A Drive to Wanaka - Day 1

Recently, I had come from Queenstown, and I am going to tell you about my trip to Queenstown. Exact two years ago (20 January 2017), I had posted my trip to Queenstown with my Dad's friend. It was really fun. So, this is day 1 of my trip.


Day 1


At 7:00 AM, I woke up for an exciting trip to Queenstown. Two years ago, we had gone to Queenstown with my Dad's friend, it was really fun. I really like going to Queenstown because of the amazing natural views. We are staying there for five days. We were ready by 7:30 AM.


We left our house at 8:00 AM. It estimated that we will reach Lake Tekapo at 11:00 AM. We had gone by SH1 (State Highway 1), we were going straight for 70km. We stopped at the BP petrol station in Rolleston for air.


At 9:07 AM


We arrived at Ashburton. We stopped at McDonald's. We were relieved to stop because I wanted to stop somewhere and eat something. We chose not to eat at McDonald's. Instead, we got some toasties, I ate one Cheesy Garlic toastie and one Avocado toastie. We continued on SH1 to Lake Tekapo.


Our next stop was at Geraldine, we had stopped there for a break. We only stayed there for 10 minutes and left to go on SH8.


At 11:47 AM


We arrive at Lake Tekapo. It was an outstanding view of the lake when we arrived at the town. The sky was light blue, and the lake was shimmering like it was the reflection of the sky. We parked at the Church parking, we took photos of us by the church and the lake. Last time we went to Lake Tekapo (which was two years ago), there weren't any fences by the lake, in my opinion, they added fences because people damage the church or another reason. It's good that they made a new route to go by the lake. We took some photos on the rock. After, we went closer by the lake. After touching the lake, we walked to a dog statue and then went to find somewhere to eat and look at the majestic view. We were happily eating our food. We went to Aotea Gifts to look around. We hadn't bought anything from there. We wanted to reach at Wanaka as fast as possible. It estimated that we would reach Wanaka at 5:00 PM. We decided to go to Puzzling World.


At 5:00 PM, we arrived at Puzzling World. It was about to close after half an hour (5:30 PM). When we entered, we entered the Illusion Room (where we go every time because it's cool, and fun). The first room was the Hologram Room. There were 3D pictures on the wall. There was also a ball where if you touch it the electrics show where your touching (if you don't understand, look at this image on the right). It was a small room, the second room was the Tilted Room. We were the only one in the room because it was about to close. When I first walked in the room. It was quite easy to go through. The third room was the Hall of Following Faces, where there are 168 famous faces. When you move around the room, it looks like that the faces are moving. I could recognize famous people like Albert Einstein, and Nelson Mandala. We moved on to the next room, the Ames Room, which is an illusion room. On one side it looks like that you are taller and larger than the person on the other side of the room. After some minutes in the Ames Room, we went to the Sculptillusion Gallery. There were incredible illusions in the room. There was a table where on one side it looked liked two tables joined together, and one side where it looks like a cube. There were many illusions in the room. After a few minutes looking at the Sculptillusion Gallery, we went to the Puzzle Centre/Cafe. I had Ice-Cream because it was hot. After eating, we went to the Roman Toilets. It's a place to get photos with our family. Next, we went to the Leaning Tower of Wanaka. It's a really great space to take pictures.


After 20 minutes, we left Puzzling World to our holiday park. The holiday park was 10 minutes away from Puzzling World. We passed Lake Wanaka on the way to the holiday park. The holiday park was quite ahead of the town centre. We had arrived at 'Wanaka Kiwi Holiday Park & Motels' and checked in. We parked beside our house. There was a big park behind our house. We had two entries to our house, one from the front, and one from behind. We all unloaded our luggage and went into the house. It was a two bedroom house. After a long time in the car, we all sat on the sofas and rested. We had to stay in Wanaka for one night and leave in the morning to Te Anau. At 8:00 PM, we ate dinner, it was a good time. I saw outside, and the sun hadn't set yet (it was a but I watched India vs Australia on Sky Sports 2. I stayed up until 10:00 PM. I was watching while I was in bed. After some time, I went to sleep. It was a long day in the car going to Wanaka. As you know, that I am going to Te Anau the next day, I am going to stay there for a night too.

I hope you like my post about the first day of the trip to Queenstown. Comment down below if you've been to Wanaka? Have a cool day!! Bye!!

The Beginning!! - Day 1

Last Friday, my family and I went to Rotorua. This was our first time going to Rotorua. This is my time at Rotorua, check out what happened. Comment down below if you've been to Rotorua! I hope you like this post. Have a cool day!! Bye!!

We arrived at the airport at 6:00 am. Our flight is at 7:00 am. We checked-in at 6:10. I watched Wimbledon (is the oldest tennis tournament in the world) highlights.

After 15 minutes we scanned our tickets and went in the plane, I didn't have time to stay and watch. We went on the plane and waited. The air host said that we will reach Wellington in 33 minutes (the flight duration). The plane departed at 6:30 am.

After 33 minutes...

We had landed at Wellington, the landing was quite rough, but we landed safely. After getting our luggage from the belt, I smelt the smell from Subway. It smelt really tasty. I asked to have some Subway. I wanted to have a footlong, but there were toasties (that I've never seen before) that I wanted to try. There were 3 options, avocado, garlic & bread, and garlic & herbs. I chose avocado because it was yum and healthy. When I tasted it, the avocado was quite salty but yum. After eating the toasties, we went in the car to Palmerston North. It was a two-hour drive.

Before reaching Wellington CBD (central business district) we passed a tunnel named Mt Victoria tunnel. It was built in 1931. The tunnel was about a kilometre long. In Buckle Street, we saw the Basin Reserve. It's a cricket ground that was established in 1686. Also, Basin Reserve is the New Zealand Cricket Museum. After turning we passed at another tunnel named Arras tunnel, it was a short tunnel but there were poppies on the side of the tunnel. On the way to the tunnel on State Highway 1 / Wellington Urban Motorway, we saw the Beehive. The tunnel was about 1 km long. After passing Johnsonville and Tawa we had passed the Wellington. In the middle of Ohau and Levin, we turned to State Highway 57. We had 38 minutes left to Palmerston North.

At Palmerston North...

At 11:30 am we arrived in Palmerston North. On the way, we saw heaps of towns. After a few minutes of passing Palmerston North, we arrived at the house. I was relieved after the drive of 2 hours. We sat down and ate some food.

After 30 minutes...

We decided to go to the Wind Turbine at Woodville. When we were coming to Palmerston North we saw a line of Wind Turbines. It took around 20 minutes to reach Te Apiti Wind Farm. When we reached the Wind Turbine, we parked there. When I tried to get out of the car, there was too much wind to get out. There was too much wind so we went back in the car. Because there was too much wind we went to watch something else that we didn't know.

It took around 15 minutes to reach Ashhurst. We drove further to State Highway 3 at Napier Road. We parked at Manawatu Gorge Track. We walked to the narrow walk to the track. There was a sign for drivers 'no entry'. Before going down the underpass there was a closed sign that was a restricted area. In the underpass, there were the noises of the water from the waterfall. There was a warning to not touch the plants because they are sprayed with poison. The bridge was narrow and we had to stay together. It was a good walk. As we get closer it gets narrower. But we went back because we didn't want to get tired. We went back home and ate lunch.

At Dinner...

We ate dinner early. We went to the shop to buy some food. The dinner was nice and yum. We talked and played around. But it was time for bed so we went to sleep. We had a fun and exciting day. I'm curious what's going to happen next!!

Summer Leaning Journey 2017-18 | Week 4 | Day 1

Contemparary Kiwis

Day 1 - Turn of the Century (2000 - 2010)

Activity 1 |  Celebrating a Win

In 2000, the country of New Zealand celebrated when Russell Coutts and his sailing team won their second straight America’s Cup. This was the first time that a team from New Zealand had won back-to-back championships! Many people celebrated the victory with their friends and family.

On your blog, tell us what you and your family do to celebrate special events, such as birthdays. Do you have a special meal or go to a specific place? In our house, we usually make a pizza and bake a special cake. What about you?

At Christmas and New Year's Day we go out to a park and have fun with a picnic.

Activity 2 | Lord of the Rings

Arguably one of the most famous movie trilogies of all time, The Lord of the Rings, was filmed in New Zealand. All three movies were directed by a New Zealander named Peter Jackson. The first movie was released in 2001, the second in 2002 and the third in 2003. The movies cost an estimated $300 million to produce!  

Imagine that instead of spending the money on the movies, Peter Jackson decided to give all of this money to you. Lucky you! On your blog, tell us what you would do with $300 million dollars. How would you spend it? It is a lot of money so please think carefully about it and spend it wisely :-)

I would spend it on a event centre so any sport can play over there like Soccer, Cricket, Rugby, etc:

Summer Leaning Journey 2017-18 | Week 3 | Day 1

The Post War(s) Era (1951 - 1999)

Day 1 - White Picket Fences

In the 1950s, things settled down in New Zealand. There were no international wars or intense, national conflicts. Many kiwis were able to settle down, get married, buy a home and start a family.

Activity 1 | Meat and Three Veg

It was common for women in the 1950s to stay home with their children and raise their family. They were called ‘housewives.’ Many housewives followed a simple rule when they prepared the evening meal: the ‘meat and three veg’ rule. This meant that they prepared dinners that included three different vegetables and a type of meat (eg. beef, lamb, or chicken).

On your blog tell us if you think that the ‘meat and three veg’ rule is a good one. Do you like the rule? Would you enjoy eating a typical 1950s dinner? Why or why not?

I wouldn't like it because I don't eat meat so I wouldn't try to eat a typical 1950s dinner. But there are just 3 vegetables to eat, I would rather get 

Activity 2 | What’s in a Name?

During the 1950s the population of New Zealand grew by 400,000 people. That is huge! In fact, so many people were having babies that many people refer to this period in our history as the ‘baby boom.’ Popular baby names in 1950s New Zealand were:

GIRLS BOYS

Christine John

Susan David

Margaret Peter

Judith Michael

Jennifer Robert

Read through the lists. Are these popular names in your school? On your blog, tell us which names are currently popular in your school. Please provide, at least, three girls’ names and three boys’ names that are popular.

I think that 'David' is the popular name in boys in school. But for girls I haven't heard anyone in school.

Bonus Activity | Snail Mail

In the 1950s, most people communicated with one another by writing letters. According to the NZ history website, New Zealanders sent over 200 million letters and postcards between 1950 and 1960. That is an average of 87 letters per person!

For this activity, imagine that you are living in New Zealand in the 1950s. Use Google Draw to design the front of a postcard that you could send to a friend. Try to include elements of Kiwiana in your design (e.g. Pohutukawa trees, Hokey Pokey ice cream, etc). Post a copy of your postcard picture to your blog. Be sure to describe what you have drawn on your blog beneath the picture.

This postcard is the main things of New Zealand from the famous sport like Rugby and Cricket to the tower of Sky Tower.

Summer Leaning Journey 2017 | Week 2 | Day 1

A Period of Change (1870 - 1950)

Day 1 - The Early Years

Activity 1 | St Joseph’s Cathedral

At the turn of the century, there was a great deal of construction happening in New Zealand. Many of the new British settlers wanted to build homes and community meeting places, such as churches. One of the largest buildings to be constructed during this period was St Joseph’s Cathedral in Dunedin.

St Joseph’s Cathedral is just one of hundreds of beautiful cathedrals around the world.

Use your search engine to find a picture of another famous cathedral. Post a picture of the cathedral on your blog. Underneath the picture tell us: the name of the cathedral, where the cathedral is located, when it was built, and how long it took to build.

One of the famous Cathedrals

Name: Florence Cathedral

Located: Moscow, Russia

Built: 9 September 1296

How long it took to build? 1436

Activity 2: The Right to Vote

At the turn of the century, New Zealand elected its first ever government. Richard John Seddon served as the leader of the Liberal Party from 1893-1906. Prior to 1893, only men were legally allowed to vote. This all changed in the late 1800s when a woman named Kate Sheppard lead a suffragist movement in New Zealand calling for a change in law. Her hard work finally paid off when the Electoral Act was passed into law on 19 September 1893, giving women the right to vote. New Zealand was the first country to give all women the right to vote. There were still countries in the world (e.g. Saudi Arabia) who, until recently, did not allow women to vote.

On your blog tell us what you think about the fact that women were not allowed to vote in Saudi Arabia until 2015. Is it fair? Why or why not?

This is unfair because it they should have the writes to vote like the mens. But that's good that the Saudi Arabia government decided to give permission to women to vote in the elections.

Bonus Activity: In Flanders Fields

As the new century dawned, New Zealanders settled into a period of relative calm. The calm lasted for about 15 years but came to a sudden end in 1914 when World War I erupted in Europe. The war lasted for almost five years and claimed the lives of 18,000 New Zealanders.

It also claimed the lives of thousands of men and women from countries around the world. Every year, we remember these brave men and women on ANZAC Day (25 April). Many people go to a special Anzac Day ceremony where they read a special poem that was written for the fallen soldiers. The poem is called ‘In Flanders Fields’ by John McCrae.

Read the poem. On your blog, tell us what you think of the poem. Do you like it? How does it make you feel?

It makes me feel very lucky to live in a beautiful, safe country like New Zealand. It also makes me feel sad for those who died in the war and for their families. I think that we are very lucky that they went to war and fought for our freedom. What do you think?

This poem makes me proud to be in New Zealand. But I fell sad for the people who died in the war.

Summer Learning Journey 2017 | Week 1 - Day 1

We are doing an activity named the Summer Learning Journey. We had to get information from the site and write about it. So for the first week our topic is about the early times when the Maori came to New Zealand. I hope you like my post. Hope you comment down below. Have a cool day!! Bye!!

In the Beginning (1800 - 1870)
Day 1 - Arriving in New Zealand

Activity 1 | The first Settlers

It is widely believed that the first people to arrive in New Zealand came from Polynesia. Most historians believe that they landed in New Zealand over 700 years ago. Although they were originally from many different countries, these settlers learned to live together and, eventually, formed their own distinct culture known as ‘Māori.’  Māori have their own language, traditions, and culture.

Follow this link to read a short story about a famous man in Māori mythology – Maui. On your blog, post three facts that you learned about this interesting man. What other stories have you heard about Maui?

- Maui has a fishhook that is made out of a jawbone his ancestor.

- While Maui was fishing, the canoe he was in with his brothers is now known as the South Island of New Zealand, and the fish he caught with his hook is the North Island.

- Whenever Maui says his old karakia, it always helps him in hard situations.

Other Stories | Maui

- Maui and the Sun

Activity 2 | Setting Sail

The first settlers to come to New Zealand must have been really brave! They had to leave their original homes and sail thousands of miles across the ocean on a special boat called a ‘waka’ to reach New Zealand.

Imagine that you were on board one of the wakas. On your blog, write a short letter to a friend telling them about your voyage to New Zealand. In the letter be sure to tell them how you feel about moving to a new country. If it was me, I would have felt really nervous…

Dear Axle,

It will be arriving at New Zealand. It is a new country that I found. When my friend tells reminds me that we are going to a new place I feel excited and nervous. I was thinking that when you send a letter to me I would be revealed. Wish my good luck!. Bye!!

From Khush

Bonus Activity | Waka Ama

To this day, the people of New Zealand still use waka. Instead of using their waka to transport them from one place to another, they sometimes use waka in special events and in sporting competitions such as Waka Ama. Both boys and girls compete in Waka Ama boat races.

Watch this short video of a Waka Ama race. On your blog tell us whether you would like to be in a Waka Ama race one day. Why or why not?

For my opinion I wouldn't do the Waka Ama. You need heaps of strength and muscles. However it is a awesome sport to take part.

Melbourne - Australia - Day 1

If you have seen my last post that I posted today morning, than have a see and then read this story that I have written. I will tell you what I have written.

I woke up at 2:55 A.M (New Zealand Standard Time) and got ready. I was really sleepy, but really excited! After getting ready I packed my Chromebook with me.

I really wanted to go to Melbourne, Australia. At 3:00 A.M we left home and went to the airport. At 4:50 A.M we checked our bags and electronic devices. At 5:00 A.M we looked at some shops near our gate. After 1 hour and 5 minutes the plane would take off.

At 5:51 A.M we board to the plane. At 6:00 A.M the engine started and we moved back. The plane started to take off. At 6:15 A.M the plane took off.

We slept the whole way to Melbourne. At 8:05 A.M (Australian Standard Time) we arrived to Melbourne Airport or Tullamarine Airport. When the plane landed and everyone stand up and made a huge line that lasted 7 minutes.

At 9:20 A.M we got out of the airport. My dad's friend picked us up and and took us to an enormous carpark where his car is.

After 25 minutes...

The traffic begun at a motorway. It was the largest traffic that I have seen before. We decided to go to the temple first. We went past M80.

At 10:14 A.M we reached to the temple. We looked all around the temple. It was really large, larger than our Christchurch temple.

We were hungry so we went to Hungry Jacks (similar to Burger King) to have lunch. We ate a burger and chips. After eating we went straight to my dad's friend house. We have to drive 67km from Hungry Jacks to my dad's friend's house.

At 1:00 P.M we reached to my dad's friend's house. We were really tired because of the long drive. The weather seemed to be cloudy, but suddenly showers started. We didn't plan to go anywhere.

At 6:30 P.M we decided to play carom. At the starting I played quite bad because it was my first time playing carom. But later I came to first place. My finger was paining. There were some times when I was going to win but I couldn't aim it correctly. At the end it came a bit hard. But it came to the part when I loss, Jaitra won!

Then we played Xbox 360. We played Kinect Sports. First we played Bowling because everyone could play and no one could miss out playing. I started bad with just 7 or 8 points, I didn't do any spare or strike. But later in the middle I had done Double strike and came first points with 107 points. It was a chance that I may have come first place or second place. But I came first with 147 points. After the game Jatira and I played Football (Soccer) against each other. Jairta started awesome with a score of 0-2. But later in the middle of the game I attacked and scored 3 points that makes the score 3-2. It was the last 0:10 seconds and I scored 2 goals. The game ended with 5-2. We played another game called Adventure. First round - River Rush. (We have to collect coins and get a higher score) When I played I got about 213 points - Gold.

Then my Mum and my dad's friend went to a supermarket called Coles. We had a good time playing together. I think that we had a awesome day! I think that we will have a cool 😎 day tomorrow! I hope you like my post. Have a cool 😎 day!! Bye!!