Creamy Bay of Islands

Paihia beachtown

This is our second trip in less than 2 months in New Zealand. Ravi likes travelling and is restless if he has many days off. Nothing was planned for the Christmas holidays, so we made last minute decision to go on a vacation to the Bay of Islands. The bookings and the itinerary planning was left to me, as I have "nothing to do" these days. Never mind, I used the Internet as a tool and worked my way into the place to visit, the motel, things to do, etc.... etc.

We set out on Christmas morning and started driving towards the north of Auckland, to the North land. The drive to the Paihia town, where we had booked our accommodation for 2 days was beautiful. Like every drive through the country side of New Zealand this one was no exception! The region was hilly and mountainous, so the terrain was curvy. We were reminded of the roads of Western Ghats back in Karnataka, India. The only difference being the dense forests surrounding the western ghats. These motorways are surrounded by either huge pine forests or large grazing lands dotted with horses, sheep and cattle. After a 3 hour drive we reached the quiet town of Paihia, and settled into our motel room. It was lunch time and as we had expected all the shops and restaurants were closed. Finding vegetarian food became much more difficult with a very few eateries open. Luckily we found a pizzeria which served veg pizzas! We were happy to find one, after a long search. There were only a few eateries, so the ones that were open charged a surcharge of 12.5%!!!!! So we ended up paying more.

Haruru falls

After the pizza lunch we headed to a waterfall called Haruru Falls. The fall turned out to be a small one with water flowing down a 2 to 3 feet tall rock! There was a short forest walk all along the river bank. We skipped it and went ahead to the Waitangi heritage site. This is a historical place with some of the important political developments of NZ recorded and treasured. There are various cultural shows of the Maori playing here. The Maoris are considered as the natives of this island country. The site can be explored on own or through some of the guided tours. It was closed for Christmas, so we decided to come back later.

After an hour of a good nap we headed to the beach to play. The sun sets at 8.30 pm and there is sunlight till about 9 pm in summer, so we had lot of time to play in the sea! After a long romantic walk on the seashore we headed back to the motel.

The next day was planned for a small cruise in the Pacific Ocean to see some of the numerous islands that make the Bay of Islands. The main attraction of this cruise was to see the "hole in the rock" and the dolphins! The cruise left early and we sailed into the sea gazing at the beautiful lonely islands......some fortunate businessmen have their own holiday homes in some of these islands. Lucky bunch of people! After a few minutes we reached the dolphin zone. We saw many of them, they were loving the attention i guess. They came close to the cruise sometimes. The dolphins jumped out of the water to breathe and snorted! Seeing the dolphins in their natural habitat was good, better than the caged ones. Next on the itinerary was 'hole in the rock'.

Hole in the Rock

Hole in the rock is about a big hole that naturally paves a way through a huge rock. The hole is so big that a cruise can zoom through it. There are different rides that one can take to experience this. There is a fast boat that breezes through the hole or there are slow cruises, like the one we took that slowly takes u through. The rock is huge and there are many crevasses all over it, but this is the only one that is a big hole. This was unique and amazing!
Another evening in the beach ended day 2 in the beach town of Paihia.

An old canoe
We checked out of the motel on day 3 and headed to the Waitangi Heritage Trust. I wanted to see the cultural shows, but time did not permit it. So we bought tickets for a guided tour explaining the history and the birth of the country. The guide took us around and showed us the biggest canoe ever built by the Maori and the flagstaff where the first flag of the country was hoisted. He narrated the stories associated with the birth of the country, the wars fought and how the country became independent. After delving into the history we were left to roam around the site and explore the place by our self.

There is a huge meeting room decorated with carvings. In this hall, traditional Maori welcome is rendered to special guests visiting. There is also an old house believed to be of an English General, preserved and turned into a mini museum.

The half day trip to the Waitangi brought our Bay of Islands vacation to an end. It was time to head home. We took a detour and headed to see the oldest living trees called Kauri trees in the Waipua forest.

One need not go into the forest all my himself to see the trees and get lost. The layout of the forest is displayed before entering it. In addition to this, the estimated time required to complete the walkway is also given. There are proper wooden pathways laid out all along to reach the tree. One should keep to the walkways so that they are not lost in the forest! This was impressing and encouraging to take the walk. We saw the oldest living tree called Tane Mahute - Lord of the forest, and many others. There were walkways and precise directions to all the trees that are considered heritage. Though the forest is filled with the Kauri trees, the attractions are some like the tallest, the oldest etc, among them. One fascinating amongst them was Four sisters, this was four trees grown close to one another, so close, that it looked like they shared the same root! I don't know if they really share the same roots but the name gave me the understanding :)

Waipua forest

The detour was a long one and we reached Auckland by late evening. We were driving for more than 5 hours that day with very small breaks. This had exhausted us and we were ready for a good sleep.

Dasara is here.............

Mysore Palace
Its the time of Dasara-the 9 days festival, ending with Vijayadashami on the 10th day. Last Saturday, I got a chance to visit houses where dolls or gollu are arranged and decorated. This is an old tradition in Bangalore/Mysore area, and nowadays there are very few people who continue this tradition. This is in fact a part of the Dasara festival/competitions in Mysore. A panel of judges visit the entrants' houses and evaluates. The best show put up wins a prize!

The dolls are generally arranged in a step like fashion, with mostly dolls/idols of gods like AshtaLakshmi, Rama Seetha and Lakshmana, Hanuman and the like........There are others also which are on themes; like a typical village with fields and farmers working in them, a hillock with a temple on top, a recreation of Kailasa parvatha, the abode of Lord Shiva. With more modern ones; like the cartoon world, a barbie world, a cricket or any sports stadium....etc.
This year there is a huge recreation of the famous Amarnath pilgrim put up in Mysore for the Dasara celebrations.

In my mom's childhood days, they had this tradition in their house, which was continued for some time by my aunt also. I remember visiting my aunt's house in the Dasara vacation when my cousins would decorate the steps made by wooden stools/benches and arrange the dolls. They never allowed me or my younger sister to touch them, as they were porcelain or mud dolls and were very fragile. They feared that we would drop them or damage them!

If arranging all the dolls in a creative fashion is a challenge, its maintenance and taking care of these fragile things after Dasara is another!

Children visited many houses to see the dolls and talked about them. The lady of the house prepared something or the other as prasada and offered it to the children who came to see the doll arrangement. The prasada is usually the kaalu usali made of different pulses everyday or anything sweet like avalakki. Those were the days; nowadays nobody goes to see the arrangement! In fact the lady whose house we visited was a neighbour's friend, and she was more than happy to receive us and show the effort she had put in! She was even heard mumbling that these days nobody just hops from house to house and come only on invitation.

Jaane Tu.......

Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na…

Last week I went to attend a close friend’s wedding in Mangalore. After the wedding and a sumptuous meal, we had time to spend. We were a small group of friends, who wanted to visit the beach and play. But since it was too hot, we decided to watch Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. None of us had watched it and was excited about this sudden plan of a movie!

The movie stars the debutant Imran Khan and the South Indian actor Genelia. When I read the story line, I felt that it was so boring....the concept of friendship between a girl and a boy, and then they are enlightened that are made for each other. It felt like an age old and a boring idea, where generally in the climax the hero and heroine are running in slow motion in a dramatic situation. It is either shot when one of them is leaving the country or is in the deathbed! So I concluded that it would be old wine in a new bottle.

It was a surprise that though it was old wine...it was narrated differently. The film is enjoyable and I liked it because:

• The humour and the acting was good.


• The music is foot tapping , but might not turn out as memorable tunes. Some music pieces remind of the ones in the tamil hit Boys.


• The friends of the lead pair are good. The Gujju character with his accent and diction is nice. The scenes of the hero's dead father (Naseerudin Shah) talking from a portrait to his wife (Ratna Pathak Shah) are funny.


• It is a timepass movie and will not regret much on the money spent for tickets in a multiplex. Specially when you have a good company of friends to watch it!
  

White Water Rafting.........

We went on a very short trip to Dandeli for a wonderful experience of water sports and rafting. Ravi had planned this as a birthday gift to me.

The trip was only for 2 days. We arrived at the HornBill resort (where we stayed for the trip) in the morning and relaxed at the river side after a refreshing juice. There is an artificial poolside created just by the bank of the river and there are beach chairs lined up under the tree shade to sit back and relax. It was a wonderful feeling and the best way to soak in the nature.....the river dancing and flowing by and huge tall trees on the other side of the bank. As we were engrossed in our own thoughts in that beautiful silence, a group of people landed on the bank...they returned from a boat ride to the nearby island. The group had lots of young kids and they started playing in the riverside with their parents. The kids looked frightened and scared to play in a river, unlike a swimming pool that most of the kids are familiar with. The resort provides life jackets to its guests including children, so there is no fear of drowning. But you can be washed away in the water if you go too far into it. The river Kali is wide and deep in some places. There are whirlpools here and there, that one has to be cautious about.

We planned our activities for the 2 days and went to the island trip in the afternoon on our first day at the resort. We get to row to the island by ourselves with a guide in the boat. The island has a natural jacuzzi, which gushes water with such force that you almost loose control if you don't hold the rocks tightly. Since it started raining after we reached the island, we could not spend much time there. But playing in the river when it is raining is very exciting! I was reminded of my school days when we went swimming in the pool during our summer vacations :) and the early monsoon showers hit Bangalore.
After the island trip we went into the jungle for a nature walk. It was almost dusk and was getting dark. Since it had rained and was expected to rain more, the place was damp and quiet. The forest was dense and the only sound was of the river flowing by. All this reminded me of the haunting forests showed in movies like Kaal and Raat. There was a campfire in the evening and we had a sumptuous dinner.

The next morning was the day of rafting; the much awaited activity ever since I knew I was coming here! There was a big group which was the guest of some other resort. We were all split into groups and we boarded the rafts. One trainer accompanied each raft to guide us. The guide briefed us on the usage of the paddle, the instructions to be followed while rafting, and guidelines to follow in case of an event. We started rafting on the river and it was a thrilling experience to sit on the raft and row. The guide gave us only instructions on rowing and it was team effort that was involved in rafting. When we reached the first rapid, it was both thrilling and scary for some of us who were first timers! Once we crossed the first rapid, it was a triumphant feeling and all of us were ready to conquer more. For every rapid, the guide excused one of us from rowing and asked us to sit in the front. When we rowed into the rapid the water would gush into the person's face. This was thrilling and drove away the fear in us. In the calm stretches we even jumped into the water and flowed with the boat.
The normal course of the raft was 12 KM from the starting point. But this time we were lucky to extend it for another 3-4 KM. Because of the rains the vehicles which had to pick us up from the end point could not reach the place. So we rowed for some more kilometres. When the new end point came, we were all asking for more!
On the way back to our resort, we saw people celebrating Holi, the festival of colors. The villagers had decided to color even the cattle and the pet dogs to celebrate the festival of spring, which were all sporting colors - red, blue, green, and yellow. It was a refreshing experience and Ravi and I were looking forward to return for another trip; this time with friends and family. We made a short trip of sight seeing around Dandeli in the afternoon and were soon packing bags to leave. We boarded the train back to Bangalore that night and returned home. This 2 day trip was worth everything and well deserved for the two bruised souls!

About the resort
The HornBill resort is stretched on the banks of the Kali river. It is spread across a wide area all along the river bank which gives a lot of scope for long walks. It has cottages that are spacious and clean. They are placed far away from each other and this makes them private and cosy. There are different options like treetop rooms, tents and normal cottages.
The food served at the resort is lip smacking, deep in the jungle I really wondered how the dishes would be so tasty. The resort has a huge dining area with a television in one corner. There is a lot of space for a campfire also.
The staff is friendly and helpful. The staff for the adventure sports are well trained and attend various workshops and trainings held across India and Nepal.

About Dandeli
Dandeli is a small city in the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka. It is located on the banks of River Kali and is very famous for Wild sanctuary, Paper mills, and Forest resorts. Most of the forest resorts are located on the banks of this river. One of the attractions of this place for adventurers is River Rafting. This place is quiet and is free from the usual commercialisation. Amidst the jungles, there is no pollution and it is calm.
How To Reach: Dandeli is 117 KM from Karwar, 75 KM from Hubli, 57 KM from Dharwad, 481 KM from Bangalore.
There are train and bus facilities fron Bangalore. Train is the best option, as it is less tiring.

Misty Ooty

It was time for another weekend getaway for us. And this time we chose Ooty. This place is suituated in TamilNadu and is close to Bangalore. It is a famous hillstation. The old timers say that the place is commercialised, but for a first timer like me, I was excited to visit it. The excitement was more because we had decided to drive ourselves all the way till there, and this was my first long drive with Ravi! The plan was neat and covered all the important "places to visit" in and around Ooty.


Day one, we started our journey at 7.00 am from Bangalore, though we intended to start early, this was the latest we could do :-) The drive upto Mysore is not new for us, as we visit our home in Mysore very often. As we were reaching Bandipur reserve forest (the drive is through this strech), we saw an elephant in front of us. It appeared as if it was blocking the road. The road was very narrow and we almost thought it was right in the middle of the road. This experience was breathtaking and as we were wondering what to do next, we observed that the elephant was just beside the road and was chained to a nearby tree. We were both releived and shocked to see it. Shocked because the animal was chained in a reserve forest.

After the hair-raising elephant episode, we reached the winding roads leading to the town of OOty. The first glimpse of the winding roads was awesome and breathtaking. It was the month of October and there were rains. Everywhere there was green and serenity. We checked into a hotel that was booked earlier, in the city. The room was cosy and had a view of the Nilgiris. It was beautiful.

After lunch, and a small nap (we were holidaying afteral!) we went to the botanical gardens in the evening. There were groups of school and college kids. It was pretty crowded. The gardens are the regular ones we are used to back in Bangalore, (our own Lalbagh). Nevertheless, it was romantic to walk the garden hand in hand with Ravi ;-)


On day two, we went to Dodda Betta. This is a small hillock from where the view of Nilgiris and the Ooty town is beautiful. The matchbox sized houses and cars are out-of-the-picture-book scene. It was windy and cool. There were horseback rides to explore, but we gave it a pass and continued downhill. On the way back we visited a tea factory. One of the employee there (or the guide!) showed us the processing of tea leaves to tea powder and also gave us a small cup of tea to taste! We bought some fresh packets of flavoured tea to distribute it to family and friends.

Next on the plan was to drive to Coonor, this is another small pictureque town 20 KMs from Ooty. There is a slow train that runs from Ooty to Coonor, which goes through the hills and tea plantations. But it is generally crowded and the frequency is less. The drive through road is also down the winding roads and the tea plantations, so it was worth missing the slow train ride. There are numerous 'spots' on the way, that you can stop by to see the clouds and mist drift away from the hills. The view is beautiful!Coonor also has a garden, but this was calm and was almost empty. There was a small boat ride that the kids were enjoying. The garden is wide spread acroos a hill....everything here is either uphill or downhill, even the roads to reach the garden within Coonor, was like the one on the ghats! I liked this relatively small garden in Coonor than the one at Ooty.
By now we were feeling hungry and wanted to eat something. At first, we did not find any good place to eat. So we decided to return to our hotel in Ooty to eat. Soon we realised that it would be too late to resist hunger. We went on a hunt to serach a good place to eat. This was very challenging, because we did not find any restuarant to eat....all we saw were the roadside shops that were either shabby or eateries that had a bar attached. We went back to the garden area and luckily found a small place that was serving some rotis and sabzi. This was no great but at least looked convincing!

After a quick nap in our hotel room back in Ooty, we headed to the Ooty lake. I was looking forward for a romantic row/peddle boat ride experience. It was worth it! The lake was calm and serene. I felt the time froze and enjoyed the stillness in it. Recollecting it still gives me a great feeling and a high!!!!Lastly, we shopped for the famous home made chocolates and headed back to the hotel room.


Day three was packing bags. On the way back, we visited the GopalaSwamy Betta devasthana near Mysore. This temple is also on a hillock. It is not a crowded place, but is old and hence popular. After the drashana, we spent some time clicking pictures of the surrounding scenery. This place is always misty and cool. When the wind blows the layer of mist clears and reveals a beautiful sight of hills surrounding the place! This was the best way to end the trip, with memories of mist covered hills and greenery.

Need a pushing......

You need a pushing I heard myself saying. From a couple of days, I was trying very hard to wake up early in the morning, but I failed everyday. This is when my inner self reminded me of those days when my mom was always on me, for not doing something or the other.
I always felt I was nagged around, always asked for why, what etc. I hated it then and felt I was not left alone, independent and free. I was a very independent person, but for this.
Now that i am married and cant live with mom always, I really really miss her nagging and follow-up. I was always on-toes and up to date when I lived with her. Now only I know how I am, and just about manage to finish up chores!

Many people would agree that, things are best done when followed-up or nagged at.
I am re-thinking if I am a really lazy person, but the truth is that, sometimes you need a pushing from someone who knows whats best for you. It becomes important sometimes. And mom's nagging never is a nagging, its more of a careful check on the daughter's whereabouts!

Mom, give me a pushing...................

TZP

I got to watch Aamir Khan's directorial debut Taare Zameen Par. I was waiting to watch the movie, specially after reading the review and also watching the trailers on the television.
One more inspiration to watch this movie was the participation of the star in one of the television talk shows about dyslexic kids. As the movie deals with this hindrance, it was apt for the star to appear in the show and promote awareness about the disease. Unlike the other stars who appear on various reality shows, this star believes to do everything differently!

I almost liked everything in this movie. The boy is so real, that you feel as if he is himself going through all the ordeal. There are no unnecessary emotions and high melodrama about the kid's disorder when the parents learn about it. This makes it easy to watch and relate to the situation shown. The dialogues are also simple and sound real for a subject relating to kids' problems.

This movie has done a wonderful job of creating awareness about this disorder and its cure. When the Art teacher Nibukh talks about great sceintists, authors and famous personalities who were successful in their field without being very good at academics; it boosts the dyslexic kid to start attempting what he is best at.
The movie is not a masala entertainer but an eye opener to many people.