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| Queenstown, the landmark of New Zealand |
Finally! We are here in South Island of New Zealand!
Here are the updates for our trip ..... ^^
On the first saturday, we flew from KL to Melbourne to meet up with my little daughter... This is the first time we been in KLIA2. Apparently, what people say was right. It was a really loooonggggg walk to your departure gate.
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| walking through the hallway of KLIA2 |
The next morning, we rushed to Seven Seeds to enjoy the Melbourne morning breakfast. It was a year ago when I last tried it and I missed it so much!!
Again, we are on the flight. This time is from Melbourne to Auckland. Just only a day, we started missing Asian food.
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| Cup Noodles ordered with Jetstar Inflight Voucher |
Just a shot on how part of Auckland looks like from sky:
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| Auckland viewed from sky |
Later in the evening, we flew AGAIN from Auckland to Christchurch. We already felt sick flying long hours. Despite it is cheaper to do transits, I would recommend you guys to fly directly from KL to Christchurch. You can have extra time for sightseeing.
That night, we stayed at Quest Hotel Christchurch. It is a lovely one bedroom apartment. Strongly recommended if you are hunting for budget hotel in the city. Most importantly, close proximity to famous tourist spots!
If you are more adventurous, try travelling with campervan!
Many places in Christchurch are still damaged since the earthquake few years back. The city is basiclly still recovering, but you can see that the people there are doing a great job rebuilding the city...
While finding our way to Cathedral Square, we encountered Cardboard Cathedral by architect Shigeru Ban
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| My two daughters in front of Cardboard Cathedral |
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| and myself! |
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| The interior |
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| It is really made up from CARDBOARD! |
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| The exterior! Trust me! The sky is originally that blue! |
Quick stop by at Cathedral Square..
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| The look of Cathedral Square since Feb 2011 earthquake |
After spending half a day touring Christchurch and fix our GPS, we finally started driving to Lake Tekapo. We actually got advice from a friend back home, Kelvin before departing. He warned us never attempt to exceed the speed limit in New Zealand despite the empty road. it is really easy to be spotted speeding. When you are driving on a straight road with no cars and thinking of speeding, the police might have been waiting in front... or following you from the back...
Sometimes, the road are under maintenance and they will put up the sign of 30km/hr. This time, although the road actually is 60km/hr, you will need to follow the maintenance sign, to drive at 30km/hr.
Another tips: when you thought that the road has no cameras, they actually captured the time your car enter and exit the road. Then they calculate the average speed limit to check if you are speeding.
Pretty advance huh?
So, to save your money, and also for your safety, drive according to the speed limit!
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| using tower and jacket to protect the skin from UV rays |
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| this girl keeps sleeping throughout the journey |
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| The famous Lindis Pass |
Finally, after 3 hours and 54 mins of driving, we arrived at the famous Lake Tekapo! It was pretty cloudy so we had challenges taking the best shot of the lake.
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| get a selfie first! |
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| tea break! |
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| The Church of Good Shepherd stands firmly by the lake |
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| thought that you are the only one? look carefully again |
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| you won't missed the summer lupins. It's everywhere along the journey |
From here, we rushed all the way to Mt Cook, to be in time for the Stargazing tour we've booked in advance..
We all knew that: "the more panic we are, the more mistakes we make"
We ended up taking the "path not taken" from following GPS. Thinking it in a good way, it is somehow a great experience driving alongside the canal...
Finally back to the right route and continue driving...
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| The view of the Southern Alps |
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| Lake Pukaki |
At 8.30pm, we finally arrived at The Hermitage Hotel at Mt Cook. Just in time to make for our stargazing tour at 9.20pm.
Tips: either spend an extra day touring Christchurch, or sleep over at Lake Tekapo for a night, to avoid rushing with time
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| The view of Mt Cook village. You see all snow mountains |
Both Mt Cook and Lake Tekapo is part of UNESCO Dark Sky Reserve, making them a perfect spot for stargazing. You can basically see the stars from every part of Mt Cook, including your hotel room!
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| star shots taken from our hotel room |
Not wanting to lose the best of Mt Cook, we woke early to catch the sunrise.
Another tips: go trekking at Kea Point to get the best sunrise photos with the glaciers at Tasman Lake
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| from Mt Cook looking towards Lake Pukaki |
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| The sunrise at Mt Cook |
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| morning sun rays cap the mountain top |
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| finally we managed to see lambs crossing!!! |
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| Hello little lamby!!! |
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| feeling like a kid again! Wee-hoo~~~ |
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| Weeeeee~~ photo with a heli! |
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| the view after sunrise |
It was time to say goodbye to this lovely town. One stops checked. The experience in Mt Cook made us awe of the nature. We were actually quite worried at first staying alongside all the snow mountains. But the scenery experience worth the limited time on bed.
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| Bye Hermitage Hotel! |
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| Bye Mt Cook! |
Next, we continue our journey all the way to Queenstown. Half way, we stopped by at Omarama.
(nothing much in this town, only a lamb statue)
Instead of heading towards Arrowtown next, we switched our plan to Lake Wanaka.
(too busy eating hence no photos haha)
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| We saw a Britz Campervan by the lake! |
When we nearly reached Queenstown, we encountered the Crown Range Road (this is because we came directly from Lake Wanaka). This drive was a bit challenging for those afraid of height and cliffs, but definitely worth the scenery. (trust me, definitely much more easier than driving to Genting Highland)
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| can you see what GPS shows you? the curvy road... |
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| oh no, where are we going??? |
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| it's like riding on a roller coaster |
After passing through the crazy driving routes, we were here at Queenstown! It was drizzling like cats and dogs at Queenstown. We were planning of heading to the Skyline Gondola for evening sunset view, but changed our plan due to the bad weather.
We stayed at Rydges Hotel that night, and had a room facing the lake.
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| The view from our balcony |
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| the town after rain |
Missing Chinese food, we went to fill our stomach at The Mandarin Restaurant.
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| walking around the lake after dinner |
.........
Good morning Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu!
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| same view, different day, different feel |
It was really hard to catch a bright sunny day in New Zealand. We were really blessed with the good weather! Plan changed again this time, to head up to the Skyline Gondola first!
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| Riding the Gondola~~~ |
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| Amazing scenery at the mountain top overlooking Queenstown! |
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| do we look the same?? |
My daughter came here during winter time and told me about the beautiful scenery at Queenstown. Now I am here, seeing with both my naked eyes, this place is truly fascinating!!! Definitely worth the visit!
Alright, due to the very long post, and everyone keep chasing on pictures, I am breaking this New Zealand trip into 2 posts. Thanks for reading till here, and STAY TUNED to Part 2, where there will be PLENTY photos on Milford Sound!
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