Mount Doom

Misty Mountain?

A journey through several miles of dense morning fog and deep into what seemed like the real Middle-Earth – actually named Tongariro National Park – includes endless mind-blowing scenery, summed up by our tour guide in the most appropriate, nail-on-the-head fashion: “the British countryside on steroids”. I couldn’t have put it better myself. Though of course I should be able to, being a writer and all, so shame on me.

Caves And Volcanoes

Waitomo - home to glow worm caves and possibly Hobbits

I’ll cut to the chase here: we visited two caves in Waitomo where we saw glow worms. If you don’t know what they are, then the name is a bit of a give-away. But they’re actually larvae that cling to the cave ceilings, and are bio-luminescent so as to attract prey. It’s only their livers that are glowing though, but in the pitch black of a cave, it makes no difference. As we cruised up and down a cave river in total darkness, we may as well have been looking at a constellation of stars overhead. It was quite otherworldly. 

Tropic Thunder

A tropical storm rolls in...

Perhaps one of the strangest elements about New Zealand’s countryside is its constant shifting from British-like plantations and forests, to sudden bursts of tropical environments. Thus far, Raglan remains one of the most tropical overnight stays. 

A Rocky Start...

The view from our (moving) room...

After Auckland, we visited the small coastal town of Paihia, mainland to the infamous Bay of Islands, for two nights. On the way we visited a waterfall far bigger than we expected. The short walk starts at the precipice, which you cross via a tiny metal bridge with no railings... And if that wasn't treacherous enough, the rainfall from a recent cyclone had evidently caused the rapid river below to swell, leaving no more than a couple of inches between the bridge and the water. 

Auckland: Head Straight For The Water...

Whether it's the Tower or the sea, the views are far better than from the streets.

New Zealand’s infamous seaside city has lots on offer from dolphin and whale watching to day trips to local islands such as Waiheke, Rangitoto and Motutapu. The city itself boasts the iconic Sky Tower, from the top of which you can enjoy stunning views of the metropolitan area by night, and by day, distant views of the bay and the oceanic horizon. And whilst we didn’t venture up the tower during sunlight, I’d have been surprised to see anything worthwhile in terms of a good view before the water starts, though they would have undoubtedly been better than those at street level...

An Elephants-Never-Forgettable Experience

Sian and her new friend

As mentioned in my last post, during our time in Bangkok, we ventured out into Thailand’s beautiful countryside to spend a day at the Elephant Day Care Centre on the River Kwai. It won't surprise you to hear me to tell you how hot it was (it was hot), but it was very, very hot out in the open mountains next to the River Kwai. In fact, so much so, that Sian nearly fainted from over-heating. It probably didn't help that we were boiling rice for twenty-seven elephants, though. Yes, you read that right. 

If Hell Is Really That Hot, Then It Must Be Bangkok…

Thanks to very poor WiFi availability here in New Zealand, this post is coming to you a little late seeing as we left Bangkok some nine days ago for Auckland. It’s safe to say that the best way to start this post is to address just how nightmarishly-hot Bangkok – and undoubtedly the rest of Thailand, though we didn’t venture too far from the city. Okay, we drove a good four hours out to an Elephant Day Care centre on the River Kwai but more on that in the next post. 

Boss Baby Review

       It's not hard to believe Alec Baldwin looked and acted like this as a baby...

Tim is your average, well-behaved nine-or-something-year-old; he likes bedtime stories, loves his parents and loves hugs from them even more and doesn't really want anything else. He's the perfect child that probably doesn't exist, and will likely become the most unrealistic teenager off-screen after the credits roll too. But when his parents bring a baby in a suit home (Alec Baldwin of course), his world is turned inside out and he's no longer the centre of his parents' universe. And when he learns that the baby can also talk in an adult voice and is a bit of a douche, things go from bad to worse for Tim. But also for the film.

Take Note, Cineworld...

I realise I've talked only about movies on this blog so far, but as always seems to be the case, I've got a bit of a backlog with my reviews. This doesn't mean I'm slow at putting up reviews, though - it probably just means I watch way too many movies! That, and I'm only a few days into my trip, and I don't want to talk about Bangkok too much just yet. I want to save that post for when we're about to leave for New Zealand later this week, as a lot can happen between now and then.

In Space, No One Can Hear You Squirm...

                     

When I saw the trailer, my first words to Sian were something like "I've seen this film a hundred times - I'm not interested." The plot: a team of scientists aboard a space station in orbit discover a microscopic alien life form, which soon turns nasty and starts killing them all one-by-one in a gory fashion. It doesn't reek of originality, but then what film does these days? 

With Cinema Suffocated By The Likes Of Marvel And DC, The Power Rangers Reboot Makes Its Superhero-Landing At The Right Morphin’ Time

                            A breakfast club you certainly won't forget about...

There seems to be such a pattern forming with films being targeted with controversy, doubt, hate and scrutiny, that you can almost expect these things to now form part of the promotional material and marketing strategy for most franchise films. But it probably doesn’t help when a film’s advertising is conducted mostly through its merchandise counterparts. And in the case of Power Rangers 2017, it was the toys.