♥~Cecilly's Vacation to New Zealand - Part 3~♥

Day 7  28/4/17  Friday

Christchurch → Cashel Street → Avon River → Bridge of Remembrance → Lake Tekapo


Our flight was at 7am in the morning, woke up at about 4.30am & it was freezing... It was a very bumpy flight to Christchurch, South Island we thought we were doomed... Thing that i don't like about JetStar, they didn't announce or warn us ahead of the turbulence, all the passengers got so worried... Since then, whenever Fluffy & I thought of flying, this particular bad experience automatically come to our minds...

Bytheway, we've finally touched down to the largest city in South Island, Christchurch!!! It was so true that South Island makes much of a feast for the eyes compared to North Island... It was so beautiful even in their residence area, fallen leaves with the color of autumn everywhere, very dreamy...

Christchurch experienced a 7.1 earthquake back in 2011 a lot of buildings have collapsed or damaged, we first went to Cashel Street to visit the Re-Start container mall which this innovation was supposed to be a temporary solution but somehow turned into an internationally famous icon of the post-quake...Until now we could still see many renovations or constructions were going on in the city...

Settled our breakfast there too... Got abit lazy to type, i'll let the pictures give your a brief introduction of Christchurch... :)

Haha... this girl got too hungry...

Heard the Dmitris Greek food here was good...

恋爱中就是明明可以自己吃东西, 却更爱另一半喂你... haha...

Bridge of Remembrance...

Chirstchurch has tram too... 

Wished to go for the city tour but we didn't have time for that... :(

Christ College...

Avon River, where you can have breathtaking gondola boat ride...

Spent a morning discovered the city then we hit the road to our next destination : Lake Tekapo...

It was a 3 hours drive & the scenery along the drive was so epic we pulled over a few times just to enjoy the stunning landscape & picturesque a little while longer...

Gosh this was the Inland Scenic Route, we could have arrived Lake Tekapo within 3H but our Airbnb host recommended us to take a detour so that we could have a look at this masterpiece from nature... It was so worth the 45 more minutes of driving... NO PICTURE COULD DO JUSTICE TO THE BEAUTY OF NEW ZEALAND, NONE... You have to be there to see it with your eyes, priceless...

The very popular attraction in NZ South Island, Church of The Good Shepherd.. It was located just beside of Lake Tekapo... There were so many tourists as we arrived our photos were all being severely photobombed, haha... This place was also famous for star shooting which was what we were going to do later at night...

Then, we headed to this small town named Fairlie to check in to our stay of the day... It was a 100 years old house with lots of antiques inside, so cool... Our host & hostess were nothing but friendly & hospitable, they have a dog Zoe which showed us some of the tricks she knew, haha... 

Unloaded & put on some thicker layers to withstand the cold later at night... Went to a nearby restaurant for pizza & we were ready for our mission of the trip : to hunt the milky way...

It was almost an hour drive back to Church of The Good Shepherd, it was around 8pm when we reached & the amount of tourists never reduced... Saw many professional photographers already found the perfect spot for their tripods & high tech cameras... We managed to squeezed in to join them too, haha....

We still had some problems shooting & when i saw the photo captured by the camera standing next to ours, my jaw dropped... Its the milky way!!! It was there!!!! I got panicked & i left all my dignity & embarrassment behind, asked the camera's owner if he could teach us about the camera setting... He came from China & luckily he was kind-hearted enough to teach us...

We made good friends for the night, haha... & i shall show you our masterpiece now... Staggering beauty & heart pumping thrill awaits....

Tada!!! I was so touched my tears were brimming in the corner of my eyes... So beautiful to be true... Was totally awestruck...  

It was a night that we clung on to each other under 6 degree celsius, waited 1 min for each photo taken as the shutter speed was set at 30 secs, he would sometimes stole a kiss or two from me... It held such memorable & precious memories of ours, hope we could make it to Iceland for northern light next time...

Day 8  29/4/17  Saturday

Arrowtown → Queenstown

We wanted to stop over at Wanaka & again... not enough time... To think in a positive perspective, it gives us another reason to come back to this wonderland again, haha...

The next time i come, I'll sure cover Milford Sound, Wanaka, Fox Glazier & Wellington...MUST!!! 

Arrowtown is a historic gold mining town & it looks absolutely gorgeous in autumn... The town was painted different shades of red, pink, orange, yellow, green, brown, etc... If you wanted to experience autumn, it would be the best place... 

Last destination of our exploration in New Zealand, Queenstown... Fluffy said he likes Queenstown the most as it has everything as in it is surrounded by majestic mountains, some covered in snow & nestled on the shores of crystal clear Lake Wakatipu... People said Queenstown is one of the best place around the world to do skydiving & now we know why... 

Shopped a little at the downtown shopping precinct which was right on the shore of Lake Wakatipu... There were various of souvenirs shops & cafes it would make a relaxing day walking around... However the weather was too cold i was shivering all the time, hehe...

We tried the "must try" Fergburger which the burger is a size larger than our face, haha... We even went to Patagonia Chocolate for dessert & ice cream!!!  

Day 9  30/4/17  Sunday

The next day morning before we were ready to fly back to Auckland for another flight back to M'sia, we spent our morning there too...

I couldn't enjoy more during this trip, how we constantly mesmerized by the natural phenomenal wonders & many more...   

We will be back... Krabi post up next... :)

♥~Cecilly's Vacation to New Zealand - Part 2~♥

Day 4  25/4  Tuesday


Hello! Its gonna be an adventurous day with lots of adrenaline... Our schedule of the day went like this...

Agrodome Farm →  Agorventure →  Zorb → Rotorua Skyline

Admission fee : Agrodome farm (66NZD per person)
                             Agroventure       (89NZD per person)
                             Zorb                     (30NZD per person)
                            Skyline                 (40++ NZD per person)


First stop : Agrodome farm...

Headed to Agrodome farm to catch the 9.30am farm show & we made it in time..

The intro was done by a parade of different breed of sheep... Even before that, the mc wanted to know what countries were the audiences from & when he asked :" Anyone from Malaysia?", fluffy & i were the only two who raised our hand up high enthusiastically, haha

Merino was the superstar of the day, the fluffiest of them all, haha...

We were then given a demonstration of how sheep shearing was like, followed by milking of cows, feeding milk to little lambs & sheep dogs show... The show was done in a very delightful & interactive way we enjoyed ourselves so much... At the end of it, we could even get onto the stage & have some photographs with the sheep & sheep dogs...

Look at the right sheep, it has the coolest horns i wondered if it would block its sight, hehe... I recorded some videos for my vlog but this girl is too lazy she hadn't even start the editing, haha... I gotta finish blogging before i move on to the video & once i got it completed i'll upload here...

Then we hopped on the tractor & were taken on a farm tour which we saw sheep, cows, ostrich, alpaca & other different animals... There were various feeding stops which we could get down & interact with the farm animals or feed them...

A small reminder here : bring along some tissues because there are gonna be saliva all over your palm or hand, haha... Fluffy asked me to wipe on my shirt i was like WHAT??!! then i wiped on the railing on the tractor & wondered how many people actually did that before, haha....

Haha.. There were quite a few of pictures of me showing this impatient frowning expression but i forgot what annoyed me so much, my bet is on Fluffy though, haha...

Visited a kiwi farm & had a chance to taste the fresh kiwi juice as well...

Agrodome was just a warm up to have our heart prepared for the coming activities, haha...

Agroventure's up next...

There were only 4 activities plus a bungy jump available... We chose the 89NZD package which you could get to play 2 rides out of 4, any two you like.. I chose the Swoop & jetboat ride as these 2 seemed most fun... We never thought of doing the bungy jump, 1st we were too scared, 2nd even if you're interested make sure you do it somewhere with more amazing view underneath, haha...

Fluffy was so coward he rejected to go on the Swoop ride with me i was like: "Whats the drag its gonna be so fun, New Zealand is a place where you gotta have some extreme activities done, do not waste your air ticket, just come already!" He never understand where does my guts come from i'm always the one who seek for some adrenaline rush, haha...

The swoop was scary as we were in a horizontal position inside the pouch we were looking straight down to the ground at the top, it was so high i chickened out & started to regret, haha... Whats the most heart racing was that we were gonna have to pull the chord to let us fall ourselves, felt like a suicidal mission to me, haha... Luckily Fluffy was the one in charged, he was 100% more nervous than i was...

My heart skipped a beat the moment we fell, the experience was amazing!!!

Jet boat ride for next & it was more thrilled than we imagined, that killer speed with the drifting & water splashing heightened our sensation like nothing else... I couldn't stop smiling & laughing because thats the only possible way to express my excitement.. We paid 50NZD for our videos & i'll include them in my coming-but-haven't-start-editing vlog...

Then, its time to do some zorbing! Zorb is origin from Rotorua, the very piece of land we were standing on, & the zorb we were going to go is owned & operated by the inventors, means the ancestors of Zorb, how cool was that...

There were few options which you could choose to go dry or wet, wet means there's water inside the ball; zigzag trail or straight trail which zigzag trail would be much fun & longer while straight trail the ball would roll at a faster speed...

We chose the wet zorb down the zigzag hill which is the world's largest & longest downhill trail for commercial zorb, much more cooler!!!

We thought the water inside was gonna be warm since its about 16 degree celsius outside but the water turned out to be freezing, haha... Fluffy & i both liked zorb the most among the activities we've done...

Last stop for the day : Skyline Rotorua

This wasn't part of our plan but we were so hyped we wanted to play until the sun went down, for your information, we hadn't eat for the day & it was already 4pm, crazy couple, haha... But its the craziness & the spontaenous that make life shines brighter isn't it...

 Haha... failed shot..

 Had a gondola ride up the hill, took in the spectacular view of New Zealand's scenic volcanical wonderland, raced down Rotorua Luge track winding through the beautiful redwood forest...

 Was trying to be hilarious, haha.... You know this pose was supposed to be like when those models take off their sunglasses, hehe.... :$

 Speaking of trying to act cool like a model... fine, you win... :/

Look ugly & stupid don't care... :$  The luge race was awesome & it is available in Singapore yoo... Everything was perfect if it was a dream, it would be the one i wouldn't wanna wake up from...

I was too clumsy i knocked my body everywhere & my elbow hurted really bad on the attempt to jump on this chairlift... Sobs sobs...

We were really fed up & hungry we headed straight to dinner at this famous restaurant in town: Fat Dog...

The food was fine, as i said M'sia food is the best its incomparable...

Called off the night after the sweet treat... Before i fell asleep, a thought crossed my mind: if i could, i would travel around the world with this person whom embrace i was sleeping in, the biggest happiness & contentment i could ever imagine...

Oh gosh, its only day 4?! Ok, i gotta fast forward... Too long-winded, am i ?!


Day 5   26/4  Wednesday

Hobbiton → Cathedral Cove → Auckland

Admission fee: Hobbiton (79NZD per person)

There is no way you can visit Hobbiton by yourselve you must sign up for their tour... We checked out & departed from Sonia's place at around 8am, it took an hour to reach Matamata where we should gather & wait for the tour bus...

The Shire we know was actually part of a farm owned by Alexander, you have no idea how huge the farm is, how deep & hidden the Shire is, how breathtaking the place is...



We saw herds and herds of sheep everywhere on the green green grass, contrasting the super blue sky with glistening white cloud... It was like i've entered another world in another space, no kidding the most beautiful place i've ever been (even though i haven't really been to a lot of places, haha)...

I'll just spare you the details & feast your eyes with pictures, hehe...

Hehe... That annoyed face again...

The hobbit holes were in different sizes; the one with normal size were used as the actual houses in the movie while the mini hobbit holes were used mostly by Gandalf to make him looks gigantic...

We got so many insider informations & behind the scene stories from the tour guide it was awesome... Do you know that this tree above the bag end is actually fake one? If you paid attention, you would notice the leaves were getting lesser & lesser compared to few years ago...

The Green Dragon...

One of the best pits was that we got to have complimentary drinks at the Dragon Inn (the pub), & all the drinks were specially brewed for Hobbiton... Fluffy & I are no drinkers we don't actually know how to appreciate a good beer...

There are total 44 hobbit holes in The Shire... 

Me writing postcards to friends & families in Msia... 

Filled our stomach at a nearby japanese restaurant with awfully less options of food & continued our adventure to Cathedral Cove located at the Coromandel Penisula... It was a long drive i forgot how many hours already... I offered to take over the wheel but Fluffy insisted to drive all by himself, awww, haha... :$

The road was winding & narrow it was kinda scary plus we were racing time as we had to leave there before the sun set...

The car park was at the hill top we thought we made it until we realized there was no way to drive down to the beach, it could only be reached on foot, means we had to walk from the top to the very bottom of it... & guess what, we were 45 minutes walk away from the beach, haha...

The scenery along the cliff side was epic, with views of turquoise blue sea & rock formations jutting out of the water... Fluffy said its similiar to the 12 Apostles at Grean Ocean Road, Australia... I've never been there i cannot give any comment... :(

We walked as fast as we could as most of the people were coming from the opposite direction while only very few of them were on the same way as we were, meaning most of the tourists were leaving instead of approaching the cove...

Like finally!!! The very popular gigantic arch, it gave the whole beach an air of grandeur... So glad that we made it but it was getting dark we couldn't be able to take lot of nice pictures...

We stayed for about half an hour & left as we couldn't risk walking through those forests in the dark.... As we walked we talked... It was fascinating to know we could actually share so many conversations yet we wouldn't get bored or tired or run out of topics... It felt like we've found the right person, our other half...

We were the turtles while the sun was the rabbit it was way ahead of us, haha what kind of metaphore... The drive down the mountain was as terrifying as what you watched in those horror movie where zombies or vampires will be lying on the middle of the road where noone could ever hear or see you no matter how loud you scream or how fast you run...

It was pitch black & perhaps because of this, we saw the most beautiful night sky throughout our life... The amount of stars were incredible, i don't know how should i describe as its beyonds words... I was so touched i actually cried a little, i rolled down the window, let the cold wind pierced through my face & gazed at the sky... I just couldn't take my eyes off the stars, JUST COULDN'T...

Fluffy was too pity because he needed to focus on the roads, i kept yelling :" Dear you missed so much!!!" Haha, evil me...

We saw milky way AGAIN... We did pull over & try to shoot the stars but at this point we still couldn't be able to find the right setting we failed, haha... After 2 hours of restless driving, we eventually made it to our 4rd airbnb stay in Auckland...

It was a small townhouse where a pair of 30's couple were living... The first 3 homes we stayed were all very big & fancy it wasn't hard to guess they were all very wealthy families... This one was special, it wasn't so spacious but to be able to share your life with your love one, isn't that more than enough?

 We were very satisfied because we got to experience different kind of Kiwi lifestyles it didn't matter if the room we stayed was big enough...

This was a very tiring day, yet we experienced so much together... Gosh, those memories...


Day 6  27/4  Thursday

Queenstreet → Whale & Dophin safari  →  Continue shopping 

Admission fee: Whale & Dolphin safari (160NZD per person)


We basically spent this day exploring the Auckland city... It felt like KL to me, with lots of white collars walking on the streets, lots of cars with heavy traffic... For foreigners like us, i believe most of the tourists would prefer anywhere else than Auckland as it just feels less like New Zealand, the country of stunning & diverse natural neauty...

Were gonna buy myself a pair of sneakers but everything was so expensive its so not worth it, hehe...

The hightlight of the day, our dolphin & whale adventure...

How Auckland city looks like from far...

My first time seeing dolphin & whale in real... We spent almost 4 hours out to the sea the sea breeze & the weather was too cold to feel the sun blazing..

Likey this picture of him... <3

Tada... That's it for the day, haha... We had to go to bed early as we needed to catch a super early morning flight the next day... & the rest i'll cover in Part 3 as this entry was way too long to read... :$

Byebye...