Zealand. It's almost the edge of New Zealand and Paihia is the place to be if you love the beach. But unfortunately, I wasn't able to swim in the beach, because THE WATER IS COLD AS HELL. Only people who are used to New Zealand's weather could swim in those waters.
The first picture is my first vanilla ice cream from Movenpick a.k.a the best ice cream i've tasted. I think there's no Movenpick store here in the Philipines but I'm hoping there will be one soon.
And the second pic is a pic of my whole family. As I said, this trip is actually a family reunion. And the fact that I get to travel with my whole family is very,very heartwarming. I love this bunch so much. They're my treasures.
These pictures are taken at Downtown Auckland. First picture was taken with risk, and stealth (lol) because we were crossing the street and we had to rush since New Zealand pedestrians only have 10 seconds to cross the street. But I guess 10 seconds was enough for me to take a decent pic of the street hah.
We got the chance to go inside Sky City which is similar to Seattle's space needle. I have to admit, I was scared to go up at first but once I got to the top, all the fear was washed away by the happiness brought about by the view. The third pic is one of my favorite shots taken at Sky City.
This is actually the last part of the trip, and it was a great trip-ender.
Disclaimer: All photos ©Andrea Soriano unless otherwise stated.
I actually still have so much to share with you but I think this blogpost is already a long-ass one, so I guess I'm wrapping it up here. This isn't everything I experienced at New Zealand but I hope you had a glimpse of what I had encountered in that beautiful country. I definitely want you to travel to New Zealand so you could also experience what I did. Plus you'd get to explore the creative culture that surrounds New Zealand. I hope you enjoyed reading this one!
whakawhetai ki a koutou! and stay adventurous x
Au revoir! x A
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