TEST - ADVENTSCAPE

Mangawhero Falls, Mt Ruapehu NZ There are many waterfalls in New Zealand.  When we were creating our itinerary on the fly, we noticed that there are many very good waterfalls at North Island that is very accessible.  One of the interesting waterfalls is Mangawhero Falls.   Mangawhero Falls is located, nearly at the side of the road, going to the ski area at Mount Ruapehu.  Since it's close to the road, you just need to stop and walk 5 minutes and you'll see the waterfall.  Mangawhero Falls is also famous as it's a filming location to the epic Lord of The Rings Trilogy (LOTR).   If you're not a Lord of the Rings fan, it's also good to visit this place as it's just 10 - 15 minutes stop at  the side of the road .  Getting there is just a 5 minute walk.       Map Location The exact location of Mangawhero Falls is hard to pinpoint.  It's just a small parking space at the side of the road which resembles an emergency parking lan...

Rainbow Falls Downstream Rainbow Falls is probably one of the amazing waterfalls that I found in New zealand - and very accessible too.  It's located at the North Island of New Zealand. During my North Island trip, almost all the places we're eyeing on going (from Day 1 to Day 3) had a forecast of rain.  It's a bit disappointing but we needed to maximise the trip.  We decided to go north - Bay of Islands and Cape Reinga.  This route had less probabilty of rain and the scenery is inviting.  Before the long drive to Cape Reinga, we decided to visit Rainbow Falls. Preparation There's not much to prepare if you want to visit this place.  It's very accessible and the walk is not that far.  Put it in your itinerary and enjoy going there. If you're a photographer, there's more to it than just ND filters.  Rainbow falls' location is a bit secluded or closed.  Thus, the water can spray where your lens is.  I'd recommend bringing a microfibre clo...

Golden Phoenix at Wellsford, New Zealand It's our first full day at North Island, New Zealand.  It's Friday.  We scouted the weather and it's all rainy over the weekend - especially Sunday.  We're at lost really.  We're prioritising our Tongariro Alpine Crossing trip so we have to find a place to go from Friday to Sunday.  We all decided to go north to Bay of Islands, then to Cape Reinga.   We have a GPS, but somehow we got lost?!  We are unfamiliar with the road so we heavily rely on our GPS to find our way through.  We are now hungry and low on fuel so we decided to stop at the nearest town the GPS could find.  We are then lead to the suburb of Wellsford. Wellsford Shops Wellsford Butchery Bacon & Egg Burger at Wellsford It seems like a small and quite suburb but it's busy commercially.  They have both State Highways crossing the area that adds traffic in the vicinity.  The main road is full of passing cars and both sides have...

DJI F450 Drone I'm going on a vacation in New Zealand for just over a week.  I'm a landscape photographer so I'll enjoy every moment of it.  But I was planning to do something different in my photography.  I was thinking of either going timelapse or aerial photography. There are many examples over the internet between timelapse and aerial.  I can only focus on one and  I just wanted to focus on one.  So I go with Aerial Photography.  Timelapse do take time.  You need to wait until the required duration is captured with your camera.  The beautiful timelapses I saw were positioned at remote locations in which I don't know if I can do it myself.  Nowadays, I needed time to be at home.  So I chose aerial... then the drone begins.... There are many discussions over the internet about travelling with a drone, particularly clearing it on airports.   My first adventure with the drone is to bring it from Sydney, Australia to Auckland, N...

Crampons by Life Sport from Korea We are booked to New Zealand in the first week of August 2014.  One of the highlights of this trip is the Tongariro Crossing.  This is an 8 hour walk at volcanic terrain, volcanic crater, old lava rocks, blue lakes and forest.  I read blogs and watched YouTube to moderate my expectations and be informed well.  Since this is a winter walk, my friends and I were thinking of buying a pair of crampons.  We also assume that we're going to use the crampons multiple times for different locations so it reinforces us to buy rather than to rent. We search the internet and had several potential sites to buy crampons.  Campons from Australia are very good and looked very durable, but they are expensive.  They sell PETZL, manufacturers of high quality crampons.  I also love the Black Diamond which comes in black.  If I frequent the snow, I'd buy these.  But I might be settling to something more affordable.  We a...

Camera Right at Cheong Gye Cheon Stream I lived in Geoje, South Korea for 2.5 years.  Korea is a beautiful place.  They have a rich culture and people are friendly.  They are willing to give a helping hand even if they have a difficulty speaking in English.  I tried to visit so many places despite the fact that I don't have my own transport.  Geoje is 4 hours from Seoul.  Now that I'm in Australia, 4 hours seemed close.  But for someone who relies on public transportation, 4 hours is a long way.  In my 2.5 years in Korea, I only managed to visit Seoul trice. When I got an opportunity to go to Australia, I resigned from Samsung Heavy Industries.  It was a sad moment, but I have to move on.  This was a good timing as two of my friends are going to visit Seoul, South Korea.  I plan to arrive at Seoul, meet them there and go home the same time as they did.  This is my final tour, my third time in Seoul. One of the places we visited...

Fiona, the Owner, and her 4 models at Work-Shop Makery A friend of mine invited me to attend a Fashion show at Work-Shop Makery.  It's located at 106 Oxford Street Darlinghurst, just outside Sydney.  My friend, Isy, is a Make Up Artist (MUA) wherein she's going to do the make up of four (4) beautiful ladies.  I have collaborated with her before but we were exchanging ideas several times already in Facebook.  I was tasked to capture beauty shots of the models.  Isy will use these for her portfolio. Isy (MUA, Make Up Artist) Doing Makeup to Victoria Victoria Reflection I've been doing portraits and weddings previously so I think I'll be ok.  I also had a few fashion and beauty shoots recently that can help me do this.  I prepared my gear before the day.  I'll admit, I over packed.  I even went to my MUA's place so I can drop my lightstand, lighting modifier, tripod and L-bracket.  Yes, that's a lot of gear for someone who's not t...