day 7/8/9- back to auckland

catched the morning flight to auckland by jet star. bought the tickets 2 days ago, quite a hefty sum. bye bye queenstown. as we reached auckland, the weather was pretty bad. raining! got back and taliz brought us to a shop near her place. ooh and met w RB. been a few years since we last seen each other. He's all grown up and very big too, 19 years old. its too bad that the regulation is for above 20 years.

so the day after we got back to auckland we went to Rotorua. famous for their mud thermal spring. bad the weather was bad so we didnt manage to see much. it was a 3 hour drive to rotorua. passed a lot of cows along the way. after rotorua we head off to hamilton to stay over night. and we got lost along the way to nida's place. we didnt get to see where they shot the hobits house in lord of the rings.

got back to auckland at around 2 pm and went to north island. unc benji got a basketball game as we hit the mall. a bit of a drive from their place. well not so interesting. catch ya soon....

day 6 NZ - Queenstown last day

its patricks day off today. so he drove us around with dorai. todays itinerary: cherry picking at cromwell and jet boat at lake wakatipu. So we had breakfast at thaitani a thai restaurant in queentown. the servings were quite big. enough for 2. and we over ordered. I had the eggs benedict with salmon and cheese toast. Yummy! they even had coconut juice. didnt expect them to have it in queenstown. then after bfast we went to cromwell about 30 minutes drive. went to pick some cherries. there were a lot of cherry trees at the farm. tried some dried kiwis and strawberries at the farm. i prefer the fresh ones though. we were done at 2pm. so we rushed back to town to catch our reserved jet ride at 3pm. but unfortunately, we were late, then had to rebooked for the 4 pm ride. while waiting they decided to have some ice cream. i opted not to have one as i was a bit nervous for the ride. heard it will be faster than the other day. so i better not eat anything. 5 of us were suppose to be going on the ride but it ended up with the two of us, ninay and i. felt pretty good after the first spin, it was fast and harder. so about 30 mins on, i started to feel a bit woosy. my forehead started to build some sweats and i felt hot. i kept quite the rest of the way hoping my stomach will stay at bay. lucky enough after several more spins we headed back to dock. at one point i could have sworn that the boat didnt move. thank god when it stopped. my pants got wet, not dat i peed myself but of the cold sweat. and my hair fot all tangled up. so after the ride we went to the casino. i had a coke to get the air out of my tummy. and i found out from dorai that walter and patrick hurled after the ride last time. huh, after hearing that i felt a bit better and proud of myself. comparing myself with the 2 guys and 1 of which is a big dude. so at the casino i spent about 20 minutes just to fix my hair back. then had some fish and chips at a small shack near the lake. very fresh, reminds me of UK. since it was our last night in queenstown, they decided to have BBQ and a karaoke at their home. very entertaining by the time we went to bed it was almost 2 am.

i had a very good time in queenstown. i hope to visit during winter and do some extreme sports or ski next time. a shout out to my cousins for bringing us around and taking the time off work. a very special place with unexpected beauty.

day 5 NZ - Queenstown to milford sound

decided to take the milford sound tour. a very long bus ride to our destination. told that the whole trip will take about 12.5 hours. approx 5 hours bus ride 2 hour cruise and another 5 hrs back to town. luckily we stoppped a couple of times to take some photos and to stretch our legs. at least the bus was big and new. Im glad we took the front see. as the round to milford sound went on like a snake. we stopped at te anau, the chasm and the mirror lakes. lovely postcard type photos. as we reached milford port. we were ushered to the cruiser. not that big but comfortable enough for a 2 hour cruise. highlight of the day> saw some wild dolphins and lazy seals sunbathing on the rock. Milford sound is famous for its waterfalls, i think there are 3 falls running all the time but the number increases if it rains. we had lunch on board and took A LOT of photos. i slept the whole way back bcos i started to feel dizzy. we reached queenstown at 8 pm. had a delicious dinner at dorai's place. although the day was tiring but i think it was worth the journey. fell asleep while watching 50 first dates. may be tommorrow we'll stay around town and keep it simple.

day 4 NZ trip - Queenstown to cromwel and wanaka

off to wanaka to visit the lake where uncle pats ashes were scattered. It took us about 1.5 hours by car to reach there. ohh, i drove, we used crawfords peak to go to wanaka, really scary as the road was winding and very high. it is the highest road in New zealand so its an acievement by itself. we stopped about 3 times to take some pictures overlooking the city. lovely postcard photos. finally arrived wanaka about 12 noon, so we went to the lake for a while then off to the puzzling world, a famous tourist spot. we tallied back a t about 3 pm after having fish and chips on the grass near the lake. My first time to actually do anything like it in my life.

on our way back we stopped at cromwell to buy some cherries. they were big and sweet. so we finally reached our hotel at about 4.30pm. we relaxed for a bit, and went to town to do some shopping. but the rain started to fall and went back to the hotel instead. at night we went to "ONSEN" a lovely hot water bath style spa. stayed for about 1.5 hours overlooking the mountain and river. the amazing part was that we could open the window. the view was fantastic and a thought came to mind how this would look like in winter with it all white. WOW! we finally got back at 11pm... one thing about this trip in queenstown is that you're spoilt for choices. whether it is adventure, knowledge or pure adrenaline. there's everything for everyone. i can't imagine the atmosphere here during the winter season. anyway, catch you again next time.

day 3 NZ trip - Queenstown

our second day in queenstown. very packed. morning we were picked up by the tour operator to skippers canyon for our jet boat ride. weather in the morning was gloomy/raining. wasnt a good day for adventure. nevertheless it didnt stop us. the bus ride to our destination was very scary. as we had to go up the very steep and winding mountain. luckily the bus driver was good as he glided effortlessly up it. noting that the road up the mountain is one way traffic. i could see the edge and afraid of my life. it took us about 40 mins to reach the river, still drizzling. then we put on our waterproof jackets and life vest. seated on the second row. after the safety briefing we were off. SCARY the boat driver did a 360 degree turn in a small river at a very fast speed. terrifying but FUN. as the boat increased its speed my face started to hurt. the rain felt like needles to my face. OUCH! again with the 360 turn and zig zag between the mountains. with rain to my hair and the water splashing to my face we were drenched but refreshed. after a while we headed back to the starting. it was an experience i could never forget. simply AMAZING, the environment is just one of its kind. then after the ride we went further up the mountain to the bungy site. so as i was walking the planks my heart was racing and the nerves started to kick in. so in the middle of the bridge and looking down was scary. i could feel the bridge started to swing frantically. so with nerves held and subsided a bit i took the plunge. it s nothing i can ever imagine, as i didnt have the nerve to do it. Gotcha! thought i would actually do a bungee. R u out of ur mind? i went to the middle but never did i have the nerve to jump. i thought about it but no. hahah. maybe next time.

then at noon we went to the cheese farm and winery. it was about 50 minutes drive from where we were staying. tasting a lot of different cheeses very nice and see how the wine process is done. afterwards had a lovely picnic. with the cheeses and biscuits outside under a tree enjoying the scenery. on our way back we stopped at the Bungy, where the first bungy site built. lucky enough we were on time to see someone plunge to their death... not.. landed and touched the river.

so after all that, it was already 6 when we reached the hotel. went off to town to have dinner at a lovely pizza place. lovely pizza, ice cream from the chocolate place and pasta. didnt manage to finish the food as we were tired.

dats all for now, catch u all later...

Day 2 NZ - Queenstown: natures beauty at its finest!

flew to queenstown to visit my cuzs. Have not seen them for like forever. it was an early flight at 7.30am. it took us 2 hours to reach queenstown. stepping out of the plane was an experience not to be forgotten. the first sight you see were the mountains that was featured in Lord of the rings. it was AMAZING! i have not seen anything like it in my life. well we were met by dorai and family at the airport. the weather was cooler than auckland. looking at the scenery, was beautiful. it's like looking at a poster of some sorts. the whole town is all like that. you never get tired of all the mountains and lake. just unbelievable. Plus i didnt know Queenstown has so much to offer not only skiing, but its outdoor activities are extensive. from bungy to cruising the lakes to tracking.

we had lunch at the top of the mountain. the only way up is to take the gondola up. had the seafood buffet overlooking the city and with the lake as a background. after lunch we went further up. the transport was a little bit scarier than the first haul. your legs are practically hanging and only the rail as your safety. then we took the luge, some kind of go-cart down the mountain. it was my first time, was a little bit terrified bcos im afraid of heights. nevertheless, it was the only way down. tapi siok.

in the afternoon we went to Arrow Town. one of the oldest settlements here in NZ. nothing much to see. but theres a lovely stretch of old shops dated back to the 1800's. Nice.

we checked-in at a cute holidau park, kinda like a B&B with your own kitchenette and all. Plus it was just walking distance to the town. Oh, the town. small but well equipped. very modern didnt expect NZ to be like this.

catch you again next time.. hopefully i can upload the pictures with the commentary..

New Zealand day 1

Arrived NZ at 1.40am. Full flight nasib jua pakai bus class. then after 9 hours. Greeted by ta Liz, Ninay, Vanjo and Unc Benji. immigration went by quite fast. tidur at around 5am. since its summer here, the naik udah matahari. So woke up at 12pm, then book our ticket to Queenstown to visit my cousins there. Which is about a 2 hour flight. So we'll by flyin off tommorrow until friday, maybe.

weather was alright, quite hot during the day but very cool at night. i expect queenstown to be very cold. inda lagi ku bawa jumper or what not. banyak lapis tah ni..

OOHHH highlight of D-Day were mussels and fresh salmon for lunch and high tea. Cant get enough of the salmon, nyaman abis. then for supper had some freshly baked pandesal at a friends place. Rosak my diet here. nada exercise lagi....

1st day not so interesting, all about eating. hopefully it'll get better esok... ciao