The final day!

Today was the last day of the term and year. This is my 300th blog post over the three years 😃! Let's recap the awesome year what has happened over the year (till Term 4). It's because I hadn't posted a recap each holiday.

Term 1

In Science: Psychology - I had finished my badge.

In Cybersmart - Smart Learner

Reading

We hadn't done that much things in the first term. Below are some things that I've posted.

Me on the Scenic Railway
Not a good image because
I had taken it on one hand
while it going on

1. Blue Mountains

The post was about the trip to the Blue Mountains, Katoomba, Sydney. Here's the link to the post. I had been seen the Three Sisters (an unusual rock formation), been on the 'Scenic Railway' (a 52° railway that goes down, it is the steepest railway in the world) and went on the 'Cableway' and 'Skyway'. It was really fun.

2. The Olympics

2018 Commonwealth Games

I had posted two posts about the '2018 Commonwealth Games'. Here is the link to the post. The first post was about information about the 2018 Commonwealth Games. It included why it is held in the Gold Coast and other recommended cities. 

In my second post, it included the medal standing scoreboard. Well, Australia was first, with a lead of 72 medals. New Zealand was 6th place, with 32 medals. 

After the Commonwealth Games ended, I had made a post about the medal standings scoreboard (again) and I added in the best moments in the Commonwealth Games.

Term 2

In term 2, I had posted a lot. Most of them are from my Astronomy science badge. On the 23rd of May, I had been to the EPro 8 Challenge at Cobham Intermediate. In my team, there was Axle, Zayd, Lars and I. It was really fun, we were 6th place. We were just a few points away from 3rd place. Here is the link to the post.

For Philosophy, I had made a Powtoon about 'Why Don't we feel Earth Orbiting?'. Here is the link to the post if you want to see the video.

My most favourite moment of term 2 was making the Solar System. On the right, is an image of how it looked like. It looked really realistic and I'm really proud of it. Here is the link to the post if you want to know some facts/information.



Holidays after Term 2

I had gone on a trip to Rotorua, it was awesome and it was really fun. Here is the link to the posts. My most favourite moment was going to Wai-O-Tapu. So we went to Wellington by plane, then drove to Palmerston North and stayed there for a night. The next day, we drove to Taupo and had lunch there. After an hour later we reached Rotorua. By then, it was night time. We had reached the lodge. The third day was long, we had heaps of fun. So first we drove south (between Rotorua and Taupo) to Wai-O-Tapu (a geothermal area). First, we had been to the 10:15 AM, Lady Knox Geyser. It was really cool and we could feel the water (because of the wind blowing in our direction), by then the water had turned cold when it came to us. After the show, we went to Geothermal Park via the Visitor Centre. It was a 2.5km walk. One of the coolest parts was the Champagne Pool (not really champagne [just the name]). We had to cross a wooden boardwalk. As you can see the second image, you have to cross over a boardwalk. That time it was the winter season so the Champagne Pool was steamy and we couldn't even see anything.

Walk 2 was quite boring because there were only bushes and trees that we could see. As we go down the stairs, there were two directions to go. We had gone on the right side (starting from No.13) and we went till No.15. When we reached at the end of the Frying Pan Flat, it started drizzling. It was a good thing that we didn't go in the other direction. So we ran back, we went past the Champagne Pool, saw the Sulphur Cave and the Devil's Cave.

Below is the map of Wai-O-Tapu.

After Wai-O-Tapu, we drove past Rotorua, Tirau, Piarere, Cambridge, Kihikihi, Otorohanga, Hangatiki and arrived at Waitomo. I can remember some cool facts that the guide told us.

1. "Every time the water drops from the rock it creates the rock. Every thousand drop makes about the size of one cubic centimetre."
2. The host showed other rocks and said that that looks like a family with a mother, two kids, a dog and a tiny father. There was a big rock that looked like an elephant. The host also talking about the rock shaped Kiwi.
3. "Glowworms' food can be their family members."

We went to Hamilton for a short while and went to Rotorua. 

It was an amazing trip at Rotorua. Now, I'll talk to you about Term 3. 

Term 3

In Term 3 we had done Business and Enterprise. For cybersmart, we had done Smart Relationship.

Here's a small preview of our Business and Enterprise.

In my first post, I had included who was in my group, what we were deciding to make, writing the financial letter, making our logo/slogan, marketing plan, making our banners, listing our tasks and what we need to do on time. 

On the 22nd of August, we had gone to Cantamath 2018 competition at Horncastle Arena, after school. In the group, there were Axle, Zayd, Jeff and I. There were many schools competing in different years. Our school had about 3 teams competing, year 7s, 8s, 9s.

Also, there was another competition, it was the 'Great Christchurch Technology Challenge'. We took part in the Construction Challenge. We had to make a walking frame out of newspaper and sellotape. In the group, there were Axle, Lyan and I. After the walking frame was built in 1:30 hours, the judges had to put a wooden beam on top of the walking frame. Our walking frame could hold only one wooden beam. We got points by getting the perfect measurements right. We had come 3rd place. In the prizes, there were a VR and Bluetooth speakers. We could choose one, so I chose the Bluetooth speakers. It was really fun and I wish that I could do it again.

Holidays after Term 3

I had done my Geology badge, to finish it. Here's the link to the posts. I just had my science badge over the holidays.

Term 4

It was the final term of the year and I was so excited. I had started my Environmental Science Badge and finished it. In cybersmart, we had done Smart User. We had answered some questions from A Google A Day (Explorers, Amphibious vehicle), written a biography about Sir Peter Blake who was a famous sailor and done some Summer Learning Journey Preps (Activity 1, Activity 3).

We had passion projects and I chose Discovery. In Discovery, we had chosen to do food, trying to discover something and change it. If you want to see the posts, click here. It was really fun and we discovered cool things. I was in a group with Axle, Vann and Ranit. We had lots of fun trying and making new products/dishes. My favourite product was the Panna Cotta. It looked so good.

On the 27th November 2018, I had watched the landing of NASA's InSight Lander. Here is the link to see the posts. I had posted about the lander on that day. It included goals in the mission, an overview, images, a video of the landing, more other videos and why is InSight going to Mars. After a few posts later, I had posted another post about NASA's InSight Lander. It was mostly about the instruments that NASA's InSight lander has. A day later, I looked at the articles of InSight and I found out that InSight had recorded a clip of Mars' wind.

I hope you like my post about the review of this year. Be tuned to view my posts about NASA InSight, the Summer Learning Journey and I will be starting a new series, starting from today December, so be tuned. Have a cool day!! Bye!!

Were Back!! - Day 5

On the fifth day, we went back to Christchurch. This is what happened...

At 4:00 pm we arrived at Wellington Domestic Airport for our flight. We checked-in and sat at the gate, waiting for the flight. Before we went by the gate we ate Subway because we wanted to eat something. We went by to the same Subway when we arrived at Wellington. I ate a 6-inch Subway. It was yum! At the gate, we waited for the plane. There were 10 minutes till we boarded.

After 10 minutes...

The plane was delayed, 10 minutes late. We waited another 10 minutes until the plane would come.

After another 10 minutes...

The plane was here and we went to the plane. Our seat was near the front. We waited for another few minutes until we departed. We departed at 6:10 pm. We arrived at Christchurch really fast. We arrived at Christchurch safely and I was relieved that we arrived. It was an awesome trip to Rotorua. It was really fun. My favourite places were Wai-O-Tapu and the Waitomo Glowworm Caves.

Comment down if you've been to Rotorua before and if you want to. Also comment down if you like this post. Have a cool day!! Bye!!

Time to leave!! - Day 4

This was the fourth day of our Rotorua Trip. On the fourth day, we didn't do much. So this what happened...

We packed up everything that we had and checked out at 10:30 am. We had a snack at McDonald's Rotorua. I had a wrap and an apple pie. After eating lunch we went in the car and drove straight to Palmerston North.

At Taupo...

We stopped at Taupo for lunch. We went to the restaurant in the city centre.

After eating lunch we left Taupo and it was a 3-hour straight to Palmerston North.

At Palmerston North...

By the time we arrived at Palmerston North, the sun had set and it was dark at Bulls. When we reached at the house, we ate dinner and then went to asleep. There wasn't much to see on the fourth day, as I told you. Comment if you liked my post. Have a cool day!! Bye!!

Travelling Day!! - Day 3

It was the third day of our trip. We had driven for a long time. Here's what happened.

The Geyser

I woke up at 8:00 am for a cool and exciting day. I got ready and went in the car. We drove for 30 minutes. We were going to Wai-O-Tapu (we went the day before to see the mud pools), I was so excited. We turned to Waiotapu Loop Road and saw the Mud Pool sign, we went further and saw the visitor centre. We wanted to see the Geyser because the show was at 10:15 am. There was half an hour left until the show was going to start.

People watching the geyser erupt
Credits: https://www.waiotapu.co.nz/

We bought the tickets for the show. Then we went back to where we came from and followed the blue arrows. After one minute we turned to The Avenue (the way to the Lady Knox Geyser). We parked at the show parking and went in. There were fewer cars because we came early. We went in and chose our seats so we could see easier. The Geyser was volcano shaped and there was steam coming out of it. We took pictures and here's one of the pictures on the top-right. After 10-20 minutes later, the host came and talked about the history of the geyser, then she added the salt. When she was talking she said, "around the geyser was a prison, where the prisoners built the geyser. When the geyser erupts they wash their clothes by the hot sulphur water." Before she left, she said, "If the geyser is in a good mood then the fountain goes from 20 to 25 metres. If it is a bad day then the geyser goes up to 10 metres." The geyser slowly erupted. A few seconds later, it erupted so high, it might be from 20 to 25 metres. There was more steam coming than before. The soapy water came on us. The water reached all the way back. The bad thing about that place that it has mosquitos that bits you and makes a big lump (luckily that's not happened to me!). After seeing the geyser erupt we went back to the visitor centre.

The Map of Wai-O-Tapu walk
Click to see closer!
Credits: https://www.visualitineraries.com/

Devil's Ink Pots
Credits: https://www.hikespeak.com/

Devil's House
Credits: https://wanderlusters.com/

View of No. 14 and 15 (In close)
Credits: https://www.waiotapu.co.nz/

Artist's Palette
Credits: http://www.backpackdiary.com/

Devil's Bath

I opened the map and checked the places that we are going to. The first number was the Devil's house. It was a deep crater with mud bubbling. The first few were deep and steamy. So No. 4, was the Devil's Ink Pots. It was all dark grey and bubbling like the mud pools. There were two of the ink pots. We walked forward to the Artists Palette. There were some shade and viewing areas. I said, "The Champagne Pool" (well it really wasn't champagne, it was just the name of the area). The view was awesome. Ahead was No. 6, the Opal Pool. Near No. 6 were No. 7, 8 and 9. When we went near No. 6, there was a dead end, most of the things were dried up. The path on No. 7 and 9 was narrow (but easy to walk). There was the Champagne Pool and it was really steamy. There were two ways to go, Walk 2 or going back to the exit or start. We chose to move on and go on Walk 2. Most of Walk 2 was all bushy and there were heaps of trees. At No. 10 was the Sacred Track. We went left to see what was there. It was a dead end. No. 11 was the Panoramic View of No. 14 and 15 (Walk 3). After leaving No. 11 was steps going down to the starting of Walk 3.
We went to No. 13, 14 and 15. No. 13 was the Wai-O-Tapu Geyser, however, we didn't notice any geyser (weird right)? Between No. 14 and 15 was a long rock which in the hole has heat in it. The view was cool. Suddenly, it began to drizzle, that time we were planning to go back because it was a dead end. We walked to the Champagne Pool and went to the exit. The Champagne Pool was hard to see. As we go further we saw more. No. 22 was the Inferno Crater, it's a deep crater with boiling mud. No. 24 and 25 were one of the best ones that I've seen in Wai-O-Tapu. So in No. 24 were the Sulphur Cave. The cave was steamy and cool. No. 25, the last number was the Devil's Bath. The water was green. I was in shock. I was thinking "How could the water be green?" We exited the Walk and went back to the entrance. That time it was sunny.

Wai-O-Tapu to Waitomo Glowworm Caves

We went back to our car and thought about where to go next. One of our plans was to see Hobbiton and Waitomo Glowworm Caves. We chose to go to the Waitomo Glowworm Caves, but it was really far away. It was 1:35 pm, and we would reach there at 4:15 pm. We booked in for 4:00 pm. It was a 2 hr and a 40-minute drive. We went on State Highway 5, 1, 57 and 3. We passed, Rotorua, Tirau, Piarere, Cambridge, Kihikihi, Otorohanga, Hangatiki and arrived at Waitomo. We went straight to Waitomo Cave/Village Road and arrived at Waitomo Glowworm Caves at 3:50 pm. We had the tickets so we waited outside.

Waitomo Glowworm Caves
Credits: https://www.newzealand.com/

At 4:00 pm we went into the cave and the host talked about the cave. We weren't allowed to take photography in the cave so we "Every time the water drops from the rock it creates the rock. Every thousand drop makes about the size of one cubic centimetre." The host showed other rocks and said that that looks like a family with a mother, two kids, a dog and a tiny father. There was a big rock that looked like an elephant. The host also talking about the rock shaped Kiwi. The rock was all shiny when the host turned on the lights, but there were some parts where it was brown because people had kept touching the rocks. Before going into the cave the host said not to touch the rocks because they would be brown. We went further and the host said to keel down and see the glowworms. The glowworms were light blue coloured. It was so cool, and there were heaps of Glowworms. "Glowworms' food can be their family members." said the Host. I was shocked. The host leads the way downstairs and went by the boat. We sat in the second-last row. We waited for the other people to sit down. There were heaps of glowworms above us as we go. The host talked to us as we go. Then it was so dark that we saw the glowworms really easily, it was also beside us. It was awesome! We reached at the end at it felt like it had been just 10 minutes.

We came out and walked back up to the start. We went in the car and went to Hamilton, by State Highway 37, 3, 39 and 1. We stayed at Hamilton until 8:50 pm, and went back to Rotorua, by State Highway 1 and 5. We reached in Rotorua really fast because there was an express highway that was a speed of 110kph. We went back to our rooms and went to sleep. It was a long day walking and having fun. Hope you like my post. Comment down if you like my post. Have a cool day!! Bye!!

At Rotorua!! - Day 2

This was the second day of the trip. On the second day, we had to drive for a long time, about a 6-hour drive. It was quite boring on the way. But if you want to read more, read this...

We woke up at 6:00 am. At 6:30 am we left Palmerston North and drove to Rotorua.

On the way to Rotorua...

Mt Ruapehu

We passed heaps of towns on the way and the most I remembered was Ruapehu.

At State Highway 5 or the Dessert Road, we saw Mt Ruapehu covered with snow. As we get closer we get more view of Mt Ruapehu. In Google Maps it said that it would reach about 2 hours to reach Taupo. I was excited.

When we reached near Taupo, there was the smell coming out from outside. It was the smell from Rotorua.

At Taupo...

When we arrived at Taupo we first went to the visitor centre. We walked two streets and we reached at the visitor centre. I saw heaps of brochures of places to go. There were contents of the places in the North Island (Auckland, Waikato, Hamilton, Rotorua, Taupo, Wellington, and the South Island). I first got the brochures that we planned to go. We saw things to do at Taupo. There was the Huka Falls River cruise. There wasn't anything else because of the wet rain. That time it was raining. At the counter, they said that Huka Falls was at the end of Taupo. The cruise was booked at half past 12. It takes 15 minutes to reach there. There were 25 minutes left until the cruise departs. We left straight away.

At Huka Falls River Cruise...
Well, the bridge was far away from where we were going to depart. There was the Aratiatia Dam.

This photo of Huka Falls River Cruise is courtesy of TripAdvisor

50 Billion Dollars

At 12:30 pm the cruise departed. On the ceiling, there were currencies from all over the world. There were from New Zealand, Australia, United States, Canada, Fiji, Samoa, Iran, India, England (some countries from Europe), Zimbabwe, Singapore, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, China, Phillippines, Ghana, Cambodia, South Africa, and more. There were heaps of Currencies that I remembered some of them! I saw a 50 billion Zimbabwean dollar. I was in shock! "How would there be a note of 50 billion Zimbabwean Dollars." I thought. This was because its currency was corrupted, by a famous Zimbabwean person. Now they use US dollars. I think that the passengers had donated money to the driver.

After the driver departed the cruise we were far away because of its speed. The driver was telling us what was in that spot. There was a part where the driver said that there is a sensor branch that tells the temperature to the council and they can change it anytime. That time the water near the branch was steamy. When we were near Huka Falls the driver opened the outdoor view. There were some metal bars to help us stay steady. My Dad and I went up on the steps and took the fresh air and saw Huka Falls. The light blue and white colour of the water made it stand out. The view was outstanding! Far away there were people on the bridge and on the viewing area looking at the cruise and us. The driver made the cruise go near the falls. The cruise was going up and down because of the waterfall. After the driver u-turned back and went back to the fall again. He had done it a few times. After watching the falls we turned back at full speed and went back where we came from. The driver said that when we arrive back we would see the Aratiatia Dam open its gate. It took around 5 minutes to reach back. When we reached at the dam we heard a siren ring. We thought that the dam gate is going to open. But every few minutes the siren rings, but the gates don't open. I thought every time the siren rings that the gate is going to open. Then after, there was a siren that rang for more than before. But it didn't open.

One minute later...

The gate opened. There was a force of water coming to the Waikato River. The water level was increasing really fast. We crossed the road and saw the water go past the rocks and go really far away. But after a few minutes later we left the dam and went to the Lava Glass cafe to eat some food. We went to the cafe and ordered nachos and guacamole. The nachos were yum and tasty. After an hour later we went straight to Rotorua.

Middle of Taupo and Rotorua...

We saw a sign called '1.6 km to Wai-O-Tapu'. After 1.6 km we turned to Waiotapu Loop Road. A minute later we saw the visitor centre. We wanted to see the mud pools, so we went further. There were arrows going straight, then the arrow said to turn right, but we didn't turn right we went straight. We wanted to find out what was over there, so we u-turned back. There were cars parked over there and the gate was closed. We asked where is the mud pools, he said to go straight all the way and turn right when there is a sign named 'Mud Pools'. There was a 1-minute drive after turning to the mud pools. When we parked at the parking there was the smell of the mud pools. We went to the viewpoint and saw the mud pools, bubble. The bubbles were going on and on. We went around to see more. On the right side was all bubbly and on the other side was mostly dry. After watching the mud pools we decided to come back and see the other parts, so we continued to drive to Rotorua.

At Rotorua...

After we parked, I smelt the smell of Rotorua, yuck! (not trying to be mean) We arrived at Baden Lodge, in the City Centre. At that time it was 5:45 pm. We got our luggage and went to our rooms. It was a 2 story house. I said, "Wow", I just wanted to sleep. I went to see upstairs to see what's up there. Downstairs was a spa beside the bathroom, but the spa was outdoor. Before going to sleep we ate dinner. After dinner, I went to sleep. Tomorrow let's see what's going to happen.  Hope you like my post. Comment down if you like my post. 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!!