New Zealand Trip

Just ORD-ed and I'm already going for an approx. 2 week overseas trip to New Zealand. Lots of people would think that it is damn shiok, but things are really quite hectic especially when your mostly traveling free and easy throughout the whole trip. There is loads of planning to do in terms of places to go, what to eat and how to get there.

Anyway, after a 14 hour flight from Sg, we finally arrived at Christchurch. Thank god for the entertainment system in SIA, otherwise I would have died of boredom.

Day 1

Arriving at Christchurch, we saw a couple of spectacular views of the mountains from the plane.

Checked in at our hotel before heading out to the city. It's a really beautiful place here, so many flowers and fauna around us. Feels so soothing ~_~

Hotel @ Chateau In The Park

Proceeded on through Hagley Park to get to the city. People here are really garang man, it's about 13 Degree Celsius here and almost all the ang mohs are chilling in berms and a T-shirt. People are even jogging, running and playing sports like its freaking summer. Haha, zai sia, me and my mom were all dorned in sweaters and were fully covered up. >.> There's this place called the Rose Garden in the park which was pretty cool as well.

Reached the city and proceeded on to view the site and areas that were affected by an earthquake 3 years before. Headed over to the Cathedral Square and saw the damages suffered by the church there. There were people outside singing songs and being vocal about what they felt about the earthquake on the church, was a pretty interesting experience.

Cathedral Square after earthquake

Rock Memoirs 

Had lunch among the 'Container Markets' which are literally make-shift shops that sells all kinds of apparels and food. I had this big ass double chicken wrap which was really filling! Packet-ed dinner back to the hotel to rest for the day after as we were all still kind of Jet-lagged.

Day 2 

Made our way down to Dunedin and joined a wildlife tour. Our tour guide was really friendly, knowledgeable and approachable making our whole experience a really good one. Here are some of the photos that we took that day.

On Our Way

NZ’s Ducks

German Owl

Royal Albatross

Apparently, this is the largest of the worlds’ seabirds and it can only be found in the South Islands of New Zealand. They live more over the sea than at land so it was a really lucky day to see em. Apparently they are also twice the height of an average human being!

Black Swans

Sheep

There were LOADS of sheep scattered across the hills, however they were kinda afraid of humans. Not going to blame them though as the only time humans touched them is when they were probably being hunted.

Awesome View

Yellow-eyed Penguins

These penguins are the rarest of the world’s 18 species of penguins with only 5000-6000 of them and are only found in New Zealand. Fancy seeing them within bushes near the beach.

Blue Penguin Molting

The Blue penguins on the other hand are the smallest of the world’s penguins. This one was caught molting in a man-made burrow created by human wildlife conservationists.

Hooker Sealions

Rarest of the world’s five species of Sealions and are endemic to New Zealand. They are so fat and cute. Holy Sheet @@

More Trekking

Nice View

Fur Seals

Seals Playing with Seagulls

Overall, the whole tour was conducted professionally and it was no rush at all. People were all relaxed and having a great time! It’s hard for people from Sg to see sights like that and I thought that it was a really good experience for me! The view throughout the whole trip was damn awesome. Look left, right anywhere and you will always see picturesque views of mountains filled with animals!

Day 3

Stayed in Dunedin in the morning and checked out the city near the hotel. After which our driver showed us the 'steepest street' in the world!

Baldwin Street

This was crazy, my mom and my aunt was scared but I just asked him to go up and come back down anyway. When he was going up, you could feel the tires slipping haha, my mom and aunt were so scared! Worth it though!

Following this, we took a coach to Queenstown and the journey there was beautiful. Almost all the time, you could see huge mountains, valleys and rivers. Everywhere looked like scenes you'd see in a LOTR movie. The city itself was amazing. We're literally in the middle of a beautiful portrait of mountains, rivers and valleys. Top all this off with mouth-savory foods and very friendly people! Bagus ah!

This was taken outside our hotel. Can you believe it?!

Queenstown Streets

Dinner!

Excited for the next 2 days that I'll be spending here, can't wait!

Day 4

Today's agenda for the full day is heading to Milford Sounds. The coach ride was pretty long, but the bus captain allowed us to get down at certain points to take photos of the beautiful scenery around us.

 Mountain Reflection

 

 Clouds among Mountains

Valley + Glacier Mountain top

Nice right? Haha. The bus captain was very informative telling us about the history and geography of the areas that we passed by, there was even a range of mountains called the 'Devil's Staircase' cool right? We also had quite a number of Japanese tourists + a Jap tour guide/translator for them, that kinda spiced things up a little for us!

Arrived at the port around 4-6 hours later. Excited for the boat ride which was finally going to take us to Milford Sound.

Milford Sound is a fjord in the South West of New Zealand's South Island and is a very popular tourist attraction! (Just FYI)

Milford Sound Cruise

Off We Go!

Enjoying the Breeze

Cool Crevice in the Mountain

Damn nice views!

I actually took a lot of pictures, dun wanna spam this page though. If your interested, they'll be up on Facebook. The whole trip lasted for around 2 hours with a buffet on board which was kinda scam, but there was no lack of any eye-candy views atop the cruise, so that made up for it. If your a nature lover, especially one for mountains, you absolutely need to find time to be here! I highly recommend it!

Day 5

Today was a freaking crazy day! I skydived and bungy jumped on the same day! 

Skydiving

Tandem sky-dived (Sky-diving with an experienced person attached to your back) with the people from this company, NZone. Bunch of  legit pros with real awesome personalities, cheers!

NZone

Checked the weathers in the morning with the hotel & NZone and the weather was clear (no clouds at all) for the sky dive. Headed over to the commercial air base at around 0930-1000. Did the registrations and everything was good to go.

Prior and at the waiting area, we were briefed on the risks and had to sign some indemnity forms, which was no surprise for something like that. 

Waiting Area

While waiting for my turn, I was suited up by the staff and met my skydive 'buddy' and cameraman who were really friendly and awesome.

Boarding the Plane

After boarding, the plane started to ascend to 12000ft. During the ride up, the person attached to me was very reassuring, thanks for that!

The second the light turned green which was the signal for people to 'go', everyone started jumping off one by one.

My turn, ahhhhhh.

I thought I was gonna be cool with it as long as I ACTED tough. But fuck, when your at the ledge of the plane positioning yourself, your mind automatically asks you 'why the fuck are you doing this??' Well, YOLO. 

Off we go!

In the initial parts of the free fall, I was scared as hell. During the early stages of you accelerating downwards, I felt my heart dropping faster than my body, I just screamed like fuck. When I was busy shouting, so much cold air was rushing into my mouth it felt weird. I just continued to scream though cause at that point of time, you really don't give a shit.

 Exhilarating!

During the rush down, you can check out the view and I tell ya, it is AMAZING. You can see the whole of Queenstown, the mountain ranges, valleys, rivers, everything which is so god damn scenic.

Touch Down!

Imo this activity was worth every penny spent. The thrills and pure excitement I've felt from this has truly made this event a memorable life experience for me. :)

Video:

Skip the Ads - 1:33

Kudos to NZone! Mad Respect!

Bungy Jump

Not sure what went through my mind, but I made the decision to bungy straight after my sky dive. You may think that I’m some crazy thrill seeker, but the real reason was cause this was my last day in Queenstown. If I don’t do it, I’ll regret it for sure! That's why lol.  (Sounds Singaporean)

AJ Hackett is the group that does almost all the famous Bungys in New Zealand. You can check them out if you want.

Initially I wanted to do the Karawau bridge jump which was 43 metres and it’s already said to be quite scary. However when I went to the guys at the store, they said that there were no more slots for it and asked if I could do it tomorrow, which I can’t (leaving Queenstown tomorrow). 

No choice, gotta do the Nevis Bungy which was 3x the height hahaha gg!

Nevis Bungy

This is the highest bungy available in NZ which is set at 134m high. There is also a river in between the 2 mountains which is what you'll seem to be attempting to plant your face into (I kid you not) when you jump. In addition, the holding area is actually a highwire pod and you take a 'cable car' of sorts there.

Once you get to the site, your already scared even before checking in cause the station was in full view. After settling all the admin stuff and briefs, the group of us proceeded to the 'cable car' and was ferried to the waiting area.

Once it was my turn, I was sat on this chair, maciam electric chair sia.

  

This was where they tied the harness to my legs. I was then held by the hand and brought to that tiny jumping platform.

The dude then hung the weight between my legs, in front of the platform as shown. This has the effect of making you want to fall forward. @@ When I was at the edge, I was just looking straight trying to avoid looking down and freaking out!

Then I heard...3...2...1... BUNGEEEEE!!!! I leaned forward till my head could see what's underneath me.

At that point in time, I really thought that I couldn't do it. It was the only time I genuinely wanted to chicken out. Then again, I was like just FUCK IT and jumped off.

 BUNGEEE!!!

(Should have placed my legs together for it to look nicer. Then again, at that point of time you don't really give a shit. If there's ever a next time anywhere else, I'd make sure it is as such!)

The starting felt damn f*cking fast. About after the mid-point, it was DAMN SHIOK! You could literally feel the wind stream lining through your whole body and you felt like a freaking bullet dashing down at breakneck-speeds. Heck, I felt like superman, just that I was actually 'flying' towards the ground (river). >.> Damn good experience!

On a different note, the view is spectacular and I'm really happy to be able to bungy in this really cool barren mountain place. Worth every cent I paid!

Video:

Cert:

(I like the description ^^)

I'm totally stoked after today. Queenstown will probably be the best place in NZ for me. It was where all these memorable experiences were felt and I'm feeling a lot more enriched now! :D

Day 6

Spent most of the day traveling to Fox Glaciers. It was drizzling when we arrived but that did not stop us from hiking to the glaciers.

Path we walked to Glacier Viewing Point

Technically we only walked to a viewing site for the glaciers, we did not actually trek to it. We are not allowed to do so without a guide. 

Fox Glacier's Glacier

The glaciers were not so prominent at this time of the year, but at least it's the only semblance of snow/ice that we'll ever see during our trip.

It was actually pretty cold there due to the environment (location, rain + wind). After getting our photos taken we scurried back to the hotel. Speaking of our hotel, it was actually in some ulu place with only several shops around and there was no way out except driving (no car) through the forested areas, pretty nifty eh.

Day 7

Most of the day was spent traveling as well from Fox Glaciers back to Queenstown.

Made a stop in the city of Hokitaka to visit the National Kiwi Centre. Apparently, the Kiwis are an iconic animal in New Zealand. Everywhere you go, be it cafes or souvenir shops, there are always pictures of Kiwis or their apparel on sale.

Kiwi
(Ripped from Google Images) - No photography allowed in enclosure

Photo was actually taken from the net as they did not allow any cameras inside the viewing area. Apparently, the flashes and noises could scare them. 

Kiwis are nocturnal and very shy animals. They have poor eyesight and cannot fly. However, they have a very acute sense of hearing.

When I saw them, they look extremely cute walking around I just wanna hug' em and squeeze em tight~ . My mom says that their ugly though =/

After the visit, made our way through Arthur's Pass to arrive at Queenstown.

Arthur's Pass
(Ripped from Google Images)

Day 8

Woke up really early today to catch the coach to Kaikora (pronounced as : kai-ko-da). Agenda there was to go try and see some whales.

Boarded the 'TOHORA', or at least thats what they named this speed boat.

During the initial stages of the trip, we managed to see the Orca a.k.a The Killer Whale.

Orca

Yeah, I know the picture quality sucks, but that was the best picture I could afford to take given the circumstances. Ship was shaky, people were hoarding on the boat and this whale surfaced for only very short amounts of time. Even when it did, you can barely see anything except small parts of its back.

Lucky to spot one anyway as these Orcas are actually in the midst of migrating through the area.

We then headed further out into the sea and caught sights of Sperm Whales.

Sperm Whale 'Blowing Water'

Just fyi, you won't expect to see the full body of the whale, it really depends on its mood. If it actually does breach the water, then your really lucky! Oh well, seeing the whale was already some sanction for us as they did specifically told us that seeing one is not guaranteed.

This whale was named 'Tiaki' which means Protector of the seas. Apparently these whales were symbolic to the local fishermen.

Then... He took a dive! Holy shit, wow!

Sperm Whale, 'Tiaki' Diving

According to the guide, the sperm whales normally surface to get oxygen and dive for around 45-60 minutes before re-surfacing again. (Those are your chances of seeing one surfacing ~_~)

About 30minutes later, we saw another one taking a dive as well and it was spectacular!

Sperm Whale 2 Diving

What majestic creatures! *Thumbs Up*

Day 9

Took a flight to Auckland today, which is located in the North Islands of NZ.

Auckland is very different from all the southern islands. Here is more or less city-like like Sg with loads of industrial buildings around.

Met up with my mom's ex-colleague after (they migrated here).

Checked into our apartment which was quite spacious and nice! I got a whole bedroom to myself. :P

Mom's ex-colleague showed us around the city.

Auckland's Sky Tower

Apparently this place is a tourist spot with loads of activities,shops and sights to see.

Went to the city's mall to stock up on some food as we'll be staying in the apartment for 3 nights. The variety in the mall is really good. Meat, veg and fruits are damn cheap as compared to sg and the choices are vast! Looking forward to a nice spread back in the apartment tonight!

-Update : Cyclone Lusi is hitting NZ now @@. Heard we just missed it when we left Christchurch. It's also moving away from Auckland (where we're at now). Heng ah.

Day 10

Joined a tour with 'Gray Line NZ' and headed out from Auckland to visit the Waitomo Caves, Agrodome, Te Puia & Geysers.

Waitomo Caves

Kia Ora! (Native language - Maori, for Welcome!) That was what we were greeted with by the guide when we arrived and the whole bunch of them seem to be a very passionate and spirited bunch of people.

No photography was allowed in the caves to protect it's integrity and the wildlife residing inside it.

Upon entering the cave, we had to lower our heads to micro around the stalactites and stalagmites in our way.

The interior of the cave was mostly made out of lime stone which is very resistant to earthquakes.

The guide then proceeded to light a flare. When we looked up, we were awed by how majestic the interior was. The ceiling was unexpectedly high at that point. Apparently we were in the area the locals called 'The Cathedral', which is a spot with very nice echo-ing effects. 

The guide was very informative and explained to us why certain structures were formed in certain ways. (Something to do with H2O,CO2 & CaCO3) He then told us about the glow worms' life cycle. 

The glow worms are actually thread-like creatures hanging from the ceilings of the caves and they illuminate a blue light in the dark (bio-luminescence).

After all explanations, we proceeded to the grotto, sat on a boat and drifted through the cave chambers. The surroundings were silent and serene and it was pitch black initially till we saw LOADS of glow worms above us.

The Grotto

(Ripped from Google Images) - No photography in cave

 

The glow worms all seemed like stars and in the dark environment, it felt as if you were in space! (Glow worms being the stars) Literally! Freaking spectacular!

The stalactites were also pretty close to you which made the stars (glow worms) closer to you face. Very nice.

And we're out...

Agrodome

Famous farm fun... For the whole family!

We were attached to a very friendly and jovial guide which did a pretty good job at showing us around the area.

First was sheep shearing.

Sheep Shearing

Poor sheep looked like it was getting raped though, the shearer was in complete control of the situation.

All done... BAAHHH

Next show was actually displaying how their herding dog could herd the sheeps and oh my, it was super trained to do just that. It moved really quickly and in all the right directions. Basically, it was 'zoning' the sheeps and making them move in whichever direction it wanted. 

Epic Sheep Micro-ing, courtesy - Dog

Next was a full farm tour. We were seated behind the tractor and were brought around the farm to check out some really cool animals UP CLOSE.

Cattles - (Notice the one with the <3 Shape)

Turkeys!

Sheep - I'm Fabulous!

Flocking Around... AHHHhh!!!11!

Deer running towards us!

Cap'n Cooker Pig

Swag Ostrich

Alaskan Cattle

 Animals were really cute, if I could I would've kept em all as pets!~

Te Puia

Here we were introduced to the history and culture of New Zealand ancestors, the Maori people. 

Program started off with the people of the village 'welcoming' us :

Welcoming Ritual

Headed in after to watch their cultural shows.

Performance

The men did a HAKA dance (ancestral war cry), which originated from these Maori people. The men were all very fierce, macho and garang. Very different from those fucking jokes that try to imitate the HAKA in xiao didi school camps. I like!

Geysers

According to what our guide told us, New Zealand sits on the boundary of 2 tectonic plates. When these 2 tectonic plates push against each other, magma comes closer towards the surface which gives rise to these geysers. 

There was also this pungent smell around which is brought about by Hydrogen Sulfide.

You could feel the heat from these geysers! 

Still it's a pretty unique and wonderful sight to see.

Saw the mud pools as well. The mud was really boiling and you could see bubble splashes on the surface of it. What's really happening is that there are gases underneath the mud forcing its way out to the surface.

Mud Pools

That concludes the tour. The coach ride back was loooonggg and ZzzzzzZzZZz......

Day 11

Headed over to Kelly Tarlton's Sea Aquarium today. After viewing some of the sub-antartic animals and underwater creatures, I made the decision to go snorkeling with the sharks!

Snorkeling with the Sharks

Initially, I wanted to opt for the option to dive with the sharks. However, when I got there the activity has already started and I was too late :( . Had to settle for the snorkeling option, which needed you to be in a cage.

Got suited and geared up. Had to sign some indemnity form again... The whole group was brief on safety procedures.

After all of that was sorted out, into the cage we go!

The water was freezing cold (prob suitable temperature for the sharks), holy shit. Still you gotta suck it up and stick your whole face into it as the cage started to move.

Me Inside the Cage

The experience was great! Initially when the sharks started to swim and swarm towards you from afar, you can feel the fear pulsating throughout your whole body. 

After which, you realise that they are really not too interested in you. 

When you get comfortable, you really start to admire these bad asses. They are just so cool and the feeling of getting up close and personal to these deadly predators feels damn shiok man!

Me & Sharks <3

Damnit, I'm definitely gonna go for a dive with em next time if I get a chance to!

Day continued on with a road trip with my mom's ex-colleague and her husband. They drove us up Mt. Victoria at Devon Port. Admired the scenery of the developed Auckland city, the Auckland bridge and a few of the bay of islands, one of which is a dormant volcano.

Headed down after for fish and chips.

On the way back to our apartment, I bought some souvenirs for the people back home; mainly keychains, cause I'm poor now (and you gotta buy lots). :(

Day 12

Took a cruise from the city (In Auckland) and visited Waiheke Island. The whole place seemed to be a resort island for old rich people to retire in. From what we're told, the island is the same size as Singapore with a population of only 8000. What a vast difference from the 5 million people we have squeezed into our little tiny red dot. (Sg)

There were various wine yards there which were pretty popular with the tourists as it’s one of the island’s specialties.

When the tour ended, we packed our stuff and headed for the airport. 

Almost lost my camera today which made my heart skipped a few beats.

Mom’s ex-colleague and her husband were very helpful and conscientiously aided us in any way we required. Thanks for that! 

Day 13 

Home Sweet Home!

This whole post was written in New Zealand. I updated it daily during the trip and only put it up when the full entry is completed at the last day.


Photos are up on FB!