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^^