 March 2016 Adventure Trip Back in 1888 a truly crazy Scotsman accepted a challenge (for money) to find a way from the huge southern lake, Te Anau, through to the newly discovered Milford Sound (at least, newly discovered by European fur traders). Milford Sound is an iconic fiord in the deep, deep south of New Zealand, as remote and as rugged as you can find. Today, it is one of the world’s top scenic locations. Back then it was literally at the end of the Earth, and perhaps today it still is.* Another explorer had found the amazing Sutherland Falls, itself a two-day trek from Milford, but the hardy visitors who came had to endure a two-week boat trip through some of the world’s roughest seas. That Scot, an explorer himself called Quintin McKinnon spent months finding a way to Milford from Te Anau. And he succeeded, opening up what is now regarded as the Finest Hike in the World. Today it is still a challenge, even with a well-beaten track. It is a four day adventure, one for the moderately fit. But the rewards are spectacular. You can walk using the basic DOC huts for three nights, or you can go upmarket with Ultimate Hike’s luxury lodges. The evenings may be different but the walking and the views are the same. And what hiking, what views ! You will take your camera, and everyone does, but the immensity and grandeur of the valleys and fiords can never do the place justice in a photo. The enduring appeal of the Milford Track comes from being there and experiencing what photos and videos can’t capture. The vast beech forests have grown in a heavy temperate rain forest, one that gets bucket-loads of rain. So expect to get wet. The 5 to 11 metres of annual rainfall has created a magic environment, one where you can find spectacular waterfalls (and I mean spectacular world class high and roaring examples), along with a rich playground for New Zealand’s iconic birdlife. Rivers rise fast in here and the track can become unpassable quickly. But as fast as the rivers rise, they fall. Hikers quickly accept they are tiny guests in a huge natural world.  Hiking the Milford Track is like nothing else you will do. There may be times you wonder what you let yourself in for, but you will never forget it, never regret it. How fit do you have to be? Quite fit, but it is a level a city person can get to by working at it for a few weeks in advance. You need to be able to carry a 10kg+ pack for three-full days. It is a vast, bold and unforgiving place. But for an adventure like this, you wouldn’t want it any other way. It’s one for your bucket list.  Contributed by :
David Chaston, who recently went tramping to Milford Sound Track with his daughter, Jessica. Both have done several exciting tracks in the South Island, such as Routeburn Track and Kahurangi. * Even today it is still too remote for any internet or cellphone coverage, even at Milford Sound. When you are in Fiordland you are completely off-grid. KIA ORA ! Apa macam last topic? Hehe…harap dapat membantu dalam memilih penerbangan yang bersesuaian…dah ready nak cuti di New Zealand? hehe Minggu ni special skit…sebab baru2 ni New Zealand telah dipilih sekali lagi sebagai “World’s Best Country” oleh The Telegraph travel readers…Bila baca headlines ni terus bersyukur sangat sekarang Dira masih berpeluang…berpijak di Bumi Kiwi… Bukan itu saja…New Zealand juga adalah destinasi percutian yang “TOP” di dunia… 10 sebab kenapa New Zealand adalah antara destinasi percutian terbaik di dunia 1. Keunikan landskap dan keindahan semulajadi Bayangkan kembara percutian uols berlatar belakangkan pemandangan alam semulajadi macam dalam poskad…percaya atau tidak…meh ler lihat sendiri… North Island atau South Island ada kecantikkan yang tersendiri...Setiap musim jugak cantik dengan cara yang tersendiri. Kalau belum baca, sila baca blog Dira tentang musim di New Zealand. Antara tempat2 yang orang suka sangat sebab tersangat la cantiknya adalah…banyakkk sebenarnya penuh page nanti…haha…tapi Dira share yang rugi kalau tak pegi sebab sangat unik dan kecantikkan yang tak boleh diungkap dengan kata2…hehe :
 2. Road Trip Seriously…top aktiviti wajib bila cuti kat New Zealand ni… Bila dah cerita pasal keindahan di atas…mesti la kena kembara atau road trip kan…Dira lebih suka pandu sendiri, baru merasa betapa unik New Zealand ni, sampai tempat cantik-cantik, Dira berhenti, bukan berselfie sahaja, tapi melayan fikiran mengagumi kebesaran dan ciptaaaNya Nak lawat apa, season apa yang sesuai, jenis kenderaan yang sesuai size kumpulan dsb, pada Dira lebih mudah contact Ikhlas Tours, mereka boleh merancang kembara secara details. Perancangan rapi amat mustahak supaya tak terlepas tempat-tempat awesome yang sesuai masa kita kembara tu. 3. Lokasi pengambaran filem-filem terkenal di dunia Kaki2 wayang…peminat2 filem Antarabangsa…yang tak berapa minat pun boleh tau la…dah kata terkenal di dunia…mesti la orang bercerita… Bukan calang2 filem yang jadikan New Zealand antara lokasi pengambaran filem diorang…Filem2 yang bertaraf Grammy Awards…Oscar…So bila dah tengok dalam movie mesti teringin nak sampai kan…macam Dira jugak…hehe…Antara nya….
Kaitoke Regional Park, North Wellington (North Island)
Paradise, Glenorchy Queenstown (South Island) Kaitoke Regional Park
Flock Hill, Christchurch (South Island)
4. National Geographic “World Best Hike-Dream Trails” Bercuti style Kiwi…hehe…kenapa orang suka bercuti di sini? Haaaa...antara sebabnya yang ni la…”Outdoor lover” ni la playground anda ya…Hikers/Trampers bucketlist pasti ada New Zealand dalam list mereka...Hiking Trails di New Zealand berada dalam top list “World’s Best Hike” oleh National Geographic…Antara track yang ada dalam list:
 5. Negara asal aktiviti “Bungy Jump - World famous extreme adventure” Kalau sebut je Bungy Jump mesti orang tau nak pegi mana kan??? “From the ORIGINAL”… aktiviti extreme bermula di bumi kiwi ni la…”Jump and NO turning back!”…haha.. Kat mana nak buat di sini…ada beberapa tempat:
6. Antara aktiviti lasak terkenal di dunia
 7. Pasukan Rugby terbaik di dunia Peminat Rugby…sapa tak tau ALL BLACK !!!! Boleh la layan live match dekat sini…ada All Black Rugby Museum jugak…terletak di Palmerston North, North Island…kalau amik kembara North Island boleh la singgah…hehe 8. “Scenic Raiway” antara yang terindah di dunia The TranzAlpine Rail Journey dari Christchurch ke Greymouth antara “top six train journeys in the world.  9. Lokasi Festival Mountain Biking terbesar di dunia Mountain bikers…boleh masuk dalam bucket list…hehe… Baru je bulan lepas jadi tuan rumah untuk world event…trails pun World la…
 10. Unik nya budaya dan ramah Sepanjang Dira dekat sini…dari pengalaman sendiri dan jugak cerita2 orang yang dah lama migrate ke sini…orang2 sini sangat friendly…peramah…baik plak tu…. Maori atau Kiwi ”They really give you a warm welcome” Uniknya Maori yang terkenal dengan budaya pahlawan diorang…tengok aje la tarian Haka…punya semangatttt…Budaya Maori masih kuat di sini…mana2 masih ada signboard dalam bahasa Maori…even dekat sekolah pun masih di ajar bahasa Maori ni….Anak Dira dekat pre-school pun belajar…hehe Dari pengalaman sendiri...cerita2 yang dikongsi oleh orang yang pernah sampai di New Zealand...memang tak dinafikan sebuah negara yang kaya dengan keindahan alam semulajadi...penduduk yang sangat sedikit tapi sangat friendly...bila dapat title "WORLD'S BEST COUNTRY"....NEW ZEALAND "YOU DESERVED IT!" Jadiii...jangan lepaskan peluang untuk melawat destinasi percutian yang terbaik ni...mula lah planning ya...hubungi jugak Ikhlas Tours jangan lupa tu...hehe Kita sambung minggu depan ya...have a good weekend travel lovers!  KIA ORA! Woweeee…Haere Mai AirAsia ! AirAsia X first flight from Kuala Lumpur to Auckland landed on 23 March 2016 this week at Auckland International Airport…Indeed its good news for all of us… Tunggu apa lagiiiii…bak kata AirAsia “Now everyone can fly…” hehe…start planning and book your tickets travel lovers…Kiwi Land will welcome you with an open heart…and you will fall in love with the beauty of this country…Ikhlas Tours is ready to be part of your holiday journey…yeahhh promotion for AirAsia and Ikhlas Tours di situ…hihihi I’m so excited to share with you about this week topic…my awesome life experience highlight in 2015 “What I did last summer?” … Just like Frodo and Sam in the land of Mordor...cewahhh…best niiii  Tongariro Alpine Crossing The Tongariro Alpine Crossing is heralded as the best one-day trek available in New Zealand, while others say it ranks among the top ten single-day treks in the world….You will be crossing 3 mountains as the back ground… Mt Tongariro…Mt Ngauruhoe (Also known as Mt Doom in Lord of the Ring movie)…Mt Ruapehu (this one you can see from far in good weather) Haaa giler tak excited when you get to know it’s the best and top ten in the world tuuuu… I had the most amazing 3 days 2 nights adventure moment with one of my dear friend…just 2 of us went..sorry guys...this week iols have lots to share...a bit long to read...but I try not to be boring kayyy...hehe Let me walk you through my precious journey… Bought promotion package in GrabOne NZ few months earlier (I think about 3-4 months early)…package include 3D2N accommodation, 2 breakfast, 1 packed lunch to bring for hiking day, 1 dinner and transport from hotel to start of the track and pick up from end track back to hotel. We had to arrange transport from Auckland to nearest town caused it's not in the package…(budget ciput…ye la student kan...haha)...Instead of renting a car…we booked “InterCity Bus” from Auckland City to Ohakune (nearest town to stay to Tongariro National Park)...naik bus uolsss...but happeningggg naik bus ada katil double decker...can sleep maaa..hehe Our journey starts… Day 1 By bus took us about 6 hours plus…if by car will be around 4.5 hours driving… Distance is about 356km (Auckland City – Ohanuke town) Reached Ohanuke around afternoon had our lunch at one of the best fish and chips shop I’ve ever tried so far…serious sedap weiii…then walked around the town…very small and quiet town I must say…koboi gak la…I guess people who stays there are busy with their adventurous activities… Check in 3.00pm at Tussock Grove Boutique Hotel First during briefing... they told us that we might need to cancel our trip tomorrow due to strong wind according to weather forecast for Mt Tongariro….They will update again latest by 9.00pm whether we can proceed “Hopefully the wind will drop for you guys…” That’s exactly what he said with a big smile on his face…meanwhile he told us other alternative walk we can do..there are few forest trails la…but your heart been waiting to do this crossing kan…but tu la…tipu la tak frust…giler I tell you…we were like “Noooooo….we came all the way here…” but then you can’t do much right…all this in God’s hand…so pray hard people that weather will be good…Allah knows best While waiting in the room…still praying hard…like seriously we were like “Ya Allah pleaseeeeee help us…only You can change all this…” same time we were looking at other alternative walk…sedapkan hati since we ‘re already there and if there’s no choice…belasah aje lah…so be prepared for any consequences ya guys...seriously the group after us had to cancel it due to bad weather... 9.00pm…someone knock on our door…serious nervous hokayyyy… “I have good news for you…the wind has dropped to 45km/h…so you guys can get ready tomorrow morning as planned.” Fuhhhhhh….Sujud Syukur terus…punya la happy to go and Allah listened to our prayer…hehe…Syukur Alhamdulillah…now can see big smile on our face...haha DAY 2 The actual adventure day…hehe excited! (Please read the last part…coz I’m sharing good tips to prepare yourself for this hike…sounds like a pro hey…haha…takde la pro pun…speaking through experience…hehe…but very important to take note) 6.30am Had pancake for breakfast…yumss Took our packed lunch prepared by hotel...2 vegetarian sandwich, 1 apple, 2 muesli bars, 1 bottle drinking water (1L)…cewah macam kiwi dah kan…hehe…feeling p laaa… You definitely need more than 1L people…standby 2-3L of water coz you can’t refill any along your hike…no water supply 7.15am Departs from Hotel to starting point of the track called Mangatepopo 8.30am Arrived at Mangatepopo…Shuttle driver told us pick up time is 4.30pm at the other end Ketetahi Car Park….It’s a one way trail ya…you won’t have enough time to patah balik in a day 8.45am And…The fellowship journey begun…  The track The Tongariro Alpine Crossing track spans the length of Mount Tongariro, covering 19.4 kilometres. On average the trek takes between seven and nine hours to complete. We completed around 7 hours plus the crossing passes over the volcanic terrain of the multi-cratered active volcano Mt Tongariro passing the eastern base of Mt Ngauruhoe which can optionally be climbed as a side trip. The track starts at the Mangatepopo Valley and finishes at Ketatahi Road. Following the track in this direction means the least amount of climbing is involved, though first timers should be aware that the track is considered steep in parts. Track has few stages…seriously you will be amazed throughout your journey…but don’t forget to set your walking timing ya…if not you won’t have enough time to reach the end…the shuttle won’t wait for you…they will only wait for 5-10 minutes…if not byeeeee…honestly hard to follow time especially when your eyes are stuck with God’s creations…Subhanallah you were like in different world I tell you…chek tak tau laaa…how to explain in words how crazy beautiful your journey will be… Cantikkkkk sangattttt Ok…let me help you with some timing tips…this one also I got it from Tongariro Crossing journey plan official sites…I’m saving your time here people so you don’t have to Google and browse to find info here and there… Mangatepopo Car Park to Soda Springs (1,350m) Easy…allow 1 – 1.5 hours walk Soda Springs to South Crater (1,650m) Medium-Difficult….allow 40 minutes to 1 hour South Crater to Red Crater (highest point 1,886m ; 6,188ft…if you don’t do Mt Ngauruhoe peak side hike this will be your highest point) Medium-Difficult….allow 1 hour *This part is a bit tough due to strong wind…almost feel like flying there…I had to hold to one of the rock…plus here the temperature dropped…during our time…it was (-2 degrees)…sejuk nak mampus… Red Crater to Blue Lake Medium…allow 30 minutes *All I can say…enjoyyyyyyy!!!! Blue Lake to Ketetahi Hut Easy-Medium…allow 1 hour Ketetahi Hut to Ketetahi Car Park Easy-Medium…allow 2 hours *We were basically running here…haha…xcukup time cause we spent too much time being jakun on top there…  Important point to take note/tips: Weather…very…very important to know this
Tips: How to check weather forecast…you could go to link below www.metservice.com/mountain/tongariro-national-park
What to bring/wear
Transport
Timing
Do you need a Guide?
 Truth is…I can’t tell you exactly the whole journey experience caused seriously words can’t describe the actual feeling when you are there… stunning view that made you just stunt and can’t moved…cantik MasyaAllah…the beauty was just beyond words….I was like walking in different movie scene…macam betul ke niiii…plus I better keep some of the surprises that awaits throughout the journey…if I tell you everything tak thrill la kannnn…hehe…different people will have different kind of experience and feel…but what I can tell you…definitely need to be in your bucket list...you don’t wanna miss it and you won’t regret doing this…CONFIRMED!!!! Overall…you will need to arrange few things here…so for those yang need help/assistance…apa lagi… Contact Ikhlas Tours to arrange for you…Insha Allah everything will be sorted out for you…hehe It's a long weekend for us this week...Good Friday and Easter Holiday...Yayyy!!! Till then...talk to you soon travel lovers...have a great week peeps!  |
