My next intended stop after the Taman Negara National Park was the Cameron Highlands. I was tempted to go to the Perhentian Islands from Taman Negara, which is a great place to go for beautiful beaches and snorkeling opportunities. I decided not to in the end because it's where Jake died and people may think I'm a bad person for not going to pay my respects but I know if I went there I wouldn't be able to enjoy myself for obvious reasons. Getting anywhere on public transport from Taman Negara was a challenge, with an expensive private shuttle minibus operating once daily to KL, Perhentian Islands, and Penang via Cameron Highlands from Kuala Tahan. I however decided to attempt to take local buses to the Cameron Highlands, a far cheaper way of doing things.
As I caught the bus from Kuala Tahan to Jerantut on the Wednesday, I had a chilled out start to the day. The locals at the bus station were actually really helpful the previous day and helped me plan my journey to the Cameron Highlands. My first bus took me from Jerantut to Kuala Lipis. En route however there was an overturned truck which caused a few delays. When arriving in Kuala Lipis my next bus was to Raub. My final bus was from Raub to Tanah Rata which was my planned base to explore the Cameron Highlands. That bus was however delayed by 3 hours which meant a very long wait in some very humid weather! When the bus finally did come it was packed, but luckily it emptied out at Sungai Koyan. I didn't end up arriving into Tanah Rata until darkness.
The Cameron Highlands are located at altitude which means it's a nice area to get a bit of respite from the heat and humidity elsewhere in Malaysia. It's still hot when the sun is out, but certainly at night the temperatures are nice and cool. It's perhaps most famous for its vivid green tea plantations which cling to the sides of the hills, as well as its many strawberry farms. There are also some great hiking opportunities in the area. My base of Tanah Rata was only a small town centered around one street, but there were several pleasant cafes and outdoor eateries so it was a good base to explore the area.
After collecting a map of the walking trails and main tourist attractions in the area, I decided I would do a trek through the jungle out to the Boh Tea Estate via the 1840m summit of Gunung Berembun. The walking trails in the area were arranged in a number based system, although I was advised they were poorly maintained and notoriously hard to find. Apparently local tour guides go out twiddling with the trailheads to try and make you book tours instead of going out self guided. That was exactly the case, as when looking for trailhead 7 it was located round the back of a hotel and there was no sign to get there. Luckily the locals helped me. When actually on the trail it was easy to follow, it was just finding the actual trailhead!
The hike up to Gunung Berembun was pretty steep and muddy, and it was actually pretty disappointing at the top as the summit was just in the trees and didn't really have any views. From the summit I headed down trail 8 to Robinson Falls, the descent very steep and slippery! Once again however when arriving at the waterfall it was a little lacklustre, the waterfall itself littered in garbage. From the falls I had to follow trail 9a towards the Boh Tea Estate, and it felt as if that trail hadn't been walked for years as there was a lot of bush bashing and it was incredibly overgrown! Eventually I reached a point where I couldn't physically go any further so I dropped into this farm where the workers on the farm helped me get to the road.
When on the road it was a lot easier and I headed into the Boh Tea Estate. It was actually really pleasant, initially going through some lovely farmland, before reaching the tea plantation. There were trails everywhere through the plantation which you could freely explore, and it was a very tranquil setting with lush green tea crops clinging onto the hillsides as far as the eye could see. At the end of the road there was a tearoom and the factory where they make the tea. On the way back out I visited this small strawberry farm where they had a pick your own, and they were very yummy.
I eventually made it to the main road at Habu Village. From here I had to follow the road back towards Tanah Rata, although as I had dropped down a fair way to Boh it was a long slog back up a winding road. En route I stopped at the Cameron Bharat Tea Estate which was a more touristy tea estate, but it had a really nice tea room which overlooked the plantation. This dog decided to follow me to the tea room though! After having a walk round the plantation, the dog was sitting there waiting for me, and ended up following me all the way back to Tanah Rata!
The next morning when I went out for breakfast, the dog that followed me found me again! Luckily it only kept me company for breakfast, with my plan to head towards the Sungai Palas Tea Estate, stopping at places en route. My first stop of the day was Parit Falls, although once again it was a little lacklustre due to the garbage surrounding the falls. From here I headed to Brinchang, the next town north where I visited a couple of temples including the Sam Poh Temple. Heading north from Brinchang I followed the road where I passed several strawberry farms, garden centres, and roadside market stalls selling stuff like fruit and veg, and some very tacky souvenirs.
My first stop on the way up was Cactus Point which was a nice little garden centre selling lots of cactus plants. From there I reached Kea Farm which was a bustling little market where I grabbed some lunch, before continuing onto the Sungai Palas Tea Estate. Like the previous day it was a lovely tranquil setting, and this one allowed you to explore the factory too which was interesting. After a good look round I started beading back towards Tanah Rata, stopping en route at the Ee Feng Gu Bee Farm. I inevitably got stung although you could freely explore the farm, and there was a shop selling an array of fascinating products. On the way back to Tanah Rata I was tempted to visit this butterfly farm, although I instead checked out another strawberry farm in Brinchang which as well as doing pick your own had a strawberry desert cafe so I had to go there, before getting back to Tanah Rata a nice and reasonable time.
Monday, 26 March 2018
Thursday, 22 March 2018
Taman Negara National Park
I decided to spend the weekend in Kuala Lumpur as my next intended stop was the Taman Negara National Park, and I wanted to make sure my bowels were completely under control before arriving. As I had done much of the sightseeing and exploring when I was last in Kuala Lumpur, I had a pretty relaxing time, although I did go out and watch the fountain show at Lake Symphony on the Saturday night, and the football on Sunday night. By Sunday my bowels were a lot better and I was back to eating normal food without any problems, which I very happy about because Asian food is so good.
On Monday I set off towards the Taman Negara National Park, which is apparently the world's oldest tropical rainforest. Getting there was the challenging part however as the primary way in is to go with a tour company, and I wanted to go self guided. After a bit of research I found the best way to get there self guided was by catching a bus to the town of Jerantut, before then catching another bus to the small village of Kuala Tahan which is the main gateway into the national park. Luckily when arriving at the bus station in Kuala Lumpur there were a few other backpackers there doing the same thing as me so I knew I was on the right track.
The drive to Jerantut was a nice scenic one as it went up via the Genting Highlands. This is where many Malaysians come on holiday as being at altitude the temperatures a lot cooler. There's therefore lots of entertainment complexes and high end hotel resorts up there. When arriving in Jerantut the bus to Kuala Tahan was waiting for us and was a nice and swift swap before continuing into the national park. The drive in went through these extensive palm plantations. When arriving in Kuala Tahan I soon found somewhere to stay and picked up a map of the walking trails in the area so I could plan my time there. The village itself was only small, with a busy river jetty offering boat transfers across the river into national park, accompanied by these floating restaurants and tour companies trying to sell you stuff.
I had several options of walks to do in the national park, before arriving tempted to try the challenging trek to the 2100m or so summit of Guning Tahan via the Four Step Waterfall. I opted against this in the end and decided I would stick to the trails in closer proximity to Kuala Tahan. The national park has a pretty extensive system of hides which are basically the equivalent of huts in New Zealand, but more like an actual hide so you can look out for wildlife, so I left the bulk of my kit in Kuala Tahan and went in with plenty of food and water, with the aim of staying out the night in the jungle somewhere. I had a vague idea of my route and several potential spots to stay the night.
After crossing the Tembeling River into the national park, I headed out towards the swimming hole at Lata Berkoh. En route I passed another swimming hole at Lubok Simpon, as well as my first hide at Bumbun Tabing. It was very hard work trekking though as the humidity was just crazy. I know when I left the weather forecast was quoting 38 degrees, and I least got out the direct sunlight by being in the trees, but it was still an absolute sweat box inside the trees! When arriving at Lata Berkoh it wasn't the most tempting place to swim, the water being brown, so I headed back on myself towards Bumbun Kumbang.
In a navigation sense it was actually really challenging as I got deeper into the jungle, as there weren't really any signs to help you, just these faded yellow spots on trees were all I had to follow, which disappeared constantly. I had a few occasions where I didn't see any for ages and wondered if I had gone wrong, but I was extra careful to make sure I followed the most obvious looking path. I did see a lot of humongous lumps of dung though which was obviously left by a large animal of some sort, I wasn't sure what though! Eventually I made it to the Terenggan river crossing which I had to paddle across, from here heading over to Kuala Terenggan where I rejoined the Tembeling River.
From Kuala Terenggan I wanted to do part of the Keniam Trail to explore and even possibly spend the night in these caves, but I couldn't find the path. I found some kind of small track but I wasn't confident enough to pursue it as I knew getting to Gua Kepayang, the cave I wanted to explore, was on paper 6km away and I didn't want to follow an unmarked path based on a hunch and risk getting lost. I therefore decided to base myself at the nearby hide of Bumbun Kumbang for the night. I still had a good 3 hours of daylight to play with, but I had already been out for about 8 hours so knew I probably should rest, and staying in a hide was far more appealing than camping after seeing some of insects crawling on the floor, the hide itself on stilts in the jungle canopy. I was pleased I did stay there as not long after arriving I spotted some monkeys, I think they were Gibbons, which were very fun to watch!
Overnight the jungle came alive and there was an absolute racket! There were some really unusual noises, and I was glad I pitched my mosquito net section of tent on the bunk bed and slept in that as I would have got eaten alive otherwise! It was let's say an experience sleeping in the heart of the jungle. Come morning my plan was to follow the Tembeling River back to Kuala Tahan, although when reaching the river crossing to cross the Terenggan River I couldn't see a realistic way across without physically swimming across, which wasn't the most attractive prospect as I could see eels in the river. There was this old collapsed bridge which I tried to use to decend to river level but it started giving way. As I couldn't see any alternative way both down to the river and then across, I decided to head back to where I crossed the river the previous day.
On my way back to the river crossing I saw a snake, although unfortunately it slithered into the bushes before I could get a picture. I think it was some kind of Krait. As before, navigationally it was challenging, and I soon reached this stream crossing which I knew I hadn't crossed the previous day. After retracing my steps I found a less obvious path which took me to the river crossing. I think I found the Keniam Trail as it was marked with the yellow dots the path I followed to the stream. There was no indication of a path the other side of the river, but I knew I'd come from that way, so nevertheless crossed the river which was luckily just a paddle, and eventually soon found the yellow dots again.
I followed the same path all the way back to the turn off to Lata Berkoh, and although it was navigationally tough I remembered certain things I'd passed on the way the the previous day. There was just one point I struggled as the path appeared to just stop, but when retracing my steps found a less obvious path and was back on track. Eventually I reached Lubok Simpon where I finally started seeing people again, and from here went out to Bumbun Tahan and the canopy walkway. The canopy walkway was unfortunately closed which was a series of swingbridges through the canopy, something which looked really fun. I was tempted to do a walk to summit of Bukit Teresek but by that point a nice cold drink in a cafe was far more appealing than trekking through the humid jungle.
By the time I got back to Kuala Tahan it was late afternoon, and with the local bus to Jerantut leaving each day at 10am and 5pm, I had the option to leave on the 5pm bus. In terms of exploring the national park I had actually explored a fair bit, and the only other realistic hike I could do was the Tenor Trail to visit a cave and further explore the jungle, although that would have required a full days hiking. As I was kind of done with hiking in humidity, I caught the bus to Jerantut for the night, mainly so I could get WiFi to plan the next few days, something not possible staying another night in Kuala Tahan.
On Monday I set off towards the Taman Negara National Park, which is apparently the world's oldest tropical rainforest. Getting there was the challenging part however as the primary way in is to go with a tour company, and I wanted to go self guided. After a bit of research I found the best way to get there self guided was by catching a bus to the town of Jerantut, before then catching another bus to the small village of Kuala Tahan which is the main gateway into the national park. Luckily when arriving at the bus station in Kuala Lumpur there were a few other backpackers there doing the same thing as me so I knew I was on the right track.
The drive to Jerantut was a nice scenic one as it went up via the Genting Highlands. This is where many Malaysians come on holiday as being at altitude the temperatures a lot cooler. There's therefore lots of entertainment complexes and high end hotel resorts up there. When arriving in Jerantut the bus to Kuala Tahan was waiting for us and was a nice and swift swap before continuing into the national park. The drive in went through these extensive palm plantations. When arriving in Kuala Tahan I soon found somewhere to stay and picked up a map of the walking trails in the area so I could plan my time there. The village itself was only small, with a busy river jetty offering boat transfers across the river into national park, accompanied by these floating restaurants and tour companies trying to sell you stuff.
I had several options of walks to do in the national park, before arriving tempted to try the challenging trek to the 2100m or so summit of Guning Tahan via the Four Step Waterfall. I opted against this in the end and decided I would stick to the trails in closer proximity to Kuala Tahan. The national park has a pretty extensive system of hides which are basically the equivalent of huts in New Zealand, but more like an actual hide so you can look out for wildlife, so I left the bulk of my kit in Kuala Tahan and went in with plenty of food and water, with the aim of staying out the night in the jungle somewhere. I had a vague idea of my route and several potential spots to stay the night.
After crossing the Tembeling River into the national park, I headed out towards the swimming hole at Lata Berkoh. En route I passed another swimming hole at Lubok Simpon, as well as my first hide at Bumbun Tabing. It was very hard work trekking though as the humidity was just crazy. I know when I left the weather forecast was quoting 38 degrees, and I least got out the direct sunlight by being in the trees, but it was still an absolute sweat box inside the trees! When arriving at Lata Berkoh it wasn't the most tempting place to swim, the water being brown, so I headed back on myself towards Bumbun Kumbang.
In a navigation sense it was actually really challenging as I got deeper into the jungle, as there weren't really any signs to help you, just these faded yellow spots on trees were all I had to follow, which disappeared constantly. I had a few occasions where I didn't see any for ages and wondered if I had gone wrong, but I was extra careful to make sure I followed the most obvious looking path. I did see a lot of humongous lumps of dung though which was obviously left by a large animal of some sort, I wasn't sure what though! Eventually I made it to the Terenggan river crossing which I had to paddle across, from here heading over to Kuala Terenggan where I rejoined the Tembeling River.
From Kuala Terenggan I wanted to do part of the Keniam Trail to explore and even possibly spend the night in these caves, but I couldn't find the path. I found some kind of small track but I wasn't confident enough to pursue it as I knew getting to Gua Kepayang, the cave I wanted to explore, was on paper 6km away and I didn't want to follow an unmarked path based on a hunch and risk getting lost. I therefore decided to base myself at the nearby hide of Bumbun Kumbang for the night. I still had a good 3 hours of daylight to play with, but I had already been out for about 8 hours so knew I probably should rest, and staying in a hide was far more appealing than camping after seeing some of insects crawling on the floor, the hide itself on stilts in the jungle canopy. I was pleased I did stay there as not long after arriving I spotted some monkeys, I think they were Gibbons, which were very fun to watch!
Overnight the jungle came alive and there was an absolute racket! There were some really unusual noises, and I was glad I pitched my mosquito net section of tent on the bunk bed and slept in that as I would have got eaten alive otherwise! It was let's say an experience sleeping in the heart of the jungle. Come morning my plan was to follow the Tembeling River back to Kuala Tahan, although when reaching the river crossing to cross the Terenggan River I couldn't see a realistic way across without physically swimming across, which wasn't the most attractive prospect as I could see eels in the river. There was this old collapsed bridge which I tried to use to decend to river level but it started giving way. As I couldn't see any alternative way both down to the river and then across, I decided to head back to where I crossed the river the previous day.
On my way back to the river crossing I saw a snake, although unfortunately it slithered into the bushes before I could get a picture. I think it was some kind of Krait. As before, navigationally it was challenging, and I soon reached this stream crossing which I knew I hadn't crossed the previous day. After retracing my steps I found a less obvious path which took me to the river crossing. I think I found the Keniam Trail as it was marked with the yellow dots the path I followed to the stream. There was no indication of a path the other side of the river, but I knew I'd come from that way, so nevertheless crossed the river which was luckily just a paddle, and eventually soon found the yellow dots again.
I followed the same path all the way back to the turn off to Lata Berkoh, and although it was navigationally tough I remembered certain things I'd passed on the way the the previous day. There was just one point I struggled as the path appeared to just stop, but when retracing my steps found a less obvious path and was back on track. Eventually I reached Lubok Simpon where I finally started seeing people again, and from here went out to Bumbun Tahan and the canopy walkway. The canopy walkway was unfortunately closed which was a series of swingbridges through the canopy, something which looked really fun. I was tempted to do a walk to summit of Bukit Teresek but by that point a nice cold drink in a cafe was far more appealing than trekking through the humid jungle.
By the time I got back to Kuala Tahan it was late afternoon, and with the local bus to Jerantut leaving each day at 10am and 5pm, I had the option to leave on the 5pm bus. In terms of exploring the national park I had actually explored a fair bit, and the only other realistic hike I could do was the Tenor Trail to visit a cave and further explore the jungle, although that would have required a full days hiking. As I was kind of done with hiking in humidity, I caught the bus to Jerantut for the night, mainly so I could get WiFi to plan the next few days, something not possible staying another night in Kuala Tahan.
Sunday, 18 March 2018
Singapore
On Sunday I had a later start than anticipated as I stayed out later than expected the night before watching the football. The plan for the day was essentially to get to Singapore, although once again at the bus terminal it was a nightmare knowing what I was doing as there were several bus companies with staff who were not very helpful. In the end I managed to get a bus to Johor Bahru which is the city which borders Singapore. I thought that was the safest bet as I've read about scams where people sell you tickets to somewhere in another country but only actually take you to the border as a way of ripping you off.
When arriving in Johor Bahru it was actually a pretty simple system to get into Singapore, catching a local bus that would take you across the border and into Singapore itself the other end, something that worked out massively cheaper than what some of bus companies were offering for a direct transfer from Melaka. It took ages to cross the border however, with a massive traffic jam to get into the Malaysian Customs. When finally reaching there I was faced with another long wait to get stamped out the country, before getting back on the bus which took me over the bridge to the Singapore Customs. There was once again another massive queue here, one to get stamped into the country, and then once past that a long wait to get bags scanned. Eventually I got across the border and back on the bus into Singapore, which took me right into the Downtown Core which was useful.
When arriving it was dark outside, and I didn't actually have a map downloaded on my tablet or any Singapore Dollars on me. My first job was therefore to get some WiFi to get some bearings and find a bed for the night, and to change up some money as I was pretty starving. By the time I'd done that it was pretty late so I had a well earned rest. Singapore is only a small country, but despite this is the 4th richest country in the world based on GDP per capita. As a result compared to everywhere else in South East Asia it is incredibly expensive. If you have money to spend there is an array of high end restaurants, shopping, and entertainment complexes. For the backpacker community it is a shock to the system coming from Malaysia where it so incredibly cheaper.
After taking advantage of the good WiFi in Singapore to back up my photos I headed out to explore, focusing on Marina Bay and the Gardens by the Bay. The Gardens by the Bay was a pretty place to walk round with a modern and futuristic approach to it. The highlights was perhaps these sky tree things which were very impressive. Around this were several smaller gardens based on different cultures. From the gardens I took a slow walk round Marina Bay which had a great view of the city skyline.
From Marina Bay I went and checked out Bugis Street and Little India which was home to several temples and mosques, as well as a few interesting markets selling an array of items from different Asian cultures. Come evening I went back to the Gardens by the Bay to watch this light performance produced by the sky tree things. It was really busy but the performance was amazing. After leaving the gardens I went back down to Marina Bay to see the city skyline at night. The Helix bridge and science museum were particularly impressive too, with the science museum producing this digital effects show on the exterior of the building.
Tuesday was another laid back start to the day, focusing my intentions on exploring Chinatown and Downtown Singapore. I walked round a few of the older buildings to start with before following the river to Clarke Quay. From here I went over to Chinatown, home to several temples and street markets, as well as this particularly interesting Buddhist temple. Unfortunately here I developed some pretty bad diarrhoea which cut short my exploration for the day, although I did manage to get down to the Gardens by the Bay in the evening to watch the light performance which I really enjoyed the previous night and thought was worth seeing again.
Overnight my condition deteriorated rapidly, and I went from what was normal diarrhoea to completely abnormal diarrhoea. This scuppered my plans for the day as it was pretty uncontrollable, and I was back and forth from the bathroom regularly. I just about managed to get out to the nearby shop for bottled water supplies, before crawling back into bed. Come afternoon I managed to control it enough to see a doctor who gave me some antibiotics, before heading back to relax for the evening.
The following night was even worse and I was up five times in the night. Luckily by lunchtime the next day my system was empty and I couldn't physically go to the toilet anymore. By evening things were under control and I was able to go out to Marina Bay without feeling as if I was going to shit myself in front of members of the public. Marina Bay had this light festival on I wanted to check out and it was pretty cool with lots of temporary light sculptures and around the bay, as well as a fountain and light show in the harbour. The Merlion statue was impressive too with a digital effects show on the statue.
On Friday I was a lot better in the sense that my bowel movements were under control, although not quite out of stage 7 on the poo scale. I decided to leave Singapore and head back into Malaysia as I'd already stayed 5 nights and it's not the cheapest place in the world just to sit on a toilet seat. The border crossing was a lot quicker than the one coming over, as I googled the best time to cross this time and found out Friday lunchtime was a quiet time, unlike a Sunday evening when I came over which is a busy time! When back in Johor Bahru I wasn't sure whether to stay the night or catch the bus somewhere. The city itself had an old town with a couple of mosques, but other than that not much to see, so I therefore decided to catch the bus back to Kuala Lumpur.
When arriving in Johor Bahru it was actually a pretty simple system to get into Singapore, catching a local bus that would take you across the border and into Singapore itself the other end, something that worked out massively cheaper than what some of bus companies were offering for a direct transfer from Melaka. It took ages to cross the border however, with a massive traffic jam to get into the Malaysian Customs. When finally reaching there I was faced with another long wait to get stamped out the country, before getting back on the bus which took me over the bridge to the Singapore Customs. There was once again another massive queue here, one to get stamped into the country, and then once past that a long wait to get bags scanned. Eventually I got across the border and back on the bus into Singapore, which took me right into the Downtown Core which was useful.
When arriving it was dark outside, and I didn't actually have a map downloaded on my tablet or any Singapore Dollars on me. My first job was therefore to get some WiFi to get some bearings and find a bed for the night, and to change up some money as I was pretty starving. By the time I'd done that it was pretty late so I had a well earned rest. Singapore is only a small country, but despite this is the 4th richest country in the world based on GDP per capita. As a result compared to everywhere else in South East Asia it is incredibly expensive. If you have money to spend there is an array of high end restaurants, shopping, and entertainment complexes. For the backpacker community it is a shock to the system coming from Malaysia where it so incredibly cheaper.
After taking advantage of the good WiFi in Singapore to back up my photos I headed out to explore, focusing on Marina Bay and the Gardens by the Bay. The Gardens by the Bay was a pretty place to walk round with a modern and futuristic approach to it. The highlights was perhaps these sky tree things which were very impressive. Around this were several smaller gardens based on different cultures. From the gardens I took a slow walk round Marina Bay which had a great view of the city skyline.
From Marina Bay I went and checked out Bugis Street and Little India which was home to several temples and mosques, as well as a few interesting markets selling an array of items from different Asian cultures. Come evening I went back to the Gardens by the Bay to watch this light performance produced by the sky tree things. It was really busy but the performance was amazing. After leaving the gardens I went back down to Marina Bay to see the city skyline at night. The Helix bridge and science museum were particularly impressive too, with the science museum producing this digital effects show on the exterior of the building.
Tuesday was another laid back start to the day, focusing my intentions on exploring Chinatown and Downtown Singapore. I walked round a few of the older buildings to start with before following the river to Clarke Quay. From here I went over to Chinatown, home to several temples and street markets, as well as this particularly interesting Buddhist temple. Unfortunately here I developed some pretty bad diarrhoea which cut short my exploration for the day, although I did manage to get down to the Gardens by the Bay in the evening to watch the light performance which I really enjoyed the previous night and thought was worth seeing again.
Overnight my condition deteriorated rapidly, and I went from what was normal diarrhoea to completely abnormal diarrhoea. This scuppered my plans for the day as it was pretty uncontrollable, and I was back and forth from the bathroom regularly. I just about managed to get out to the nearby shop for bottled water supplies, before crawling back into bed. Come afternoon I managed to control it enough to see a doctor who gave me some antibiotics, before heading back to relax for the evening.
The following night was even worse and I was up five times in the night. Luckily by lunchtime the next day my system was empty and I couldn't physically go to the toilet anymore. By evening things were under control and I was able to go out to Marina Bay without feeling as if I was going to shit myself in front of members of the public. Marina Bay had this light festival on I wanted to check out and it was pretty cool with lots of temporary light sculptures and around the bay, as well as a fountain and light show in the harbour. The Merlion statue was impressive too with a digital effects show on the statue.
On Friday I was a lot better in the sense that my bowel movements were under control, although not quite out of stage 7 on the poo scale. I decided to leave Singapore and head back into Malaysia as I'd already stayed 5 nights and it's not the cheapest place in the world just to sit on a toilet seat. The border crossing was a lot quicker than the one coming over, as I googled the best time to cross this time and found out Friday lunchtime was a quiet time, unlike a Sunday evening when I came over which is a busy time! When back in Johor Bahru I wasn't sure whether to stay the night or catch the bus somewhere. The city itself had an old town with a couple of mosques, but other than that not much to see, so I therefore decided to catch the bus back to Kuala Lumpur.
Monday, 12 March 2018
Melaka
On Thursday I left Kuala Lumpur, with my plan essentially being to get to Melaka by the evening, stopping off for the day in Putrajaya en route. Putrajaya is a pretty modern city by world standards only being established in the late 20th century, but it is the administrative capital of Malaysia and home of the prime minister. Getting there proved a challenge however despite it being a direct bus, as the information people at the bus station were telling me blatant incorrect information. I was on the ball enough to know where I wanted to go and what bus number I needed, I just didn't know what bus stop to get it from as it was a pretty sizable bus station. I eventually found someone who told me where to go instead of telling me to get on the bus nearest to them.
When arriving in Putrajaya I walked into the city centre, which was surrounded by modern abstract bridges and high rise buildings. The highlights included a couple of mosques including this one with a pink roof, and the prime ministers house. I had a good walk round the city, before heading back to the bus station in Putrajaya. I thought from Putrajaya they operated a service to Melaka, but when I asked they said they didn't and said I had to go to the main bus station in KL. As I didn't have WiFi I wasn't sure if that was the truth or not, so I headed to the main bus station in KL and from there managed to pretty easily get a bus to Melaka.
Come morning I went out to explore the city of Melaka itself. The city has a lot of interesting old buildings, historically linked to the Dutch colonial era, but more recently a British influence from the days of the British Empire. I downloaded a self guided walking tour map to help me get round, mainly so I knew what I was looking at. I initially followed the river, although there were a couple of massive monitor lizards which I was slightly vary of as a bite is potentially fatal of you get too close. I soon reached the city luckily and passed several old buildings and markets before reaching St Paul's Church on top of this hill. There were great aerial views of the city up top.
I soon dropped down to Famosa Square before heading back to the river which I followed to Dutch Square. I had lunch in Little India, having this fantastic vegetable curry which came with three different daals, before exploring Jonker Walk, home to buildings such as Chinese Temples and Mosques. I once again followed the river for a bit round here too, which had a lot of interesting street art. I also went down to seafront although there wasn't much to see other than a shipping port. In the evening I returned to Jonker Walk as it had a night market on Fridays, although it was extremely busy! Good food though. What made me laugh was the taxi service on offer which was effectively these tricycles with fairy lights and stuffed toys attached playing songs like gangnam style down the street.
On Saturday I thought I'd go and check out Klebang Beach which had some pretty good reviews online for its nearby desert like landscape of Pantai Klebang. The beach itself was a little way out of Melaka City, although someone kindly gave me a lift there. The main beach itself though was a little disappointing when arriving as there was also lot of litter about and it said the sea wasn't safe to swim in due to water pollution. There was this small recreation area which had a pool with loads of fountains, so I relaxed there for the morning, before heading out to Pantai Klebang which like the main beach was covered in litter. There were loads of sand mounds which gave the illusion is was a desert though despite is being right by the sea!
Come lunchtime I went to the submarine museum, where this family insisted I try their local dish which was like a whole fish in this chilli stuff. It was interesting! I then headed back into Melaka City where I just took a slow walk round Jonker Walk and the river, eventually ending up at the shopping mall which is becoming an increasingly good place to head for the air con to get out of the humidity. Come evening I watched the football, with finally some nice kick off times, watching the Man United Liverpool game, followed by the Newcastle Southampton game. It was once again a dour affair though but it was nice to go down the pub.
When arriving in Putrajaya I walked into the city centre, which was surrounded by modern abstract bridges and high rise buildings. The highlights included a couple of mosques including this one with a pink roof, and the prime ministers house. I had a good walk round the city, before heading back to the bus station in Putrajaya. I thought from Putrajaya they operated a service to Melaka, but when I asked they said they didn't and said I had to go to the main bus station in KL. As I didn't have WiFi I wasn't sure if that was the truth or not, so I headed to the main bus station in KL and from there managed to pretty easily get a bus to Melaka.
Come morning I went out to explore the city of Melaka itself. The city has a lot of interesting old buildings, historically linked to the Dutch colonial era, but more recently a British influence from the days of the British Empire. I downloaded a self guided walking tour map to help me get round, mainly so I knew what I was looking at. I initially followed the river, although there were a couple of massive monitor lizards which I was slightly vary of as a bite is potentially fatal of you get too close. I soon reached the city luckily and passed several old buildings and markets before reaching St Paul's Church on top of this hill. There were great aerial views of the city up top.
I soon dropped down to Famosa Square before heading back to the river which I followed to Dutch Square. I had lunch in Little India, having this fantastic vegetable curry which came with three different daals, before exploring Jonker Walk, home to buildings such as Chinese Temples and Mosques. I once again followed the river for a bit round here too, which had a lot of interesting street art. I also went down to seafront although there wasn't much to see other than a shipping port. In the evening I returned to Jonker Walk as it had a night market on Fridays, although it was extremely busy! Good food though. What made me laugh was the taxi service on offer which was effectively these tricycles with fairy lights and stuffed toys attached playing songs like gangnam style down the street.
On Saturday I thought I'd go and check out Klebang Beach which had some pretty good reviews online for its nearby desert like landscape of Pantai Klebang. The beach itself was a little way out of Melaka City, although someone kindly gave me a lift there. The main beach itself though was a little disappointing when arriving as there was also lot of litter about and it said the sea wasn't safe to swim in due to water pollution. There was this small recreation area which had a pool with loads of fountains, so I relaxed there for the morning, before heading out to Pantai Klebang which like the main beach was covered in litter. There were loads of sand mounds which gave the illusion is was a desert though despite is being right by the sea!
Come lunchtime I went to the submarine museum, where this family insisted I try their local dish which was like a whole fish in this chilli stuff. It was interesting! I then headed back into Melaka City where I just took a slow walk round Jonker Walk and the river, eventually ending up at the shopping mall which is becoming an increasingly good place to head for the air con to get out of the humidity. Come evening I watched the football, with finally some nice kick off times, watching the Man United Liverpool game, followed by the Newcastle Southampton game. It was once again a dour affair though but it was nice to go down the pub.
Kuala Lumpur
Sunday was my last day in New Zealand after spending a whole year there. I've definitely had a good year and worked in environments I never thought I would and met some great new people along the way, not to mention some of the scenery. I was up bright and early as I couldn't bear not listening to the Saints game, although it was pretty dour to listen to. As my flight wasn't until 7.15pm I had much of the day free in Auckland, so I decided instead of catching the skybus to the airport from the cbd, I would walk to the coast to coast walk to Onehunga and catch the bus from there, an incredibly cheaper option as well. It was a nice walk via Mount Eden and One Tree Hill, finishing at the southern harbour.
After having lunch in Onehunga I caught the bus to the airport, arriving a bit earlier than expected. I thought I would just be able to pass the time on the WiFi although they restrict you to 45 minutes a day which was frustrating. After checking in which took a while because so many people's bags went above the weight limit, I eased through security and into duty free. They boarded the flight early and we left on time, stopping en route to Kuala Lumpur in the Gold Coast which gave me chance to stretch my legs and get WiFi. Ironically the security screening here was more intense than New Zealand, despite simply getting off the plane and getting back on the same one. The flight itself was pretty smooth although they had no in flight entertainment or flight tracker and the meals were pretty stingy, but I at least managed to get a bit of sleep on the way.
We arrived in Kuala Lumpur early, and I obtained a 90 day visa without any problems and walked though security. With the airport a little way out of the city I had work out how to use the public transport, the easiest yet most expensive way is to catch the train. I decided to catch the coach transfer though which was a lot cheaper, although there were 15 different companies and it was difficult making sure I got on the correct one without getting ripped off. I eventually negotiated that and made it into the city, although it was still dark. Being in effectively an equatorial region means it gets 12 hour days 12 hour nights, and it seems that 12 hours of sunlight is from 7.30 to 7.30.
When finally getting to the city I was starving so I headed over to the Chinatown district where I was staying to get something to eat. It was challenging to navigate the roads though as there were roads everywhere and bridges going over bridges and subways everywhere so what I thought were intersections on the map were not. I eventually made it and grabbed some food, as well as some WiFi before checking into my hostel and dumping my stuff off. I knew I had to stay awake all day to avoid getting jet lag with my body clock 5 hours out of sync, so I went for a wander round the city, exploring Chinatown where I was staying as well as some of old colonial buildings and religious areas surrounding it.
I then headed into the city centre towards the KL sky tower and then Petronas Towers where I had lunch. Until 2003 the Petronas Towers was the highest building in the world, but they're still the tallest twin towers. I had lunch here in the shopping centre in which had every Asian cuisine you could think of in its food mall. My highlight though was getting my hands on a packet of percy pigs. From here I went to KLCC park which had a great view of some of the city's skyscrapers, before heading into the Bukit Bintang district which is where the main shopping centres, hotels, and nightlife is. There was however a massive thunderstorm when getting here and it rained massively! The drains didn't seem to be able to cope with the rain and in places brown liquid was gushing out which must of been sewage!
I eventually got back to Chinatown after completing a big loop and went back to the hostel to relax. I was planning to go out for dinner afterwards but I fell asleep early, luckily sleeping right through the night. In the morning I had a pretty relaxing start, the plan being to head out to Batu Caves for the day. Getting there was confusing however as there were engineering works on the and it wasn't very clear this was case. After finding someone who got that message across to me I found the rail replacement bus service, which took me to some other train station where I was able to catch the train to the Batu Caves.
The Batu Caves is a limestone hill housing a series a caves and cave temples and is one of the most popular Hindu shrines outside India. It is dominated by a statue of Murugan, which stands at the entrance to the main temple cave. When arriving I was greeted by lots of monkeys who were stealing everyone's food which was funny! There were several smaller temples before reaching the main cave, which required a steep climb of 272 steps to get into the cave, which was an impressive place to explore. There were several statues and temples inside as well as some massive stalagmites illuminated by holes in the ceiling which let the light through. When getting back down I had lunch inside this cafe to get away from the monkeys who were literally stealing whatever they could get their hands on!
After catching the train and then bus back to the city I went to the shopping mall in KL Sentral station, as there was another massive thunderstorm. When that cleared I explored Little India before heading out into the Botanic Gardens which is always a good place to explore in major cities. After getting back to the hostel I headed out in the evening for dinner, having a look round Central Market and Chinatown which was far more lively at night. I then watched this fountain show by the river, heading down for the international show which played with the star wars theme in the background!
On Wednesday I had another relaxing start to the day, heading out later in the morning to the National Mosque of Malaysia. To get in I had to wear a robe and it was very interesting walking round, as well as getting some great views of the surrounding city. From there I headed to KL Sentral again, where I headed out to Lake Titiwangsa which was a good place to view the city skyline as well as another nice green area to relax. The lake was even so still the skyline was reflecting in the water. Nearby the lake I visited the art gallery which I decided to visit because it had a more interactive approach to many of the pieces so it was more exciting than a normal art gallery.
I then headed back to the Petronas Towers, and then down to Bukit Bintang where I explored some of the shopping malls and had dinner. By the time I had finished it was dark, and it felt slightly like Times Square with all the billboards and street entertainers. I then headed back to the Petronas Towers from here to check out the light show at Lake Symphony which was another pretty fountain show. There was another thunderstorm however so I sheltered in the shopping mall while that passed over, before heading back to Chinatown via Bukit Bintang again which was extremely busy and lively.
After having lunch in Onehunga I caught the bus to the airport, arriving a bit earlier than expected. I thought I would just be able to pass the time on the WiFi although they restrict you to 45 minutes a day which was frustrating. After checking in which took a while because so many people's bags went above the weight limit, I eased through security and into duty free. They boarded the flight early and we left on time, stopping en route to Kuala Lumpur in the Gold Coast which gave me chance to stretch my legs and get WiFi. Ironically the security screening here was more intense than New Zealand, despite simply getting off the plane and getting back on the same one. The flight itself was pretty smooth although they had no in flight entertainment or flight tracker and the meals were pretty stingy, but I at least managed to get a bit of sleep on the way.
We arrived in Kuala Lumpur early, and I obtained a 90 day visa without any problems and walked though security. With the airport a little way out of the city I had work out how to use the public transport, the easiest yet most expensive way is to catch the train. I decided to catch the coach transfer though which was a lot cheaper, although there were 15 different companies and it was difficult making sure I got on the correct one without getting ripped off. I eventually negotiated that and made it into the city, although it was still dark. Being in effectively an equatorial region means it gets 12 hour days 12 hour nights, and it seems that 12 hours of sunlight is from 7.30 to 7.30.
When finally getting to the city I was starving so I headed over to the Chinatown district where I was staying to get something to eat. It was challenging to navigate the roads though as there were roads everywhere and bridges going over bridges and subways everywhere so what I thought were intersections on the map were not. I eventually made it and grabbed some food, as well as some WiFi before checking into my hostel and dumping my stuff off. I knew I had to stay awake all day to avoid getting jet lag with my body clock 5 hours out of sync, so I went for a wander round the city, exploring Chinatown where I was staying as well as some of old colonial buildings and religious areas surrounding it.
I then headed into the city centre towards the KL sky tower and then Petronas Towers where I had lunch. Until 2003 the Petronas Towers was the highest building in the world, but they're still the tallest twin towers. I had lunch here in the shopping centre in which had every Asian cuisine you could think of in its food mall. My highlight though was getting my hands on a packet of percy pigs. From here I went to KLCC park which had a great view of some of the city's skyscrapers, before heading into the Bukit Bintang district which is where the main shopping centres, hotels, and nightlife is. There was however a massive thunderstorm when getting here and it rained massively! The drains didn't seem to be able to cope with the rain and in places brown liquid was gushing out which must of been sewage!
I eventually got back to Chinatown after completing a big loop and went back to the hostel to relax. I was planning to go out for dinner afterwards but I fell asleep early, luckily sleeping right through the night. In the morning I had a pretty relaxing start, the plan being to head out to Batu Caves for the day. Getting there was confusing however as there were engineering works on the and it wasn't very clear this was case. After finding someone who got that message across to me I found the rail replacement bus service, which took me to some other train station where I was able to catch the train to the Batu Caves.
The Batu Caves is a limestone hill housing a series a caves and cave temples and is one of the most popular Hindu shrines outside India. It is dominated by a statue of Murugan, which stands at the entrance to the main temple cave. When arriving I was greeted by lots of monkeys who were stealing everyone's food which was funny! There were several smaller temples before reaching the main cave, which required a steep climb of 272 steps to get into the cave, which was an impressive place to explore. There were several statues and temples inside as well as some massive stalagmites illuminated by holes in the ceiling which let the light through. When getting back down I had lunch inside this cafe to get away from the monkeys who were literally stealing whatever they could get their hands on!
After catching the train and then bus back to the city I went to the shopping mall in KL Sentral station, as there was another massive thunderstorm. When that cleared I explored Little India before heading out into the Botanic Gardens which is always a good place to explore in major cities. After getting back to the hostel I headed out in the evening for dinner, having a look round Central Market and Chinatown which was far more lively at night. I then watched this fountain show by the river, heading down for the international show which played with the star wars theme in the background!
On Wednesday I had another relaxing start to the day, heading out later in the morning to the National Mosque of Malaysia. To get in I had to wear a robe and it was very interesting walking round, as well as getting some great views of the surrounding city. From there I headed to KL Sentral again, where I headed out to Lake Titiwangsa which was a good place to view the city skyline as well as another nice green area to relax. The lake was even so still the skyline was reflecting in the water. Nearby the lake I visited the art gallery which I decided to visit because it had a more interactive approach to many of the pieces so it was more exciting than a normal art gallery.
I then headed back to the Petronas Towers, and then down to Bukit Bintang where I explored some of the shopping malls and had dinner. By the time I had finished it was dark, and it felt slightly like Times Square with all the billboards and street entertainers. I then headed back to the Petronas Towers from here to check out the light show at Lake Symphony which was another pretty fountain show. There was another thunderstorm however so I sheltered in the shopping mall while that passed over, before heading back to Chinatown via Bukit Bintang again which was extremely busy and lively.
Monday, 5 March 2018
Tauranga to Auckland
After managing to get to Tauranga, my aim was to get towards to the Coromandel Peninsula on Saturday. I didn't really stay to look round Tauranga as I'd done that before, instead leaving relatively early. This meant negotiating the complex motorway system which was actually quite confusing. Eventually I cleared the suburbs and found a good place to hitchhike and soon got a ride north to Waihi. Waihi is particularly famous for its gold mining heritage and a worthwhile walk here was to visit the Martha's Pit which until recently was an open working gold mine. Unfortunately a big landslip has now closed it, but this has left behind a big hole in the ground which you're able to walk around!
I was tempted to visit Waihi Beach as many kiwis you speak to seem to rate it, but I decided not to as it just seemed like a tourist trap, and was 11km away. I was planning to visit Karangahake Gorge at some point though and there was a 82km cycle track which runs from Waihi Beach to Thames along the old railway line which looked tempting. I decided to walk a 24km section of it from Waihi Town to Paeroa. The walk went past the old railway station in Waihi which now operates a heritage railway to Waikino, following the Ohinemuri River before reaching the Victoria Battery gold refinery complex. From here I soon reached Owharoa Falls where I had lunch and a nice swim, the area particularly busy.
From the waterfall I continued following the old railway line, including a side trip to this old quarry, eventually reaching this 1km long tunnel which brought me through to the Karangahake Gorge. Here I did a couple of side walks exploring some of the old tramlines and mines, which some great views of the river passing through the gorge in the process. From the gorge I pressed on towards Paeroa, which is particularly famous for the popular drink L&P which is everywhere in NZ, and something I will definitely miss! After a quick look round Paeroa I hitched a ride up to Thames, which is the main town in the Coromandel. It was a very long day when arriving though and I was pretty shattered, not helped by forgetting my water bottle in Tauranga hence dehydrating myself from the heat.
In the morning I had a pretty laid back start to the day, mainly so I could give my electricals a power boost before heading into the more remote parts of the Coromandel. I wanted to do a walk up into the pinnacles which are these jagged rock pinnacles which stick out above the forest giving breathtaking views over the Coromandel Peninsula. The path was however closed which was very frustrating as it was something I wanted to do way back when I was Auckland too but it was closed the whole time I was there too. It recently reopened again but apparently the path is unsafe again so that was no go. I therefore decided to head to Coromandel Town, leaving Thames just after lunch.
Getting to Coromandel Town proved to be a struggle despite it being a relatively busy road. After two rides and only covering about half the distance I eventually got a ride with a fellow backpacker which was a relief, although I'd lost most the afternoon trying to get there. The drive was pretty stunning, the road literally following the waters edge much of the way. The road went inland eventually over the hills and there were great views over the peninsula, with Auckland cbd even visible in the distance. When getting to Coromandel Town the day was gone, so I headed out to find somewhere to camp for the night. I followed the harbours edge round Mcgregor Bay and found myself a nice secluded beach on the Wyuna Peninsula. It was another nice sunset, although the highlight was seeing a few dolphins in the distance.
In the morning I followed the coast round the Wyuna Peninsula and there were some great views of the surrounding islands. It was quite a challenging walk though as it was very rocky and jagged underfoot, and when I got round into Coromandel Harbour it was really muddy as the beach was like a saltmarsh. I eventually got back to Coromandel Town where I had lunch and chilled out for a bit. From Coromandel Town I was considering heading north towards Colville and Port Jackson which are apparently gateways to some of the more remote beaches in the Coromandel, however that would have been challenging to get to and I didn't want to risk getting stranded. I instead decided to aim for Whitianga.
Whitianga is the main tourist town in the Coromandel and has all the services I needed, although like the previous day I found hitching a ride a difficult. Eventually I got a ride straight there, and when arriving I topped up my food supplies and went to the beach for a swim. From Whitianga I wanted to get to Hahei, and my two options were to try and hitch around this river, or to just catch a ferry across and walk. I went for the latter which still gave me about 18km to walk but there were things to do en route. It was fun waiting for the ferry on the wharf as there were these massive stingrays swimming around it!
After getting off the ferry I walked up to Whitianga Rock which gave me a view over the estuary and town, before continuing to head up where I got further views right over Mercury Bay. After dropping back down again I reached Flaxmill Beach where I headed up the Shakespeare Cliffs to get even further great views over Mercury Bay. When reaching the other side I dropped down into Lonely Bay which was a pretty secluded beach only accessible by foot. I decided to camp here despite still having a few hours of daylight to play with, which meant I had time to have a good swim and to simply chill out a bit.
In the morning the weather wasn't as good and it was really overcast. I left early as result, heading out of Lonely Bay to Cooks Bay which was a pretty beach including a small settlement. From there someone kindly gave me a ride to Hahei, which is where you go to access Cathedral Cove, one the more stunning pieces of coastline in New Zealand. From Hahei I followed the road to the car park, before walking along this tarmac path straight out to Mares Leg Cove, which is linked to Cathedral Cove by this impressive rock arch. It was a little drizzly which was a shame but there were still great views of some of the islands along the way, and the arch and sea stacks around Cathedral Cove were still pretty.
On the way back from Cathedral Cove I did a couple of side walks to check out Stingray Bay and Gemstone Bay which were another couple of stunning bays, Stingray Bay in particular. The rain got harder however at this point, although from the car park I followed the coast instead of the road back to Hahei Beach, the islands not very visible anymore! When finding shelter from the rain in Hahei I had lunch, before going out to Hereherataura Peninsula when I thought the weather was clearing. It was only a short spell however and it was soon raining again, although it was still a nice little walk. The rest of the day was a washout and I had little choice but to shelter in Hahei for the night as I would have just got soaked otherwise.
By the morning the weather had somewhat improved although it was still a little overcast. I set off relatively early and got a ride to Hot Water Beach without even trying which was nice, although when I arrived it was high tide which was a bad thing. The geothermal energy to dig your own hot pool only rises to surface at low tide. I decided not to wait until low tide because it wasn't really beach weather and there wasn't much else to do there. Soon after leaving I bumped into the farmer who gave me a ride from Coromandel Town to Whitianga again, and he kindly let me jump on the back of his quad bike to take me back out to the main road. Originally my next planned stop was Tairua, although the guy who next picked me up said it wasn't really worth stopping there, so I instead went straight down Whangamata.
Whangamata had a pretty beach with a few islands in the backdrop, although it wasn't really beach weather. A interesting attraction here is Donut Island, which is a island shaped like a donut, where you can swim through this cave to get to the middle where it's like a hidden oasis. I was tempted to swim across but I decided not to risk it, instead just taking a walk along the beach and round the river estuary. From Whangamata it was effectively aim for Auckland, with my two options being to head south to Waihi, or back track on myself to get back to Thames. I decided to head to Thames in the end as there were more facilities there and it was a good base for the night to aim for Auckland through following day.
I stayed in Thames for a bit in the morning, before walking down to Kopu to hitch a ride out to Auckland. I knew it would be near on impossible to get a ride into the cbd but I knew if I could get to any suburb on the Auckland train network I was doing well. From Kopu I managed to get a ride to the Bombay service station, and from there got a ride to Manukau City so I did really well. After lunch I caught a train into the cbd where I just chilled out for the afternoon. There was lots going on down at the harbour with some sailing event coming to Auckland next week, and it was nice to see what's changed since I last visited with all the new developments going on.
With my flight to Kuala Lumpur not until Sunday evening, I had all day Friday and Saturday and much of Sunday free. The main reason I got to Auckland a few days early though was to relax, and I did just that. The harbour had a stage with live music on throughout the daytime and evenings with beanbags so that was a nice place to chill out, and I also went to the library a couple of times to read some travel guides for inspiration. Other than that I didn't really do too much exploring, mainly to just let my legs recover a bit!
I was tempted to visit Waihi Beach as many kiwis you speak to seem to rate it, but I decided not to as it just seemed like a tourist trap, and was 11km away. I was planning to visit Karangahake Gorge at some point though and there was a 82km cycle track which runs from Waihi Beach to Thames along the old railway line which looked tempting. I decided to walk a 24km section of it from Waihi Town to Paeroa. The walk went past the old railway station in Waihi which now operates a heritage railway to Waikino, following the Ohinemuri River before reaching the Victoria Battery gold refinery complex. From here I soon reached Owharoa Falls where I had lunch and a nice swim, the area particularly busy.
From the waterfall I continued following the old railway line, including a side trip to this old quarry, eventually reaching this 1km long tunnel which brought me through to the Karangahake Gorge. Here I did a couple of side walks exploring some of the old tramlines and mines, which some great views of the river passing through the gorge in the process. From the gorge I pressed on towards Paeroa, which is particularly famous for the popular drink L&P which is everywhere in NZ, and something I will definitely miss! After a quick look round Paeroa I hitched a ride up to Thames, which is the main town in the Coromandel. It was a very long day when arriving though and I was pretty shattered, not helped by forgetting my water bottle in Tauranga hence dehydrating myself from the heat.
In the morning I had a pretty laid back start to the day, mainly so I could give my electricals a power boost before heading into the more remote parts of the Coromandel. I wanted to do a walk up into the pinnacles which are these jagged rock pinnacles which stick out above the forest giving breathtaking views over the Coromandel Peninsula. The path was however closed which was very frustrating as it was something I wanted to do way back when I was Auckland too but it was closed the whole time I was there too. It recently reopened again but apparently the path is unsafe again so that was no go. I therefore decided to head to Coromandel Town, leaving Thames just after lunch.
Getting to Coromandel Town proved to be a struggle despite it being a relatively busy road. After two rides and only covering about half the distance I eventually got a ride with a fellow backpacker which was a relief, although I'd lost most the afternoon trying to get there. The drive was pretty stunning, the road literally following the waters edge much of the way. The road went inland eventually over the hills and there were great views over the peninsula, with Auckland cbd even visible in the distance. When getting to Coromandel Town the day was gone, so I headed out to find somewhere to camp for the night. I followed the harbours edge round Mcgregor Bay and found myself a nice secluded beach on the Wyuna Peninsula. It was another nice sunset, although the highlight was seeing a few dolphins in the distance.
In the morning I followed the coast round the Wyuna Peninsula and there were some great views of the surrounding islands. It was quite a challenging walk though as it was very rocky and jagged underfoot, and when I got round into Coromandel Harbour it was really muddy as the beach was like a saltmarsh. I eventually got back to Coromandel Town where I had lunch and chilled out for a bit. From Coromandel Town I was considering heading north towards Colville and Port Jackson which are apparently gateways to some of the more remote beaches in the Coromandel, however that would have been challenging to get to and I didn't want to risk getting stranded. I instead decided to aim for Whitianga.
Whitianga is the main tourist town in the Coromandel and has all the services I needed, although like the previous day I found hitching a ride a difficult. Eventually I got a ride straight there, and when arriving I topped up my food supplies and went to the beach for a swim. From Whitianga I wanted to get to Hahei, and my two options were to try and hitch around this river, or to just catch a ferry across and walk. I went for the latter which still gave me about 18km to walk but there were things to do en route. It was fun waiting for the ferry on the wharf as there were these massive stingrays swimming around it!
After getting off the ferry I walked up to Whitianga Rock which gave me a view over the estuary and town, before continuing to head up where I got further views right over Mercury Bay. After dropping back down again I reached Flaxmill Beach where I headed up the Shakespeare Cliffs to get even further great views over Mercury Bay. When reaching the other side I dropped down into Lonely Bay which was a pretty secluded beach only accessible by foot. I decided to camp here despite still having a few hours of daylight to play with, which meant I had time to have a good swim and to simply chill out a bit.
In the morning the weather wasn't as good and it was really overcast. I left early as result, heading out of Lonely Bay to Cooks Bay which was a pretty beach including a small settlement. From there someone kindly gave me a ride to Hahei, which is where you go to access Cathedral Cove, one the more stunning pieces of coastline in New Zealand. From Hahei I followed the road to the car park, before walking along this tarmac path straight out to Mares Leg Cove, which is linked to Cathedral Cove by this impressive rock arch. It was a little drizzly which was a shame but there were still great views of some of the islands along the way, and the arch and sea stacks around Cathedral Cove were still pretty.
On the way back from Cathedral Cove I did a couple of side walks to check out Stingray Bay and Gemstone Bay which were another couple of stunning bays, Stingray Bay in particular. The rain got harder however at this point, although from the car park I followed the coast instead of the road back to Hahei Beach, the islands not very visible anymore! When finding shelter from the rain in Hahei I had lunch, before going out to Hereherataura Peninsula when I thought the weather was clearing. It was only a short spell however and it was soon raining again, although it was still a nice little walk. The rest of the day was a washout and I had little choice but to shelter in Hahei for the night as I would have just got soaked otherwise.
By the morning the weather had somewhat improved although it was still a little overcast. I set off relatively early and got a ride to Hot Water Beach without even trying which was nice, although when I arrived it was high tide which was a bad thing. The geothermal energy to dig your own hot pool only rises to surface at low tide. I decided not to wait until low tide because it wasn't really beach weather and there wasn't much else to do there. Soon after leaving I bumped into the farmer who gave me a ride from Coromandel Town to Whitianga again, and he kindly let me jump on the back of his quad bike to take me back out to the main road. Originally my next planned stop was Tairua, although the guy who next picked me up said it wasn't really worth stopping there, so I instead went straight down Whangamata.
Whangamata had a pretty beach with a few islands in the backdrop, although it wasn't really beach weather. A interesting attraction here is Donut Island, which is a island shaped like a donut, where you can swim through this cave to get to the middle where it's like a hidden oasis. I was tempted to swim across but I decided not to risk it, instead just taking a walk along the beach and round the river estuary. From Whangamata it was effectively aim for Auckland, with my two options being to head south to Waihi, or back track on myself to get back to Thames. I decided to head to Thames in the end as there were more facilities there and it was a good base for the night to aim for Auckland through following day.
I stayed in Thames for a bit in the morning, before walking down to Kopu to hitch a ride out to Auckland. I knew it would be near on impossible to get a ride into the cbd but I knew if I could get to any suburb on the Auckland train network I was doing well. From Kopu I managed to get a ride to the Bombay service station, and from there got a ride to Manukau City so I did really well. After lunch I caught a train into the cbd where I just chilled out for the afternoon. There was lots going on down at the harbour with some sailing event coming to Auckland next week, and it was nice to see what's changed since I last visited with all the new developments going on.
With my flight to Kuala Lumpur not until Sunday evening, I had all day Friday and Saturday and much of Sunday free. The main reason I got to Auckland a few days early though was to relax, and I did just that. The harbour had a stage with live music on throughout the daytime and evenings with beanbags so that was a nice place to chill out, and I also went to the library a couple of times to read some travel guides for inspiration. Other than that I didn't really do too much exploring, mainly to just let my legs recover a bit!
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