Bye Bye Blenheim~

Without knowing it, three months have passed by. My three months stint as mussel opener has finally come to an end. Despite all my grumbling and pain, I kinda missed it and feel sad that it has all come to an end.

Believe it or not, I really feel sad to leave that stupid company. It's because I've made lotsa great friends there and I regret having to leave them so soon, just as we all become closer buddies.

I still remember when we first started working, we hardly have any friends there. When we were about to leave however, we've made all sorts of friends there that make us part with heavy hearts. Each and everyone of them has etched deep in my heart and the memories we made will be fondly cherished.

I agreed that my reason of sadness is not because of the job, but of the people. It is those people that we called friends that make our mundane working life so much more bearable and fun too. I've actually had a lot of fun working there. After all, we create our own fun right? *wink*

My last day of work is definitely my wettest LOL;p It's a tradition for the people that will depart to be hosed. And yours truly got hosed, drenched from top to bottom. I retaliate back of course! It's a battlefield in the factory ^^v What a field day it was. We really had a grand time didn't we? XD

We may have to say our goodbyes now, but I believe our parting is not forever. May our path cross again in the future ;-)

After spending 3 months in Blenheim, it kinda become a home to me. Never thought I might actually like Blenheim (because previously I don't) and now it's time to say bye bye.

Like it or not, it's time to move on with my life.

Good bye Blenheim, Hello West Coast !!!!!

My Life at Mussel Opening

After weeks and weeks working, I still find it hard to increase my numbers in mussel opening. Seriously, I have tried my very best every day to improve. In fact, I have also take pointers from Dinosaur as he is the fastest among us four. He took the time to study other's skill and method then he will tried it himself and share with us the outcome.

Finally, I get used to a certain technique and so I stick to it. Only thing left to do is to improve my skill and increase the figure. I have hoped that with time, I can and will get better. But most of the time, I'm the slowest among four.

Despite how hard I worked on it, I'm still not fast enough. I really wished I could be faster, but still not fast enough. It's damn hard to increase the score!!! There's a day when I only managed to open 4.2k and a certain Mr A opened 13k mussels.

Talk about a big gap.

This is like a huge sea between our score -.-"

Eventually, our fingers suffers from our determination to increase the scores. Twister suffers the most. Her icky fingers can't bend at all! She suffered from triggered finger disease due to opening too much mussels. Godzilla suffers from blisters on her fingers and it hurt so much that she has to put a number of plasters on her fingers everyday before going to work.

Still does that, until today - which is like 3 months already.

Haven't heard much complain from Dinosaur though. He probably the only one barely get nicked at all. As for me, my fingers suffer from mild triggered finger disease as well. I can bend my fingers, but most morning when I wake up, my finger muscles are so stiff that it can't be bend immediately. It needed time to relax and it get so much better after I dip my fingers in hot water.

According to President, hot water is the best remedy for triggered finger. If it's acute, then one need to take medication or worst still, steroid injection. I know all these because so happened at the same time, President also got inflicted with triggered finger disease. He injured his finger due to long hour of operation at work.

Pretty much same scenario with us. Holding knife for a long long time. Though we operate on mussels and he operates on human being;p

Anyway, after nearly 3 months of mussels opening, my best record is only 7.5k which is like, only HALF of the highest record achiever hold by Mr A. I have heard that a certain Mr P's record is a whooping 15k though I didn't actually saw the figure myself. Mr. P is extremely fast too, I have got to give it to him.

At times, I wonders if all these people that opens like 10k mussels a day are robots or something? Their hands are like robot!! So fast and precise! Won't they feel tired at all?

My record is barely passable but I always feel very tired at the end of the day. My hands will be so sore and tired that I barely have enough energy to lift the heavy butcher knife to do cooking at home.

Not only that, sometimes my hand hurts even when I'm just combing my hair. In my quest to improve my score, I have hurt my wrist. Therefore, my hand movement has been restricted a little. Certain movement of the wrist will make me gasp in pain.

Yeah, pity me I know. At times I felt pitiful too. My beautiful pair of hands.......

My Life @ Blenheim

When we finally received the call we were waiting for, we made our way to Blenheim (pronouns as Ble-num).

Blenheim will be our home for 3 months.

Blenheim will be where we work for 3 months.

Blenheim....oh Blenheim....

We found a place to stay and coincidentally our landlord is a Malaysian! Chinese too! Talk about a small place ay? It's a nice place to stay with internet for $90 a week. Not a bad deal really. Me and Twister shares a room and the couple took the other room. The bathroom was huge!!!! So is the backyard!!!!

FYI: we even have our own lemon tree growing right out of our room window! Not to mentioned, there's grapevine, apple tree, plum tree, nectarine tree, peach tree growing in the backyard! Yum yum!!!! Too bad it's not in season yet so we don't get to sample any :-(

The factory we work at is a mussel factory. Our job is to open mussels. Yeap, doesn't sounds too hard? Try open 13k mussels a day and tell me if it's hard or not. Trust me, it's so damn hard to get that figure! I have no idea how those ppl did it. What are they? like, robot or something???

Our work shift is pretty shitty too. Working hour is 6am - 3pm....6AM ok??? I need to get up at 4AM lor since there's only one toilet!!!!! After breakfast and stuff, we drove about 15 minutes to the factory as it's 13km away....I pretty much think we are the only one stays so far away from the workplace.

First day in the mussel opening table and I hated it. I hated the company, I hated the system, I hated the management and I don't even fancy the people there. You have no idea how lousy it was! Allow me to describe to you in gore details.

When we first arrive, we follows the crowd into the workplace. Before we enter, we need to wear uniform and gumboots first. Then we need to step into a water bath to clean the sole of the gumboots. Upon entering the "washing area" we need to scrub our gumboots thoroughly to remove any dirt, then wash our hand with soap and sanitize it before wearing gloves and sleeve covers.

Even the gloves separated into 3 type: linen, latex and rubber gloves. First you need to wear the linen, follow by latex and rubber gloves in separate hand. Things like this weren't taught to us. We just follow blindly and study what the local people do and we imitate as best as we could.

At this phase, I was already not happy with the management. How could they not teach us newbies? Do they expect us to know all these like we have done it all our lives? Goodness me, of course not! WE have NO idea whatsoever, IDIOT!!!!

After wearing gloves and a plastic that covers our arm, we exit the washing area into the mussel opening table. As we enter, we need to dip our gumboots into a water bath again to remove dirt from the sole. All these are done in the name of hygiene. After all, we are handling food therefore hygiene is really important here.

Once in, we need to wear apron to protect ourselves from the "mussel juice" as we called it. Then we pick a knife, sanitize our gloved hands and head to our table. The tables are numbered from 1 - 40 so we need to stand in one and alternate it the next day in a zigzag manner.

Which number will we be standing? NO IDEA.

No one direct us to our position. Not even the supervisor. We have no idea and we just stand there like some idiots whereas the locals (has been working there for some time) just march into the stand. Apparently, we can pick where we want to stand.

Like we know huh? Turn out, we just went to stand at places that no one claimed yet.

Then the mussels drop into the conveyor belt. Then we have no idea what to do next or how to do.

Then we see people opposite us opening mussels at lightning speed. Means we can't see anything at all. I just saw their hand move very fast in grabbing mussels and opening them.

We just stand there staring. We seriously have no f*king idea what are we to do. We naively assumed that we will be taught. After all, it's our first day at work. Not like we ever opened a mussel before in our entire life!!!!

I don't even know which is head which is tail of the mussel nor which side to open. We practically looked at each other bewildered and stared at others "pro openers". Like, 5 minutes later, an Asian colleague took notice of us newbies, stopped what's she been doing and came over to teach us.

Finally, we kinda get the idea of how to do it, which shoot is for rubbish and which shoot is for mussels. In fact, for the first week or so, I don't even realized that I've occasionally hold the knife blade wrongly. Until the supervisor come and correct me. Finally my dense brain realized that the knife has only one side sharp enough to cut, just like our regular knives at home lol...I know I know I'm darn stupid...laugh all you want...I think it was hilarious too LOL ;p

At the end of the day, we all can check how much mussels we have open and guess what? I manged to open 14xx mussels!!!! Bravo!!! Kudos to me^^ Of course, until I see what other's scores were like 6 - 7 k average.

I felt like dying then. It wasn't easy to open 1k mussels ok? Godzilla asked the supervisor what's the average target to achieve and she mentioned 6-7k....

I died a second time then.

Lake Tekapo

I believe Lake Tekapo is one of the most beautiful place in New Zealand. If you were here in south island especially, you should not give this a miss. Definitely most come.

Lake Tekapo is famous for its powdery blue water lake. It's in that colour due to the minerals in the water and rocks and stuff. To know more about the geology, you may google it;p The Good Sheperd Church and the Coolie Dog statue were probably the most photographed too.

For a simple minded girl like me, Lake Tekapo is fascinating due to its unusual colour and also the scenic background of southern Alps. Snow capped southern Alps in the winter is really a view to behold.

Of course, nearby, there's also quite a few beautiful lakes such as Lake Pukaki, Lake Alexandrina and Lake McGregor.

One of the biggest attraction in Lake Tekapo is the Earth & Sky Observatory in Mt John. This is the best place to view stars and moon and galaxies and also the aurora. If you are lucky, you may get to see Aurora Australis!

Well, I wasn't that lucky. I only managed to see the moon surface, and some zodiacs stars, some unique constellations...and also the milky way! Not too bad ay? Their powerful telescope is really amazing as it allows us to see stars that are a few million light years away.

Apart from that, if you have some cool DSLR cameras, they will also help you to take beautiful pictures of the milky way and moon. Truly amazing when your own camera can capture such beautiful view. Too bad mine is just a normal digital camera. Can't do that lol ;p

Besides the observatory, I have had the most sashimi in my life here in Mt Cook, slightly further from Lake Tekapo. The Alpine Salmon farm sells the freshest salmon sashimi, smoked salmon and fresh salmon fillets to all. Previously, I hardly take raw fish but this sashimi was different. It was so fresh so tender that it practically melt in your mouth! It was absolutely delicious!

If it come out from someone who don't eat sashimi, I bet you can take my word on it ^^v

After filling our tummy, we went to Mt Cook to take a look at the famous Tasman Glacier. A short walk of Tasman Walk will lead to the river with glaciers floating around in the powdery blue water. Not a bad sight! Not like we get to see glaciers everyday lol.

We just snap snap snap away to our heart content ^^v

Reasons to go to Kaikoura

As usual, lazy bug got the better of me. Sorry for neglecting this site guys^^

our gardening job in Nelson eventually comes to an end as our boss is heading back to Japan. We HAD applied for another job position in Blenheim but then it will not start work until further notice. We did however went and signed a contract with them already so basically our job is secured. Just that we have no idea when it will start work.

They said they'll call us you see...

Since we have got about 2 weeks of free time before work is expected to commence, we decided to travel to as much places as possible so as not to waste any time. From Blenheim we travel down to Kaikoura for their ever famous crayfish a.k.a lobster!

Damn is the crayfish expensive! Cheapest and smallest crayfish itself would have cost NZD65 alone! Still, although it is expensive, but we still need to give it a try^^v It tasted really fresh and delicious! Although the price is a little steep, but i reckon it's worth a try! My first time ever - eating crayfish;p Me like!

You'll also get to see many many seals here in Kaikoura. i was told those big lumpy fat thing can chase human and attack human faster than they seemed. Personally, I have been frightened by them! You see, we were at the seal colonies area and busy snapping photos...Little did I know there's one giant seal lying nearby.

That thing must've sense human=danger hence it shouted at me and give me possibly my biggest fright! Imagined how I jumped when I suddenly heard noises when I couldn't see anyone. My goodness it was really terrifying experience for sure! It kinda went like this, that seal shout, me too shout (due to fright).

It was really kinda embarrassing as there were people nearby. They probably think what an idiot I was to go agitate the seals. Not that I wanted to! I just didn't realized they were so near to me. I swear!

To think about it, my best memories of Kaikoura has got to be the Mt Fyffe. Last year, Cunning and Small Gas climbed it and for some reason, I wanted to do the same too. Mind you, I am not much of a climber myself. In fact, I tire out too easily. Not only that, it was the worst time of the month for me.

But SOMEHOW, I have this strong desire to conquer Mt Fyffe. I know I'll porbably have a helluva time climbing up but I still wanna give it a try. Slow as I might be, I wanna do it! I believe Dinosaur and Godzilla were probably surprised at my determination. It was after all, 4hrs up and 4 hrs down.

I think, the biggest reason has got to be Mt fyffe is a snow capped mountain. I think I just want to feel and touch snow one more time since it's already the end of winter already. Other than the skiing trip in Mt Ruapehu, we haven't had any close encounter with snow anymore.

As predicted, the climb up was really torturous. It was really tiring for me as I hated the part climbing up. I have no problem with coming down though;p We slowly made our way up and stop at some points to snap snap snap more photos. Finally, we reached the hut.

The Hut is like the main stopping point for all before you continue to climb to the peak. This is the place where there's bed for you if you wanna stay overnight and toilet too. We had our lunch picnic there surrounded by snow. Really cold but really sweet experience.

I even made some miniature snowmen to represent my family members^^v It was so cute! Not to be beaten, Twister and Dinosaur made a bigger one as they claimed mine's too small to be counted as snowman-.-"

They finally modified the snowman into "Ultraman Snowman" which actually looked like Teletubbies more;p It was really an amazing experience. Definitely not something we get to do everyday.

Oooohhhhhh the snow fight! How could I forgot about it? All four of us were playing snow fights like children. I am not surprised if the mountain is ringing from our peels of laughter. It was truly a wonderful memories for me. Our trip to Mt Fyffe were really spectacular in every way.

I'll cherished the memories we have created in Mt Fyffe for a long long time.

Caught your own dinner before?

Like many city girls in the world, I have never caught my own dinner before. In fact, I hardly ever have to worry about food since my mom always cook at home. As you can imagine, I'm pretty helpless in kitchen as well.

To me, food is purchased from the market or restaurants or whatever. Cooked or in raw form. Never in my life have I ever tried to harvest my own dinner. I have never grow any vegetables before in my life that's for sure!

Neither have I fish before!

Imagine my joy at catching my very own first fish in my entire life!

Whilst we were at Nelson working, on our free time, we followed a friend to go fishing. He's a fishing enthusiast and he offered to teach us the ropes. Definitely a wonderful experience.

I used to think that fishing is boring and it's for old people. But really it wasn't that bad. Frankly speaking, I actually quite enjoyed it. It almost feels like fishing can be my new found hobby. It wasn't that hard to learn anyway.

When I cast my own line at the beach and waiting for fishes to catch my bait, I was gleefully anticipating to catch my own fish. The moment you feel that the rod is slightly jerky as though being pecked, that's the indicating that a fish is hooked. This is when you reel your line back and hoping you had caught a fish and not false alarm.

As I felt the faint jerking, I reeled back the line and voila!

A fish!!!!!

I had successfully caught my very own fish!!! OMG!!!!!!

That was really a grand feeling I'm telling you. Although it's just a small species of fish (mullet) but I am extremely proud of myself. Now I can finally say I have caught my own dinner. Hurray^^

But I don't know how to gut a fish though hahaha so our dear friend here does the honour for me;p Later on we all had a delicious meal of oven-baked mullets for dinner^^V

For the record, all of us caught something as well, Dinosaur caught the biggest mullet while mine, Godzilla and our friend's were mediocre size. Twister was the winner that night. She caught a crab instead of regular fishes.

This I believe is what people call, being different^^

Agapanthus: Love or Hate?

Martin is like our savior! We met him on our last night in The Bug. We just had our dinner and he just walked in to stay for the night. We had a small chat and one thing leads to another, we mentioned that we were looking for jobs but haven't got much luck.

This is when he mentioned that he needs some people to help out in his farm. He promised to pay us hourly rate and said we can work as long as we like. We were so thrilled to hear that! Absolutely the happiest news we had heard for some time.

The next day, we drive up to his "farm" and it was actually not a farm. It's his house with a huge backyard! Almost a forest I daresay! He's based in Japan therefore he lease his house with a sleep-out to others. He just came back from time to time to NZ both to work on his property and also for holiday. So happened we met him at the right time, right place.

Our life as a gardener begins! Our main job is dealing with Agapanthus. It is a form of parasite plants that grows very fast and eventually will take all the soil nutrients and killed other plants in that area. The roots are full of tubers - potato-like. Too bad it is NOT a real potatoes or we will be pleased. Free potatoes hahaha^^

Anyway, our job is to kill/remove all agapanthus plants in his property. To avoid the plants from growing again, we need to remove as much roots as possible. The tuber removed will be smashed to smaller pieces to kill it and avoid it from giving energy for new plants to grow. The potatoes are where all the nutrients are. It gives energy to plants.

We had a love/hate relationship with agapanthus. We loved it for the money it brings us but we hate it for the work. It is quite a hard work. It is a rather strong plant therefore not easy to remove it. Also, the juices from the tuber as we smash it, splattered all over our body...gross!

I think I'm slightly allergic to it as over the time, my body starts to develop some mild rashes. A little itchy. Twister diagnosed that I might be allergic to plants. First kiwi fruits, now agapanthus. Anyway as I said it's a mild one so it heals pretty quickly this time around.

If skin rashes isn't bad enough, think of sandflies! I super duper hates SANDFLIES!!!!!! That damn small bug keep biting me that makes me so damn itchy. Not only that, it leaves marks on my body!!!! Until today, the marks are still there, not completely healed yet!!!!

For nearly a month that we worked for Martin (on and off), we were introduced to Banana-Passionfruit vines, Gores that prickles and also Deadly Night Shade that produces poisonous berries. We need to removes all these plants too, apart from Agapanthus.

Martin would like to practice "permaculture" where everyone grow their own foods and reduce from buying from the market. A self sustain theory. It's a good idea really, to grow your own fruit trees and vegetables which you can harvest when the time is right. Grow your own chickens for the eggs and meat. You can also breed cows and sheeps too! Pretty interesting. Defintely save a lot of money!

Apparently, this concept is widely accepted in NZ. You don't need a huge space for that, you just need to know how to maximize the space you have. Really economical once you know how.

For nearly a month here in Nelson we learnt a lot just from working as a gardener for Martin. We learned more about the nature, trees and stuff. Not bad, ay? You learn while you get paid?

Without knowing it, we spent a month here in Nelson already. Work is on and off, depending on weather and also depending on our boss. I would still say, it's really a blessing as we don't have to work in vineyard after all LOL~~

Job hunting in Nelson

I know I haven't update my blog as often as I should. This is totally due to the laziness in me. I just can't bring myself to type on my lappie. Finally I muster my self to write some update here. Probably will be just a short one. Well, you'll know why. Nuff said!

Right from the start, we planned to go to Nelson for job hunting. We understand that there's a big factory there *cough* Sealord *cough* We went there only to be told that the recruitment is handled by an agency. No choice, we knocked on every angecy doors in Nelson. As usual, we were just asked to leave our name and contact numbers. If there's anything come up they'll contact us.

Yup, not much work at the moment/season of the year. Bummer! We even tried our luck at the local supermarket stores and stuff. Still no luck. It almost feels like our trip here is a waste. Our only consolation was the backpackers we stayed in.

THE BUG.

It was absolutely the best ever backpackers we have stayed in by far. Absolutely amazing. We felt right at home immediately. The place was great, beautiful and looked new. The kitchen was well equipped with good quality pots and pans. The other patrons there were uber nice people, the host, Anthony was simply wonderful!

We were given one whole apartment unit to ourselves with 2 bedrooms and 1 private bathroom! How cool is that?! There's also free internet wifi. Upon checking in, there's free welcoming chocolate waiting for us on the bed!!!! Free coffee and tea and also free fresh homemade breads every morning! Talk about heaven!

No, the price did not kill us at all! In fact, it is consider the cheapest one we can get in Nelson. Definitely worth every penny spent I swear!

Since we haven't got much luck in Nelson, we even went to Motueka to search for job opportunity. Alas, no luck there as well. Seriously, that time really feels like doomsday. I started to think that, what if we can't land ourselves a job soon? What would happened then? Our fund has started to dried up and we desperately needs a source of income to keep us floating.

Fear finally creeps into my heart. I understand that job doesn't falls down from sky just like that. However, as it is winter season and there really wasn't much job available, I dread the idea that we might possibly just have to do vineyard pruning.

Gosh I had heard of so much horror tales of vineyard pruning. All of it drives down to one main point: - It is hard, intensive labour work that it is the worst possible nightmare to anyone who's been there and done that. Grrrrr~~~

Finally the day that I dreaded most has arrived. Dinosaur finally said the unevitable. He said, since we can't find any work at the moment, we had no choice but to heads back to Blenheim and look for vineyard job. I shuddered at the thought of that. However, as much as I hated the idea, I am rational enough to know that we really had no choice.

Just as when we were all but given up our hopes in Nelson, miracle happens! On our final night in Nelson - The Bug, it is as though Lady Luck is smiling upon us.

This is when we met Martin.

Welly to Picton

We've finally bid farewell to north island. South Island~ here we come!!!!

My first time boarding a ferry that can transport vehicles were in Penang. A short 20 minutes ride from Tambun to Penang Island. My second time was even better. From NZ North Island to NZ South Island. woohoo~~

From Wellington, we board the Bluebridge Ferry to Picton. This 3 and a half hour ride was indeed a wonderful ride. The ferry was huge and luxurious. Apparently the hefty price we paid was well worth it afterall^^v

The passenger area was beautiful and comfy with reclining chairs. There's big plasma tv that broadcast movies for all to enjoy. If you are feeling hungry, you can order some food from their kitchen. You need to pay of course. Food is NOT inclusive in the ticket price unfortunately.

Alternatively, you can prepared your own food and bring it on board and have it whenever you want to. Having your meal overlooking the ocean is really a great feeling too. The scenery of Marlborough Sounds was absolutely amazing. The sight to behold is so beautiful that words can't even describe my feelings. You just need to experience it yourself.

Perhaps we got lucky, as some of the passengers on board sighted some dolphins that swims around our ferry. However, yours truly just can't seems to locate them despite being really concentrating. Many saw it though. Just that yours truly eyesight is really not that good hence missed it.

A pity for sure. But then, I guess it just can't be helped.

A new begining in South Island. Hopefully all's well end's well :-)

Welly I love you (2)

To be honest, I've only spent ONE DAY at Wellington. Just one day to explore as much as I can. Like that's enough? heck. NO!


My only regrets so far is not being able to spend more time in Wellington. I wholeheartedly believed that Wellington has so much more to offer than Auckland. Seriously, after I had been to Welly, I love it so much more compared to Auckland.


Welly has more architectural buildings to feast the eyes. Welly has more art and cultural places to satisfy my interest. Welly has more places for shopping to excite me. Welly is so beautiful that I love it at first sight. I really wished I'd had more time to explore Wellington. I'm sure it would be fun!



In my short stay here, I managed to go to The Beehive a.k.a. the Parliament House! I took the tour inside NZ parliament house which was really beautiful however we were not allowed to take any photos or videos due to security reasons. Therefore, I can only keep my experience to myself^^


When you are in Wellington, Te Papa Museum is NOT to be missed for sure. You have not been to Wellington if you had not been to Te Papa Museum I tell you! The entrance is FREE anyway!


Te Papa Museum is the best place for you to learn about NZ history and progress throughout the years. It is the most interactive museum I have ever been in my life. Although I am no museum fan, but I think Te Papa Museum can even attract non-museum goer such as myself to liked it!



See? how great Te Papa Museum is! It is really very interactive and you won't get boring at all. For once, I think museum is not so bad after all. Provided that ALL museums are as good as Te Papa^^


Museum of City & Sea is also a very nice place to go. It is a smaller scale compared to Te Papa but it is just as fascinating. It focuses more on the sea and freight development in NZ. Again, the best part would be = FREE ENTRANCE!!!!!


I didn't get to go to Botanical Garden nor take the cable car though due to limited time on hand. However, since it's winter so I don't think I'll missed much. Most of the trees ad flower shrubs probably are barren anyway ;p The cable car ride is roughly about NZD3.00 one way I think.



Lampton Quay!!! Shopping paradise!!!!! High-end shopping heaven for all! Not that I have that kind of money to splurge hahahaha~ I personally think that you'll see the most people walking in Lampton Quay. Buying power in NZ is quite promising I should say ;p


I wished I had that kind of money though. I wanna go shopping too~ Retail therapy is really a girl's best friend! And I have had not had my therapy for quite some time already~~~



Besides those places I have mentioned above, Welly has a lot more arts and theaters you can visit. Welly is really an art and cultural place I would say.



Apart from arts, Welly is also the capital city of NZ. That means you'll not run short of night life entertainment here. Welly has a thriving nightlife smacked right in the middle of the city. It is usually within walking distance from many backpackers or motels. You can get any types of clubs or bars to suit your taste.


You can even get some adult entertainment if you so wish^^

Welly I love you~

On our way to Wellington, we made a stop at Palmerston North because it's a-must for Godzilla. It's been on her list since forever and she never can stop reminding us about it. Reason being is because there's a shop there selling genuine silver LOTR necklace. Yup, THE Arwen Evenstar Necklace.


It's not cheap though but it's special. Especially holdｓ dear by LOTR fans. It holds even dearer meaning to Godzilla too^^


Just a quick stop therefore I can't really explore Palmerston North but at a quick glance, it is bigger than I expected. In fact, it was actually quite a nice town. Kinda feels like a shopping heaven to all. I see nice big malls around^^ But that's about it. I don't know anything else beyond it.


The drive to Wellington was uneventful. We reached after dark and we've been searching high and low for a place to stay. Most of the backpackers are full and some that aren't were charging exorbitant rate that makes us gulping like a fish. The wind was strong and cold and we were hungry as we have not had our dinner yet. It really feels suck! Probably because it's Friday night (read: weekend) so a lot people are there staying in town.


Finally we stayed at the first backpackers that we surveyed on. The rate was not cheap, but given the situation and other prices been quoted to us, yeah it suddenly felt reasonable. The fact that it is located at a hill is not a biggie. But the fact that our room is at the 3rd floor, yeah that's a real biggie.


Imaging lugging all our heavy luggages up the stairs, oh my God that is a nightmare! Luckily the receptionist girl was kind enough to allow us to store our unused luggages in their store room. We understand that this is not allowed, but she's just a dear as she let us do it. That really helps alot. Or we will be sore all over.


The stay at Rosemeade Backpackers was not bad really. Albeit the stair climbing. It has got free continental breakfast provided daily from 7-9am. Free tea, coffee and hot chocolate for all!


Weeeee~~~ me love hot chocolate!!!!

A lazy week

This is probably the most unfortunate week for me here in NZ. After the ski in Mt Ruapehu, I fall sick immediately. Must be the cold and snow, my body cannot keep up with the extreme temperature hence it decided to give up on me.

It is really horrible to travel when your head feels heavy and hot. Your whole body felt like weighed a ton and your energy just seeps away. All you want to do is just to sleep and will the fever to go away. Not just fever, I even caught the cough virus. Double trouble!

Seriously, I took nearly a week time to recuperate. Not just me, Dinosaur and Godzilla too succumbed to sickness. Our room was like a viral quarantine room where all are patients. Only Twister who's immune system is strong enough to counter any germs and virus. She even survived nearly scratch-less having been living together with 3 sick patients. Thumbs up to Twister!

The fever was not the worse case. I could just lie on bed and sleept. The worst would be cough.

In. The. Middle. Of. The. Night.

Numerous night I woke myself up due to sudden cough. It was so bad that I can't sleep and keeps me awake. To avoid waking others up too, I had no choice but to eat a sweet every night the moment I started to cough badly. Probably not so good for my dental hygiene, but at that moment I couldn't care much.

In between sleep, I also managed to explore the town of Hastings, Napier and Havelock North. Briefly.

Maybe because we were all sick, we really haven't got much enthusiasm to explore our surroundings. Personally, I think Hastings is nothing to shout about. Nothing much worth exploring here. The only exception is the Rush Monro's Ice Cream Parlour.

For your information, Rush Monro's is a premium ice cream here in NZ. The first ever ice cream parlour is here in Hastings. A charming little place but the operating hours in winter is short! Thank god we were right on time hence we got ourselves a nice tub of banana ice cream.

oooh la laaa~ It was heavenly! I absolutely loves it. It's rich creamy texture with the wonderful aroma of bananas are heavenly. I wouldn't mind finishing the whole tub myself ngek ngek ngek;p

Next, we went to Napier. Not what I expected either. Apart from walking at the beach coast, which was lovely by the way, we wanted to go visit the old prison. However, the charges were exorbitant thus we decided not to enter after all. A visit to Napier is not complete with some wine sampling^^

We tried wine sampling at two different winery estates and the experience is really quite nice. From here we learn a little bit more about wine making and stuff like that. Some wines we liked, some we don't.

After some tasting, I finally understood my preference in wine. I prefer midly sweet wine like chardonnay and sauvignon blanc. I don't quite fancy dry, sour wine like merlot. However, there's an exception though. There's a wine that mixes merlot and something else's which I quite like.

As for white wine or red wine, I think I prefer white wine and champagne. Call it sparkling wine if you like^^

Lastly, we visited Havelock North for the Arataki Honey Centre (the honeys are real cheap here! can't beat the price anywhere else's in NZ I reckon) and Te Mata Peak.

Te Mata Peak was really unbelievable. The wind I mean. The wind was so strong that it almost blew me off. If people says Wellington has really strong winds, wait til they are at Te Mata Peak. The wind here is 10x stronger than Welly's. I'm serious when I said I almost got blown away. In fact, you can see cars are shaking from the wind itself. The gushes of cold strong wind are definitely a force to reckoned with.

So that's it. That's the sum of my lousiest week in NZ. My health I mean.

Ski! Snow! I Like!

When we talked about winter, the first thing that come to mind would be snow and Christmas. Growing up in Malaysia means that I have not have the opportunity to experience four season in a year. I have only known summer in my entire life therefore you can imagine how ecstatic I was when I get to see snow for the first time.

On the drive from Taupo to Ohakune the view of the snow capped Mt Ruapehu was awesome. The faraway mountain gets closer and closer as I drove, the snow gets clearer and clearer. The weather was absolutely perfect hence the view of Mt Ruapehu was perfect. Absolutely gorgeous!

The main reason we went there is to ski. And touch snow of course. Not forgeting snowman ;p We stayed two nights at Arawa Lodge and its probably one of the wisest choice we have made. The host, Jo is a great lady. She's very nice and friendly that she made us feel right at home immediately.

Knowing that we have never skied before, she gave us a lot of pointers like appropriate clothing, which location is best for beginners, and if that is not enough, she even personally inspect each of us to see if we are good to go to ski.

Unfortunately, none of us were. In fact, we never knew that we were so ill equipped until then. We seriously realized that we are not prepared for snowing type of winter at all. It is really a reality check for us lolz.

Jo is ever the nice lady, she even loaned us her ski jackets, thermal wear, numerous wool sweaters and stuff. She taught us to pile up our clothing with only wool material in order to keep us warm. Absolutely no cotton and jeans as it will get wet. Fleece is still alright but thermal wear is a must, then layered with 2 or 3 wool shirts/sweaters.

If you are not warm, then your ski experience will be a miserable one because you can't enjoy it due to the cold. She also suggested that for beginner, we should take the Whakapapa Track whereas for the more experience ones they can go to Turoa.

At Whakapapa, we signed up for the beginner's ski lesson and we learned basic ski skill for like, an hour? or maybe two, can't really keep track. We were taught how to position our body correctly to ski, how to stop and how to walk? Yeah basically is how to ski and how to stop.

Skiing is not as easy as I thought. It's harder, but with the poles for leverage, I think it's easier than ice skating. Kinda gives me more security? Anyway, surfice to say I've fell on my side, bum numerous time that day. I have accidentally clashed with other people and also being crashed into as well. Quite a dangerous zone to me, the beginner ski field. Although it is a gentle slope, but still, plenty of people there. It really felt crampy. Everywhere you turn, there's people, young and old.

Before we head back Arawa Lodge, it started to snow. OMG! It's snowing! Damn cold lor the wind. Snow flakes are really really tiny that it's not too much difference from raining actually. The snow texture are like those snowflakes we eat at dessert stall. Really similar.

Anyway, I was really happy to be able to experience it. i can proclaimed that I knew how to ski *a lousy skier*My only regret is not having the proper ski gloves or leather gloves on therefore I can't make snowman cuz my knitted gloves will get wet if I handled the snow for period of time. I can't play snow fights either due to the high human traffic there. It'll look really silly to have snow fights in a ski field where everyone else's were skiing or trying to.

But that only spur up my determination to ski for another time. This time, I will have the appropriate clothing that's for sure. And a leather gloves too!

Adrenaline Rush in Taupo

For those who likes to challenge death itself would definitely know where to go, where not to be missed. Adrenaline junkies will definitely direct you to Taupo without a doubt. For those who doesn't know, Taupo is a place where all the extreme sports can be found practically under one roof.

Sky dive, bungy jump, cliff hanger, jet boating, paragliding, you name it. Of course, not forgetting the iconic Lake Taupo, which is practically the size of Singapore. Yes! It is THAT huge! Lake Taupo is great for trout fishing too but you need a license though.

As we were there, we definitely cannot missed visiting the crystal clear water of the famous Huka Falls and Aratiatia Dam. The rapids are a sight to behold. The water were clear with greenish colour to it. Aratiatia Dam will open the door to release water everyday at 10am, 12pm and 2pm. It last bout half an hour. It's really quite a nice view too when you see the clear calm water of Waikato River (the longest river in NZ) where you can see the bottom of it. And the next minute when the door was open, water gushing into the river disrupting the calm water.

Definitely a sight to behold. And it's free entertainment too^^

I went to Huka Honey Hive too to sampled their honeys and also their infamous fudges and premium honey ice cream^^ Gosh the Puhutukawa Honey Ice Cream was definitely sinful!!!! It was absolutely delicious that you felt like you were in heaven! Absolutely amazing! It was slightly expensive though for a single scoop (small) it's NZD4.00 . But then again, bear in mind that this is a premium ice cream that's home made everyday. You can't get it anywhere else! Definitely worth a try if you are there.

Their honeys weren't cheap though. Pretty expensive actually. However, they do have other special honeyed stuff such as honey mead and honey alcohol. I didn't managed to sampled any though as the staff there were busy serving "adults". We probably looked too young in her eyes to have any alcohol. So I can't vouch how it tasted like, sorry guys^^

Other than sight seeing and food tasting, we did do some extreme stuff. Most of us paid a lump sum to terrify ourselves with crazy activities such as skydiving and bungy jumping. Yeah I know, we are a bunch of crazy tourist ;p

Initially, I was adamant to just jump off from plane at 12,000ft only. I mean after all, it's just for an experience right? So I don't really have to fork out another 100 bucks to jump at 15,000 ft right? RIGHT??

But then, my friends all took a combo package for bungy and skydive and their package was at 15,000 ft. DAMN!!!! How? how?? should I just jump alone or should I upgrade my package to 15,000ft as well in order to be able to jump with them????

Damn dilemma lor. I really don't want to be alone as it starts to feel pretty scary the whole sky diving thing. Finally, I upgraded my package to 15,000ft as well to "be with them". At least until the last moment? What the heck, if I wanna die, I might as well die properly.

The people at I-Site said that people here in Taupo is more friendly and attentive compared to South Island so we decided to jump here. And it's slightly cheaper too. But heck, not really lor. The people at the counter IS friendly, but our tandem instructor weren't THAT friendly and attentive lor.

I mean, for first timer, I'm sure you can imagine our apprehension and fear. Not only that, we have no knowledge whatsoever so we definitely need people to guide us right? Of the three of us who signed up, ONLY Twister's tandem master was really nice and attentive. She, yes SHE gaves pointers and tips for Twister which I stayed nearby to eavesdropped blatantly. Reason being was because I can't locate MY tandem master yet. He's out there jumping off a plane.

Yup, apparently pretty much all the tandem masters and cameramen were jumping off the plane again and again and again. Over and over again ever hour, depending on the crowd.

So when my tandem master touched the ground, my camera man introduced him to me and we barely exchange pleasantries, he already lead me to the plane. Damn I just had to be sitting nearest to the door. Means I will be the first to jump off.

Gosh it was really quite a scary ride in my life but my tandem master was singing and making jokes like we were taking a stroll in the park. My cameraman was even eating snacks! Talk about nonchalant!!!! Here I was fearing for my life and cursing myself for doing this, there they were goofing around and eating. Seriously, if they offered me food, I wouldn't be taking it either for fearing I'll throw up due to nervousness.

Finally at 12,000ft, some people jumped off the plane and I get to see it right in front of my eyes. That didn't allay my fear at all. If possible, I get even more nervous. When you see the ground from 12,000ft in the air, AND you think you'll be jumping off a plane - utter madness!

Despite I have always said that I wanted to skydive over and over again. When I'm on the plane, I can feel that my bravery has deserted me little by little. The higher we get the more anxious I get. My tandem master did have small chats with me but I think its not enough still. I actually hoped to be able to bond with him so that I will feel less nervous but alas, I probably hoped too much.

After all, these people jumped off the plane over and over again. They probably jumped 15x a day so what's my jump matter to them? It matters greatly to me because it's my first but them? it's their everyday thing-.-" My tandem master did give me some pointers and instruct me this and that, well all basic simple stuff. I think I'm still lucky though because Dinosaur's tandem master barely even spoke to him. I think his bond with his tandem master is almost zero.

The moment he said, "this is it, let's go!" I was like, SHIT!!! WHAT??? SO FAST???? ME FIRST??? WHY????? GOD I'M SCARED!!!!!! HELP!!!! MOMMY!!!!!!!!

Of course, all these are played in my mind only. I didn't utter a single embarrassing words like that ok? But I seriously am feeling that. Paiseh to say that hurhurhur. When we take exit photo before we jump, I was really really nervous especially I know I'm strapped to my tandem master only and I'm hanging in the air literally.

Trying to maintain my cool and smile for the camera, once it clicked suddenly I felt a push and I'm floating in the air!!!!!! WHAT????? I've jumped off the plane and now falling at 200mph down to earth!!! WTF!!!!!

According to Twister's TM, 60 seconds of freefall is photography time so have to look out for the cameraman and capture as many photos as possible whereas once the parachute is released, then it's time for sight seeing. Things like this my TM didn't mentioned to me, luckily i eavesdropped on Twister lolz.

So, eventhough I'm scared shitless, I still have to try and maintain my cool and look at the camera and smile, goddammit! When the lady strapped on my harness gear on the ground, she mentioned that if we smile then our photos will turn out better as our cheek wouldn't be wobbly due to the strong wind. And I took her words to heart and smiled throughout my freefall.

Except that when the photos were released, I doesn't looked like I was smiling. Instead, I looked like an idiot with my mouth open which barely resembles a smile. I looked silly. When I showed my photos to my friends that night, they laughed like there's no tomorrow -.-" It is bad enough that the photos does not resemble me I don't know why but it's true, Dinosaur actually commented that I looked like a chipmunk-.-"

My life is ruined. My photos were ruined. My video is darn stupid. My whole experience captured on camera looks like a joke. I feel so damn depressed actually. I paid a hefty fortune but i felt like I was at the end of a joke. This was supposed to be a proud moment to shared with others but instead, I can't bring myself to show mine to anyone. It's just too ugly. Mad hideous!!! No, I won't show you my photos or videos! Don't even think of it

That apart, once the parachute was released, finally I get the time to take a view of my surroundings. The view was breathtaking. The lake looked gorgeous from up above and the snow capped mountains. It was really brilliant and the weather was perfect. That's when I said to myself, "I can't believe I did that! I did it and I am so proud of myself."

I used to think that this is an exciting experience which I will not missed it for the world and will attempt it with gusto.

Don't get me wrong, I still think that this is an exciting experience that I would not trade it for anything in this world. I'm very proud that I did it and at 15,000ft some more at that. However, I think crazy things like this once is enough. Don't think I'll ever attempt it again though. My heart isn't that strong I think. lolz

True to my words then and now, I will attempy sky dive but not bungy. I did not try bungy. Even though many people said "hye, since you jumped 15,000ft already, what's a couple hundred feets means to you?" I know, bungy should look pale in comparison to sky dive but I still can't make myself to do it. Looking down from the cliff suddenly that couple hundreds of feets is so damn high.

I'm proud of them who did it though. I wished I could be braver and attempt it but alas, I'm not that brave. Too bad^^

City of Sulphur

Hello there...I'm back again^^v


Continued from my previous post, today I'll share with you my experience in Rotorua - the city of sulphur. I dubbed it the City of Sulphur because it smelt of sulphur pretty much most of the time. It is famous for its geothermal activities due to its strategic location in volcanic area I suppose.


If you head to Kuirau Park, you'll get to see mud pools and hot pools for free. Most other places will charge you an arm and a leg for to see almost the same thing, but probably bigger version. For example, Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland charge NZD32.50 per adult to see their hot pools, mud pools and craters etc.


Personally, after awhile, all geothermal spots kinda look the same already. It no longer held the wow effect. Especially when you paid to see the same thing over and over again. I have been to Rotorua twice afterall.


The weather was not really promising for us as it keeps raining. Raining means no outdoor activities for us. Luckily in between showers, we managed to squeezed in some activities still.


Despite the weather, we managed to go to Rainbow Springs to see kiwi and their nocturnal life at night. Besides Rainbow Springs, we also experienced the Skyline Rotorua - the gondola and luge ride. Luge is really fun and it's so simple really. You just sit there and hold the bar to manuevre left right speed and stop. Simpler than driving automated transmission car I tell you!


We even hold a illegal racing among the four of us and I came in second! Hahahaha I mentioned it's illegal because the sign there written no racing ;p Guess we just can't follow the rules to the dot afterall.


We also went to Wai=O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland to see more geothermal spots and geyser. We wanted to see the infamous Lady Knox Geyser which erupts daily at 10:30am. Fascinated isn't? Why 10:30am daily? Without fail? How do you do that?????


The answer is pretty simple really. Because it's controlled by human that's why. And how can human control such thing? Simple. Because long long time ago, some human accidently found out that the geyser will erupt when you throw a soap into it. The stories goes back to dunno how long ago, some people are doing their washing there and accidently dropped a soap which triggered the geyser to erupt.


There, the secret for the geyser to erupt at 10:30am is out now. It smelled wonderful too. Rotten egg smell -.-"



The rest of the trip in Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland was to see more and more of geothermal spot, hole, pool etc. And it rained too. Damn we had to carry an umbrella with us all the time. Such inconvenience!


We also went to Kerosene Creek, which is free natural hot pool for public. It's located in a secluded area in between Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland and Rotorua town *the same highway to Taupo, I can't recalled which SH though*


It's really beautiful there as the nature beauty is untouched by civilization. The hot vapour from the creek gives the place a magical feeling. Like you were in some magical place faraway and out of this world. Truly exquite. You can dip your feet in the hot water or bettter still, you can just soak your weary, tired body there.



Too bad we can't as we went unprepared. We did not have our bathing suits with us and we didn't even had proper shoes on either. So we just take a look at it and go. Oh, and we even get to see a fantastic rainbow too. Really clear, full rainbow! Totally awesome!



One week in Rotorua come and go. In between rain showers, we even managed to do some shopping spree! I tell you, I think I spent the most here in Rotorua than in anywhere else in NZ. I think I bought the most things here.


Rotorua is also a place to pamper one self. We went to Hell Gate for their infamous mud spa. Trust me, this is really not to be missed! If I ever go to Rotorua again, Hell Gate will definitely be on my list. The top on my to-do list.


On our last day, we were really lucky to be able to experience white water rafting in Kaituna River - which were really popular for it's 7m waterfall. The adventure trip was really exhilirating and I don't even know where to begin. We were given wet suits and briefing before we reached the river and the next thing I know, I'm in the boat, paddling towards the waterfall!



I'll never forget my first ever water rafting experience for a long long time. I wished the whole adventure will last longer though. An hour in the water is way to short a time.



I think this summarizes my second trip to Rotorua. I didn't do the zorb though, although it's originated here in Taupo. I didn't visit the Maori's cultural village too as it's really very very the expensive and I can't really afford it. I'll probably regret not able to eat hangi *Maori's traditional meal cook in earth oven* but well, moolah IS a factor here baby!

Waitomo Black Water Rafting

Since I don't know when I can get by free internet again so i thought I will drop by and write a short entry or something just to keep everyone updated on my current status ^.^v

After our trip to Hamilton Garden, we head down to Waitomo Cave for cave trekking! No, I'm just kidding horhorhor. As you remember from my previous post I mentioned that we left Hamilton Garden as the sun sets hence how can I explore Waitomo Cave? We just went to Waitomo to book the trip and also looking for accomodation.

The sky is pitched black when we reached Raft, Rap & Rock. Everyone's tired and no one wants to look elsewhere for accomodation so we decided to stay at the hostel there since the price is really not too bad and we have coupon for discount! Seriously, this is one of the few time that we actually remembers to use discount coupons that we had. Most of the time, we won't remember and ended up paying for much more-.-"

We were practically squealing when the owner said the bed comes with electric blanket and a heater. ELECTRIC BLANKET!!!!! I have never use one and I really don't mind trying it;p

The place was really very tidy and clean. A charming house that consist of 3 rooms, 2 bathrooms, 1 toilet, dining hall and living room. We stayed there for 2 nights and on the second night, we practically have the whole house to ourselves! Isn't great???? Seriously, I think the rating on BBH on that place is way below par. I think it deserve so much better than 68%.

Apart from accomodation, we signed up the black water rafting at 9am. I like the fact that they organise small group only. Max is 6pax and we have nicely 6 people (plus UK couple). Our guide, Simon, was really a fun and fantastic guide. We couldn't ask for a better one. He's funny and interactive and he knows his stuff well.

The ride to the cave is bout 15 minutes, then we reached their hub where we get our wet suits and don it before we start the expedition. Seriously, donning the wetsuit is quite challenging. It's so tight that it fits snugly on your body which is good to keep you warm. But at the same time, wearing it is quite an art itself. Being a first timer, let's just say I don't think I look pretty wearing it. In fact, I quite think that I resemble some poor penguins-.-"

Anyhow, after donning the wetsuits and boots, we head to the cave. Before we enter the cave hole, we were given a lesson in correct way of tying the ropes and also all the safety rules to adhere. When this is done, here we go.

First thing to do is to abseil 27m down into the cave. I was really looking forward to abseiling because I have never tried it before. 27m seems quite short a distance as I managed to go down without a hitch. In fact, it was not what I expected. It was much easier than I thought!

Once everyone is down, we walked in the water into the cave and see glowworms, then black water rafting in the currents and rock climbing back up the same way we got down. The glowworms are really beautiful. It kinda like watching stars at night.

As for the black water rafting, it isn't anything that's super challenging like the white water rafting really. It's just tubing in the water. Since it's a cave, hence its dark so the name "black". It doesn't have any rapids, just water flowing by. But it was really fun though. I really like tubing.

Everyone is given a rubber tube like a tyre and sit on it then flow with the water. I always started last but somehow I always ended up first to reach! I have no idea why as I wanted to enjoy the experience more but I kept emerging at the finishing line way too quick-.-"

Climbing back to the top is not too hard as well. Even for people who doesn't have much stamina can do it so I don't think anyone will have any problem doing it. Once done, we went back to the hub to have a quick shower at their basic bathroom before heading back to the office to view the photos and drank complimentary soup.

The whole trip wasn't too bad. In fact, i quite enjoyed it. It was pretty fun. What surprises me the most during the whole trip is the camera. The camera that our guide uses to snaps photos of us. That camera is like, sooo ancient! Who else uses those kind of camera these days????? The fact that that camera is water proof is great but then the photo quality is not really up to our standard. Photos taken were not really crisp and clear hence we thought this is kinda a waste.

Then again, it's better than none right? We shared with the UK couple for a copy of the photos and this save us some dollar. It was then only I know that we can all share a copy to save some pennies. Not bad considering as a backpackers, we need to be frugal at all time!

Hehehehe so this is my experience on the Waitomo Black Water Rafting.

Hamilton Garden

When our business is done in Auckland, we headed down south. We made a stop in Hamilton and visited the famous Hamilton Garden. Hamilton Garden is a very huge park actually and it consist of many gardens. The most famous one has got to be the landscaped garden that features 6 different type of garden concept.

As I have mentioned that Hamilton Garden is a huge park, we kinda got lost. Well, I didn’t expect it to be so big that Landscaped garden was just a PART of it! It was getting dark as sunset in winter is much earlier than usual and we were walking around the park looking for the landscaped garden.

We accidentally covered a few other garden such as Rose Garden; which barely has any roses due to wrong season of the year and also we walked to the Waikato River, which is practically a dead end. We had to retraced our steps to find other routes that can lead us to the Landscaped garden.

Finally, we found it! By then, the sun has practically set so we had to rushed to all 6 garden and take photos in record time. They had the Chinese Scholarstic Garden, Japanese Garden, English Garden, American Modern Garden, Italian Garden and Indian Garden.

Each of the garden is beautifully designed and photo worthy. Finally the guard has to shoo us off as its getting really dark already. And the most foolish thing is, we realized that the Landscaped Garden was located just at the left of the Main Entrance. We missed it because we took a right turn at the entrance and we walked, circled the big pond with duckies in it!

That wrong turn actually wasted our precious time to be in the Landscaped Garden. Not that it was not beautiful along the way, it is. Just that we were pretty late reaching there hence limit is a factor to us. All in all, we still get to see what we wanted to albeit the short time. So, can’t complain.

If I get to visit Hamilton again, this time I will go there early and spend a couple of hours walking leisurely and enjoy the beautiful scenery. Trust me, it is really well worth a trip there again. The greenery will definitely appeal to you, even if you are not a nature person.

I know, because I am not too! ^^v

I might be wrong, but I think it is best to visit Hamilton Garden in the Spring. Spring is when all flowers are blooming so you get to enjoy the Rose Garden at its most glorious. Since I went in the winter, the Rose Garden was practically barren with only one or two miserable roses.

Back to Auckland Again

At one point, it started to feel that each time we were in Auckland, we surely made at least a trip to the car workshop. It was always one problem or the other. This time, I think we made three trips to the workshop to fix this and that.

At the same time, we renewed the WOF (Warrant of Fitness). WOF is compulsory in order for the car to remain on the road. It’s kinda like Road Tax in Malaysia, except that in Malaysia, we can renew our Road Tax yearly easily whereas WOF required the car to be inspected and certified fit on the road before WOF is issued. If I am not mistaken, WOF is done twice a year.

This time around, our stay in Auckland is pretty much free and easy. We spent most of the time shopping, eating and working on the car. Finally, I get the opportunity to visit the most happening shopping centre in Auckland – Silvia Park.

Well, it was nothing much to shout really. Malaysia definitely has much bigger malls everywhere. However, I think malls this size are norm in NZ. It’s not bad really. Apart from Silvia Park, we went to Dressmart too.

Honestly, Dressmart is my fav! It’s kinda like factory outlet stores where quite a few major brands – local or international brand will sell of out of season clothes or stock clearance stuff at dirt cheap prices. Big names that I’m sure everyone will recognize are such as Levi’s, Lacoste, Pumpkin Patch, Esprit and so on.

If you dig deep enough, you will get quite some great stuff that’s selling at a fraction of the original price. This is what I call great buy! Since haggling is not practiced in NZ, buying good quality stuff at a low price is the next best thing for me. However, the only downside is that the shop closes at 5pm.

It kinda limit your shopping time. Over here, shopping is done early as most shop closes at 5pm or so. In smaller town, shops does not even operate on weekends! Time like this make me missed my hometown all the more. Back at home, I can go shopping all day till nightfall.

On one fine Saturday, I managed to visit the biggest flea market in Auckland – Otara Flea Market. It was quite big and happening with live band and singings going on in the central court. The flea market consist of everything you’ll ever need. They sell from vegetables, fruits to clothes and souvenirs. They even sell business suits too, no kidding!

Watching movie in NZ is a luxury affair as well. Cinema in big city charges NZD15.00 for a movie whereas in smaller town charges varies from NZD10.00 – NZD15.00.

I am not sure if I have mentioned this before but parking in Auckland will really cost you a bomb! Parking fees are so so so expensive that you’ll cringe at the amount and probably curse the day you ever thought of driving and parking in the town. They charges exorbitant fee on hourly rate. The parking rate here will put KLCC’s rate pale in comparison.

If you want to save money, my advice is don’t even dream of driving to town. Better take the bus or walk if you don’t mind walking.

Mishaps: good or bad?

As we were heading back to Auckland, things started to make a turn for the worse. Our car started to give us problems. Problems that can make your heart pump a little faster. What happened was, while driving we felt that the car was jerky, not smooth as it supposed to. The car started to jerk every now and then. The climax? Definitely was when the car battery died on us – while we were driving!

Fuiyoh! I tell you, that was really a close call! As the car was jerking and sputtering along, I’m pretty sure all of us were awake (we were sleeping before this;p) and praying to God that we can make it to Auckland in one piece.

To make thing worse, it was getting dark, all shops were closed and we have no one to ask for help. We were practically in the middle of nowhere! We have no choice but to drive slowly and maneuver the car all the way back to Auckland. Initially, we wanted to take the road less taken to explore the countryside but as we realized we have problem, we cancelled the idea and take the fastest, most direct route to Auckland.

As if the sputtering and jerking is not enough to make us turn green, the car decided to died on us right in the middle of the Harbour Bridge!!! Yes, I am serious!

The bridge was heavy with traffic hence we needed to brake more often. Each time Dinosaur press the brake pedal, the engine died. If that is not scary enough, try this: when the engine died, the brake system does not work too, due to ABS system locking and stuff.

Yup, the car was rolling due to momentum, engine died, and we have no control on the brake. Did I mentioned is was traffic jam then???? Yeah, cars in front, beside and behind us. I think that alone is enough to evoke terror in anyone’s heart. We have to cranked the engine every time it died, smacked right in the most busiest bridge.

Thank God Dinosaur was calm throughout and managed to maneuver the car despite the sputtering and jerking to Auckland town and we make a stop at a petrol station. Since the battery keep dying, we suspected the battery is the culprit.

We tried ringing Dinosaur’s uncle for help but he did not pick up the phone. Oh no!

Then we called a new friend who worked in the car workshop that sold us the car for help. We told him that the battery kept dying hence it might be that the battery is dead. And this nice friend actually finished work and reach home wanting to have dinner, bath and rest but as I have said, he is a nice person, he went out again to help us buy a car battery for replacement.

Finally after the long wait, he arrived. When he inspected our car, he didn’t think battery was the cause. Uh-oh, this might be something bigger and scarier than we thought. He spent quite some time fidgeting our car with limited light (Dinosaur’s torchlight) and in the cold too.

After some time, finally the car’s up and ready to go. Well, at least for temporary. Then we all had our long awaited dinner together.

After all the hoo-ha, it’s almost 10pm and we still have not got any place to stay. We tried searching some motel but it was super expensive and we can’t afford that. Lucky us, Dinosaur’s uncle graciously offered us to stay at his house.

After all that we have went through in a day, we were really tired. Both physically and emotionally.

This was definitely an extraordinary day for sure!

Still in North Island

Hi all!

Good greetings from New Zealand!

I have been spending the last two weeks traveling part of North Island here and currently stopping at Auckland again. After this, we will head down to Waitomo for black water rafting. After that, we will head to city of sulphur - Rotorua and continues to Taupo.

In the past few weeks, we managed to cover:

1) White Island - the only active volcanic island in NZ.

2) we went to East Cape lighthouse - to see the beautiful sunrise. East Cape is the the most easterly place in the earth.

3) We went to Gisborne - the first town on earth to receive sunlight in the morning.

4) Coromandel Region - we went to Hot Water Beach to soak our feet, we went to Coromandel town to eat fresh oyster and mussels. It was really delicious albeit a little expensive.

5) Northland - we went to visit the most interesting loos in land - Kawakawa. Also, we ate the world's famous fish & chips in Mangonui. For sure, we went to Cape Reinga and 90 miles beach. Cape Reinga is the most northen part of NZ^^ IT is also where the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean collides.

Yup, that's about all. We will continue our journey and I shall update my travel log as soon as I get the chance. Well, as you know, internet is a luxury here so whenever I can online I'm like on cloud nine!!!! Trust me, I'm really that happy to get internet connection!!!

okay people, time for me to go sleep already as tomorrow will be a long day. Will keep you post soon!

Stay tune! ^^v

End of packing season

Hi All,

How are you?


I am good here. In fact, today is the celebration for our packhouse end of the season. We have finished our last bin of kiwis and the kiwi packing season is officially ended. The work ended yesterday, and today is the celebration.

As yesterday is the last day, we all brought our cameras and V-Cam to captures our memories there. We keep taking photos whenever we get the chance ^^v

Some westerners cannot understand why we Asians always take photos and lamented about that. It's kinda put off but then, since i don't have any explanation for our behaviour anyway so let's forget it. i don't care what you think of me anyway!

As usual, when we get any day offs, we will all gather together and have a big feast. So is today^^

Right now I'm at SJ and RX house to have a big hearty lunch^^ We are making kimchi soup, two varieties of fried rice (courtesy or Double S hehe) and desserts as usual^^v No wonder I'm gaining weight instead of losing weight-.-"

Anyhow, we will be moving away from Opotiki pretty soon hence we will have to say goodbye to our new found friends here any moment. It's sad to say goodbye as we really clicked well! It's not easy to find such nice bunch of people from different nationality and have so much fun together. I'll really miss them when the time to part comes.

We will start to tour around north island starting Wednesday. i hoped to cover the north island in 3 weeks then find another job. Doesn't matter if its in north or south island just so that we can make enough money to cover our trip to south island.

Everybody says that south island is so beautiful that it's like heaven on earth. I am so excited I can't wait to go there. The fact that now in north island is pretty cold already I can't imagine how I'll survive south island. Right now, it can get to zero degrees in south island at night and now is just the beginning of winter!

Whatever! I don't want to think all these right now. I shall just take it as it comes. Tonight celebration party everyone needs to bring a dish to a local bar here in town. Rachel is making man tao (buns) to bring over there and she is still making it at home.

I don't know how the party will be like, but I kinda really looking forward to it already. This is not something we get to experience daily so I really wanna see how it goes.

Will update more whenever I get the time and internet access.

Toodles!

Work and no work

Work is ending soon. We have reached our last week at the packhouse. Without realizing, we had worked at the packhouse for the past 2 months. Next week onwards, we will have to start worrying about where our next pay cheque would come from.

In my time working at the packhouse, I really quite enjoyed it. Really. Of course, at times, it can get so repetitive and monotonous that it gets so boring. Also, it can get so tiring that my shoulder ached like nobody’s business. Sometimes, it is so taxing to my body that my back ached so much that I can’t even stand and do simple job like washing the dishes. My fingers will go numb and I can’t even lift my arm properly to hold the dishes. It’s like the strength totally deserted me.

Those are the negative impact from working. At the same time, I also gained a lot here. I gained invaluable life experience that I couldn’t get it elsewhere. I gained many new friends from all over the world that I absolutely treasured. They are really a bunch of great people and working alongside them is truly fun and memorable.

For instance, I met a delightful Korean girl that taught us many Korean phrases and food. Never in my life would I thought that I could actually make kimchi or bibimbap. Now I not only know how to make it, I also know how to make Korean pancake, which I absolutely adored. My greatest regret is not being able to learn how to make teokbukgi. We can’t seem to find any shop selling rice cake so she can’t make them. What a bummer!

I am someone who don’t cook at home. In fact, I hardly enter the kitchen in my life. Ever. But over here, I not only found out I could actually cook quite decently, I also collected many recipes along the way. Many things that I never thought I could actually do, I am able to do it now.

Not to sound boastful, but I really am very proud of myself. Now, I don’t find cooking a torture. I actually quite enjoyed it. Cooking is made fun now with so many new recipes. Can’t wait to show off my newly acquired skills to my mom. She should be very proud of me hehehehe~

Now, my future kitchen has to be really big and well equipped in order for me to be able to fully utilize my new hobby ;p

Nowadays, we spent all and whatever day offs we get by cooking. We will cook something and invite some close friends for lunch, dinner and vice versa. Each time, we are so fully loaded that no wonder if we’ll gain weight.

Health Scare: Part 2

Okay people, just a quick update from me. I have since recover from my skin disease if you can call that. So you can now stopy worrying over my health. ^^

We all self diagnosed it as skin allergy most likely due to dust from environment. Read: factory.

My skin rashes has reduced to almost none now. My lips are no longer swollen. It's nice and perfect just as the way it is teehee!

So there, I'm fine once again! God bless us all^^

Health Scare

Work has been going smooth nowadays. Almost everyday we get to work in the packhouse already. All thanks to the sunny days we are having lately. Since the weather had been really accommodating lately, the pickers get to work and we packers get to pack.

It’s really a dream come true to us. We have dreamed about days like this God knows how many days. All’s well and we are happy and contented. Despite work gets boring (well, it is repetitive and monotonous after all) we will still go to work and money is really a great motivator.

I knew this is too good to be true. I just knew it!

Finally my deepest fear came true.

Sick. Illness.

Medication.

Doctor.

I never thought this will one day happen to me. God how I wish it wasn’t me. Why me????

Warning: don’t read on if you do not want to read my description of my illness.

One fine Sunday as usual after work we came back home, cook dinner and bath before sleep. While in the shower, I realized that my back is not quite the same and there’s patches of red spots on my upper body. These red spots were a little itchy as well.

But I shrugged it off and ignored it thinking it will go away the next morning. I wanted to tell others but then I don’t want to appear like a baby and whine every single moment I get so I didn’t.

The next morning, the red spots did not disappear as I hoped! Damn! What is happening to me???? Truth to be told, I was beginning to feel scared over it. I mean, what sort of diseases I have caught??? I just know it is a symptom of allergy of some sort.

At this point, I still keep mum about it and go to work as usual. It wasn’t until my supervisor noticed the spots I am having and asked me if I have some sort of allergy. Then I know this is really getting serious if she can see it even when I was wearing a sweater.

At that moment, I was like, “oh shit, this is really getting bad if it is showing on my arm and face” She says she saw red pactches on my neck and ear and that my face swell a little. We both tried to find out the cause of my allergy. Was is soap? Shampoo? Diet? Kiwi?

I don’t know. I seriously can’t pinpoint the cause of it. At this point, I am really getting itchy all over. To make things worse, my eyes swell and I can’t open my eye lid to the fullest!

This time, during smoko (break time) I rushed to the toilet and have a good look at myself in the mirror. (looking into the mirror is kinda a luxury to me as our house got limited mirror and most of the time, the mirror is steamed all over after shower -.-“

For the first time I had a clear view of myself. How my eyes are swollen and red spots begins showing a little on my neck, ear, forehead and eye lash area. Some red spots also appear on the cleavage area. Of course, the rest are at my back where you can’t help but feel like scratching it every moment you get.

This time, everyone spotted my problem already. Twister thinks it is “fong mok” which is allergy to dirty things or surrounding. The only things we can suspect is our workplace, which is dusty from the kiwi furs especially the grading table area which I currently work at. Another possible explanation is the bed I am using now is dirty.

With everyone’s help, I tried my very best not to scratch my body. Gradually, I feel that my eyes are not so swollen anymore as I can open my eyes completely and I take it as a good sign of recovery. I was so happy beyond relief. Hopefully my rashes will go away soon too. Even my supervisor notice my “recovery” She commented that my face is not so swollen anymore.

Boy, was I wrong!

Yes, my eyes are not swollen anymore and my face are not covered with rashes. BUT, my upper lip started to swell. SHIT!!!!!! By the end of the working day, my upper lip is half swollen!!!! If I wasn’t feeling any fear previously, I definitely do now. I was so so so afraid that I almost broke down crying.

Godzilla keeps suggest that we go see a doctor but finally I decided to wait for another day and see how it goes. I have some medication for swell and anti-allergy at home and I planned to see if it works.

Hence we went home, take a bath, eat medicine and apply dermatitis cream on my body and pray for recovery.

Twister says normally the rashes would go away in a day or two so I was clinging to the comforting words to sleep.

As you can probably guess by now, no the rashes did not fade away. My upper lip is even more swollen than the night before. This time, I really broke down and cry during breakfast. I am sure Dinosaur, Godzilla and Twister were uncomfortable to witness crying scene early in the morning. But I just can’t help it.

I also experience some stomach pain at this moment. Since I was not feeling my best and emotionally fragile, I decided to skip work today. Also I feel sad to lose my income for a day, but then I really don’t think I can go to work and act as though nothing happened. I don’t think I can face the curious stare and concern enquiries from colleagues.

No I definitely can’t face all this yet. I prefer to hide out and sleep away the morning. Hopefully this nightmare will go away ASAP.

I wonder how expensive it will get to pay a visit to the doctor here? This idea is starting to appeal to me provided the doctor can miraculously make all these rashes and swell go away in an instant. IN that case, I really don’t mind paying!