South Island, NZ

I can’t write an extensive detailed version of my trip to New Zealand because I don’t think there are words to describe the incredibly awed feeling.

My New Zealand entry would have to start with the South Island. This is because the pictures I have are mostly the South Island, because the other camera which has the North Island pictures is kaput.

on the ferry from the north to the south island

We took a ferry from Wellington (North Island) to Picton (South Island). Our first stop was a Chocolate Factory which (surprisingly) was called: Makana.

newly made chocolate confectionaries at Makana Chocolate Factory

Next, my dad drove to Dunedin; where the roads went up and down.

train station at dunedin

We met up with a Malaysian family whose address my dad acquired over the net. My dad always ensures that we have local contacts overseas in case anything happens or we want to hear the do’s and don’ts or the best places to go; a bit like an unofficial tour guide. Uncle Sabri’s house was great fun: I’ve never been so happy to eat Nasi Lemak. I chatted with Amirah(sec3), Aishah(sec2), Amni (Sec1/pri6)and (adorable) Aryanna (she’s 4; in kindergarten): the four daughters. I taught Aishah to draw manga (a lil), watched Saiyuki, and it was really interesting to listen to their school life. It reminded me a lot about studying in Oman... Once I asked Aryanna if she “likes studying in Kindi” and she replied, “We don’t study in kindi. We just play.” So cute.

from left: Amni, little Aryanna, Aishah and me!
Amirah sitting on the floor

Next stop: Otago Museum which has really fun stuffs. There was a rainforest area where there were butterflies inside. The humidity and heat reminds me a lot of Malaysia and makes me miss home.

entrance to Otago Museum

Maori boat at Otago Musuem

We drove 9 hours to Milford Sound, the most breathtaking view I've ever seen. We took a boat and cruise around. It is like looking at a postcard but with your eyes; which sometimes I can't believe that I'm even there. It is like looking from a movie. except that you can feel the water splashes and the wind against your face. It is so cold and there is so much wind that by the end of the boat ride, my lips have turned blue.

infront of the Milford Sound Cruiser

at the back of Sounds of Milford, the cruiser

I guess Milford Sound is the best place I've been to in New Zeanland. I got the rarest glimpse of a dolphin! It was so close to the boat and they are swimming and just showing off their fins at the surface of the water. And there was a huge full grown sized dolphin. I was awe-struck.

me:)
Milford Sound truly takes my breath away

Puzzling World was next. Filled with many puzzles, tricks, illusions and the likes, we had much mind-stimulating times. There were 3 parts; the labyrinth (a maze made of wooden planks); the illusion room (where the floor is slanted and also the Ames, a trick LOTR used during shooting) and just the playroom where there are many puzzle pieces and those kind of take-out-the-ring-from-this-tangle kind of puzzle. You know what I mean.

Inside, there's the tilted room where even water and a ball on a table seems to be flowing upwards


the toilet at puzzle world. This is NOT in the men's toilet. It was outside in between the men's and women's. The first thing I thought when I saw the picture was that Hey! I learnt this in Primary 6 when we studied the Roman times (or was it Victorian?)!:D

just playing on the swings during a stop on the way to christchurch

Last activity stop/state is Christchurch. We went to the Antarctica Attraction which was a part of how Antartica is. In the snowroom, I experienced the coldest temperature in my life; -18.5 degrees celsius. We got to play with snow! Though when you get hit with a snowball, it really hurts...

in an igloo at the snowroom

We got to see penguins!:D They are little blue penguins; they are from NZ if I'm not mistaken so they don't need ice to survive..

We got a ride in Hagglund Ride; the snow mobile used in the Antartica. It is a super scary ride for me because it goes up and down like a rollercoaster. I hate having my stomach lurch up and down and having the vehicle tilt so much that it feels like it can overturn any minute. But it was soon over and what a relief it was!

Two nights before we depart to KL, we stayed at Uncle Khairuddin's house. He has 6 kids all below 9 years old so there were a lot of hullabaloo (not so sure how to spell it lol). But we had lotsa fun!:)

Our last day, we basically just cleaned up and packed our things and we made our way to the airport to fly back to KL...