MUPSA Super Six Cricket Tournament 2011

Last saturday I had a chance to come to this cricket tournament, organised by Massey University Pakistani Students Association. This is the 3rd time it was being held. It started from 10am and finished around 5pm. Unlike the previous years where it's being held in October, this time it's much earlier. Finally for the first time, the Achayans team won the tournament. Better luck next time, Pakistan All-Stars. Trophies and awards were given to the winners by MP of Palmerston North, Mr Ian Lees Galloway who're willing to come that evening.

In this event, I'm using my Nikon D700 with a Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8. All shoots were wide open. Here are some of the pictures that I managed to capture with:

That's all for now. Easter Break is coming. Wait for my new landscape pictures :)

Bungy Jump - Nevis Queenstown

I wrote this entry since I don't have any ideas to write so far, except my visit to SK Selama recently. Well, I'll get to that one later on.

If you go through my blog, you will find a series of entries regarding my trip to South Island, New Zealand last year. To be honest, I'm thinking to go again to South Island this year during autumn or winter break. Maybe this time, I will go to the West Coast, going around few famous glaciers, and of course going to Queenstown, again. Well, let's keep to the topic.

Actually, this is just a recap to my previous entry where during the trip, I had a chance to do bungy jump, which is famous here, in New Zealand. Actually, there are few places in New Zealand where you can try this activity. In North Island where I'm living currently, bungy jump can be found in Taihape, Taupo, Rotorua, and Auckland (there's two site in Auckland ; Sky Tower and Harbour Bridge). The one that I did was in Queenstown, and here alone there are three bungy sites; The Ledge, Kawarau Bridge and Nevis, Gibbston Valley. And I did my first leap in Nevis, which is the highest bungy jump in New Zealand and Australia (132 m ).

This activity actually originated from Pentecost Island, Vanuatu where a tradition being held by the local tribe there during the Nagol Festival during May-June. It is simply a rite of maturity of them. You can read about it HERE.

As I mentioned before, the first thing we did when we arrived in Queenstown during that trip was to book our activities to be done here in I-Site. So, I did this jump alone while the rest of my friends were decided to do downhill luge and gondola ride.

Meanwhile, I waited at the AJ-Hackett Building across the road. This building is the place, almost like a bungy museum, where you can find many infos and pictures regarding the history of bungy jumping. There are many peoples there, waiting their turn to get to the jumping site, either to the Ledge, Kawarau Bridge and Nevis. Included in the package, I can get access to internet and of course, facebook. I wrote that time on my facebook status that I'm going to do this jump huhu. After a waiting for a while, finally the shuttle arrived and then departed to the site.

View in the shuttle.

The journey to Gibbston Valley, the jumping site took me about half-an hour passing through the beautiful scenery of Queenstown valleys and hills. Lucky for me, the weather is sunny; very nice for jumping. The tourist guide also shown us by the roadside; Kawarau Bridge where the first bungy jump in New Zealand was being done by AJ Hackett, the founder of bungy jumping.

Kawarau Bridge's view from the shuttle

The shuttle now going off-road into a small alley uphill. This take around 10 minutes before finally we arrived at the site. We were given keys to store our belongings. I did the same but I bring my camera with me. The instructors were very kind, telling us on what to do especially when wearing the safety gear for the jump.

Instructors who guiding us for safety gear.

To be surprising, I was happened to be the first jumper that day, which honestly, made me so nervous. But I keep it. The jumping platform is suspended high on the valley, connected with series of strong wires. It is connected by a cable car from the main building. Sometimes, strong wind keep struck the car, which also made me and others feel so nervous :)) While waiting for the cable car to come, I take few pictures from the side of the main building. Being seen by another, one of them asked me, " What a big camera (I brought my D90). You want to jump with it?". All of us laughed :)

View of the jumping platform and high-wires that suspend it and connecting the place with main building.

View of the stream underneath the jumping platform

As I said, I'm the first jumper that day. So, I keep listened to the instuctors there since this is a serious things. You messed things up ; you gonna die. Although there are some things that I don't really understand, I just keep it, like the instructor said that during the cable pulled me up after the leap, I need to pull some sort of rope on my legs which later on I didn't.

This pic and other pictures plus video costs me $80. When I checked on my flickr, this picture was taken using Nikon D80! How impressed!

Jumping time. Well, if you can see video I put later in this entry, I was supposed to jump but since I didn't get the instruction clearly, I'm quite hesitate to do so. So, I said to the instructor ," Can I jump now?" and he said, " Yeah man, go3!". Huhu. Seriously, I dont feel nervous this time but when I made the jump, I feel like my heart is ripped apart ; too much of adrenaline rush.

There I go!

Damn high I feel when I see this pic.

Pray to God I am when I see this picture. How lucky I am, thinking that I'm still alive after seeing this picture.

This is the video taken.

If you can see, after the first jump the rope is pulling me upwards. That's the part that I felt too excited. Feel like I'm flying somewhere else. Haha. It happened three times that after that, a cable pulled me up back to the platform. If you can see, that the cable pulling me upwards where my head is heading downwards ; same like fisherman carried up a tuna or whale fish. Haha. It supposed not to be that way though. I should pull up the rope I mentioned earlier, so that I can just get up and my head facing upwards. But, it's already happened ; no big deal.

My turn's over, and the next participants congratulate me for my jump. And they seemed excited too. Huhu. I've to waited until all of them finished jumping before heading back to the main building. And I managed to take few pictures like one below;

We have to wait for a while since most of the tourists want the pictures and video taken during the jump, and it is processed that time. Finished with all of that, we heading back to the city, where my friends are already waited there. They seemed enjoyed telling their experience playing luge ( I didn't want to play since I did mine in Rotorua in 2009) and I'm too enjoyed telling mine to them. We later on had our lunch in Nando's and after that, going around Queenstown's beautiful Lake Wakatipu for taking pictures.

This is what I got after the jump, plus few other merchandise.

Lake Wakatipu, Queenstown.

THE END

Sepetang di Driving Range

Yesterday evening, I went to Taiping Golf and Country Club with my brother and my cousin. Actually my brother asked me to go with him and take few snapshot of him and his new golf set. If you want to know, there are two of my siblings who loves playing golf as their past-time hobby, my eldest brother and my youngest brother. My eldest brother even won few competitions held in his places. Huhu. And my youngest bro seems just started. He said that, he became interested in golf since he joined his uni (MMU Cyberjaya)'s golf club, a year ago.

We went there after Asar and playing around until dusk. It costs RM 12 for 100 balls.

Since it was raining yesterday, so it is cloudy and I had to adjust my camera settings lil bit. I pushed the ISO up to 6400 and using the widest aperture (f/2.8) and then, used the fastest shutter speed, 1/8000 second. I keep shooting on burst (5 frame per second). And lastly, I used center weighted metering. It was a mistake I done when I'm shooting JPEG that day :(

I'm actually afraid to stand in front of him since the ball might going directly to my lens.

Amin, my cousin tengah menebas lalang.

Ke mane nye tu yeob?

We should try bunker next time. Splendid shooting perhaps.

Well, me? I dont like playing golf. Huhu.

Tomorrow, I'm going to Penang. Perhaps can get few good pictures there.

Nitez.