Jalan Jalan Lata Naning (Gunung Rajah)

Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim

This trip was organised to be as part of training trip for Gunung Tahan. There were some issues on Gunung Rajah; as everyone knows there are some part of the trail involving rock climbing whereby of course by using rope. Unfortunately the rope was cut off so we weren't be abled to climb up to the summit. So, yup, in other words, it was a failed attempt. In anyway it had been raining all day, so there was a landslide reported. After all, still....we had fun in Lata Naning, great company, good food and wonderful scenery :)

Gunung Rajah stands at 1685m high and located in Bentong, Pahang. We arrived at the foothill of Gunung Rajah where the Chamang Waterfall is; around 4 am. Slept for an hour, had breakfast and started our journey at 9 am.

The starting point.

Up to trek balak...

It was a steep climbed for the first 5 minutes till we came upon the wide and clear "Trek Balak". We walked on flat surface of "Trek Balak" for half an hour until we passed by "Orang Asli" settlement that the trail starts to incline.

Hydroelectric Dam

The orang asli settlement

K.ieja, fizi, faiz, arip and hairi strike a pose on anak rajah, betul ke anak rajah?

Aktiviti menggolekkan beg Fizi akibat dari tersalah jalan dan kena pusing balik.

The trail is quite clear although we did miss a turn. It took us at least half an hour to realise that we took a wrong turn and the path was getting confusing with each steps. After Fizi and Arip went off to retrace the right trail, and confirmed that we were actually lost, we headed up back to the trail that originally connected with "Trek Balak". There are pieces of paper trail along the way so we were confident that we indeed on the right path. We continued walking for another hour and finally stop at river crossing since it started to rain and had some rest.

Lata Naning is located at least 30-45 minutes walk from the river crossing. Our initial plan was to camp out in "Kem Hijau". But, after further discussion we decided to spend the night in Lata Naning due to the issues mentioned way above and also because Lata Naning is so beautiful plus with direct water source, a brilliant setting for a camp site. When we arrived in Lata Naning, there was another big group already set up their tents and had started preparing for dinner. So, there was no vacant area on the designated campsite, thus, we only left with two options before nightfall, either continue hike up to "Kem Hijau" or set up our tent on the rock by riverside. The second option won by votes. Hihi. Nice...

Saya suka gambar ni, setting yang cantik!

Lata Naning, the other group is preparing dinner.

My dear shoes

Waterfall next to our campsite

Our Tents

The shoes...again

The waterfall...

....and me!

Goreng papadum sampai tumpah...

Breakfast....

Proses mandi manda

K.zela's Tent.

Lunch, nasi minyak...

Well...masing2 ada kamera...

K.ieja was writing down, journal ker?

Arip offer diri jasi model...

Singgah kejap di Sg. Y.

Jalan Jalan New Zealand 4: Dunedin - Mount Cook

Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim

....We headed up to Dunedin. So what's in Dunedin? Ive heard somewhere before that Dunedin is one of the spookiest place on earth. Not quite believing it, but yeah there are lots of old houses that look like dracula place in Dunedin. I dont really mind 'hantu mat saleh' because of their good look, obviously i will 'sengih' rather than 'lari lintang pukang'. Rugi la kalau lari. Remembering one of my friend's 'cerita hantu' which happened in Canberra that recent year. She told us that her other Malaysian friend saw a 'hantu pocong' in their backyard. Yes, 'hantu pocong' in Canberra, well you cant throw away Malaysian sense out of a Malaysian, can you? even hantu pun jadi hantu Malaysia even though in negara mat saleh. 

Well anyway, Dunedin is the second largest city in New Zealand located in Otago region and it is home to the University of Otago. We have few Malaysians studying here. We even 'tumpang' Kak Azam's house (Jojet's friend who is studying in the University of Otago) for the night. Still remember that delicious Chicken Rice for dinner and Nasi Kerabu for lunch on top of Mount Cook. Thank you Kak Azam and friends!

Heading down to Dunedin

Dunedin Railway Station, pose je, bukan naik ketapi pun....

Ala-ala Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad tak?

Kilang Cadbury yang tutup..alahay...nasib badan...

Tunggu bas, tak sampai2.

The Railway Station

One of the main attractions of Dunedin is the Baldwin Street. It is world's steepest residential street located about 3.5km from the city centre. It is recorded to be slightly more than 1:5 gradient slope. For safety, some part of the road are surfaced with concrete to avoid chipped bitumen flow down the slope. There are few incidents that I read regarding the Baldwin Street. A University of Otago student died here while playing in a Wheelie Bin. Not a smart game though, the bin crashed with a trailer parked by the roadside. And, there was another silly incident involving three men who have nothing to do because the pub was closed; being charged with disorderly behaviour and dangerous driving after rode in a chilly bin towed behind a car down the street. Erti kata lain, dah takde keje ke bro?...

K.awan dah penat yo!

Lepak di jalan...

Boleh takk...siap dapat cert.

Bukan rumah yg senget yer....

Me, cubaan nak golek, tapi terlompat puler...

Nasi ayam for dinner

The next day, we headed up to Mount Cook, the highlight of our trip. From Dunedin we drove up to Omarama, Twizel and Lake Pukaki to the Mount Cook National Park. Before arriving in Omarama, we stopped by Lake Aviemore to enjoy the splendid view. Lake Aviemore is a man-made lake which was designed as part of Waitaki Hydroelectric scheme. From the main road, on the right side is the Aviemore Dam.

Looking out....

Lake Aviemore

Backdrop tuh adalah Aviemore Dam

Ramai2 kacau Azlina Ismail posing...kesian....

Arriving in Mount Cook....posing dlu...

Mount Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand that stands at 3,754 metres (12,316 ft) and is also known as Aoraki, so...kalau tiba-tiba hangpa nampak nama Aoraki tu, jangan la kompius2. Aoraki is Maori name of a person which means, ao (world, daytime, cloud, etc.) and raki or rangi (day, sky, weather, etc.). I'm hoping that one day, I'll hike up Mount Cook. Will definitely listing it down in my mount hiking list. 

Cobaan melompat Azlina Ismail

Yang belakang tuh pun, bila suruh amik gambo, dok sedih2, tang posing tangan paling tinggi....

Nasi Kerabu dan Mount Cook

Cantiknya la setting....

The Panorama view of Southern Alps.

We spent the night in Lake Tekapo which is located about 100km from Mount Cook National Park. It's a small village, but the lake covers a massive area of 83km2. There is a famous church in Lake Tekapo. Church of Good Shepherd was the first church being built in Mckenzie area in 1935. It is said to be the most photographed church in New Zealand. Been there, and I totally agree, that the statement is true. The setting of the church is so beautiful, perched next to the lake with an altar window framing the lake and its backdrop mountain. 

Church of Good Shepherd

Hahahha...layankan....

Silap la posing gitu jet oi....camouflage terus dgn bunga

This is the best gambar lompat of me.

Oh, this one to...~

Lake Tekapo from our hostel

Lake Tekapo near Church of Good Shepherd.