Saturday, October 1, 2016

New Zealand 2016. North Island

Aaaa North je? Ok I get that a lot and that's it. Is not that we are not considering at all, in fact to choose going to New Zealand already went through number of challenge sessions. Need to convince the other half why NZ. Point is, NEW adventure, something we never did before. And now with Amni. It has to be all about her in a way la kan. 

We decided not to join group of convoy (jimat di situ), airlines apa nak naik, whether we want to fly straight or transit and mode of transportation at NZ. I don't have much time, lets cut it short.



Day 1 (KUL-MEL-AKL)
Flying to Auckland via Melbourne. By the time we were at Tullamarine Airport it's already like 2 in the morning. Just resting, solat and get ready to board. Amni took little longer to sleep, lucky we got to use airport stroller and she's ok with it. 

Day 2 (Auckland)
Arrived at Auckland. Checked in Gateway Airport Hotel. Stroll the area a bit but end up dinner at hotel's cafe (sedap). Oh internet is so important, don't forget to purchase simcard at the airport (recommended: Vodafone). Anyway most campervan park did offer limited free data (e.g. 100MB per device per day).

Day 3 (Matamata, Rotorua)
Picked up motor-home or caravan! It took longer than expected (briefing, technical glitch and what not). First thing, groceries shopping! 
Then terus drive to Matamata; The Shire Rest- Hobbiton! A long the way.. fuh! memang hijau mata memandang. Ladang-lembu-kambing-blue sky-repeat. 

Next Rotorua, checked in. Tak reti nak plug in power! Tak reti is too much, technically dah plugged in, connection tak berapa betul. Siap tukar tapak. Huhu..Mujur ada jiran Australian tolong (don't shy-shy to ask). Anyway got to enjoy mineral pool there, macam melekit dalam suam-suam panas- I supposed that to help you recover or rejuvenate or something. 

Day 4 (Rotorua, Taupo)
Nothing specific set on this day, what I had in mind was that geothermal thingy which makes the city famous for. Also the Maori culture village lah (didn't go, time don't permit).. So we visited Hell's Gate (hell kedekut, dia pagar the whole area so you have to pay la to see; we are smarter than that), beautiful lookout point Blue & Green Lake; passed through Buried Village aaand Redwoods at Whakarewarewa Forest! Semua unique in their own ways. Haha tak do justice langsung tulis gitu



Day 5 (Taupo)
We got to enjoy the beautiful scenery of lake, mountain and water falls (Huka)!






Then 5 hours drive to Wellington. No RnR like here but the journey was something I like. Lalu gunung-ganang (so impressed to see Mt Ruapehu/ Mordor! for the first time), desert (tanah tandus; kang kena bahan budak wechat)- people asked sure boring kan lalu sini? Weh, not really. Area ni jadi tempat army punya training ground (no trespassing!) and the billboard ad there quite funny. 

In and out small town pun best. We stopped at Bulls bought some kebab and stuff, eat somewhere-somewhere later. Ada satu town tu got airport dowh, padahal kecik je and tepi jalan, we didn't see the runway. 

Nak menyampai ke Holiday Park, Wellington sekali kena lalu bukit-bukau- sebijk macam fellowship of the ring. Dah la gelap time tu. Memang nampak cantik la town from up there but we didn't prepare for that. Serious ah Tomtom. 



Tengok, cerita drive pun boleh panjang lebar, nak elaborate details lelain.. ok focus.

Day 6-7 (Wellington)
Obviously a big city (really?). Being capital city of New Zealand just imagine Putrajaya. Bit challenging to drive there. But the weather! Fuhh.. Berbaloi beli baju tebal Amni. Hehe. I think its more due to the wind and drizzle. Highlights here a cable car, masjid visit and Weta Cave! We went there twice because it just worth the visit. 


Oh highlight yang penting is TAK JUMPA kedai makan halal yg letak flyers kat Holiday Park-sekali dah tutup/ tukar owner! Sejuk oi.

Day 8 (Ruapehu)
Driving bit relax from Wellington, stopped at Otaki. Lunch best, coffee best, yogurt ice cream pun best!

We stayed at Mt Ruapehu, jungle feeling. Fun fact: Evacuation reminder due to eruption; earthquake and flooding. Fuh. Got yellow and green area for assembly point.



Up there, the best coffee ever! Probably with the weather. Acah-acah main salji sikit, naik chair lift. Lumia battery kong! Urgh. And forgot to fully utilize gopro; ok bukan forgot just tak berapa nak manage. 


Day 9 (Waitomo)
Glowworm cave. Could have done better if we know earlier the arrangement. Amni cannot go in, so mommy kena sacrifice. Wuuu T_T



Lunch at cafe Huhu. Apalah kan maksudnya tu. Huhu.. Sedap jugak. 

Ada pernah cakap tak sedap ke sepanjang trip? Makan bukan kerisauan langsunglah NZ ni. Nak bayar banyak mana je. Seafood dia beli raw masak sendiri pun yummy. By the way, harga barangan kat sini insyaallah consistent mahal- tak kira la town ke, tasik ke, bukit ke, pump station ke, hulu banat mana pun coffee dia standard je harga. Way better dari kau beli coca-cola weh!




Day 10 (Balik)
Huhu...

From time to time will update kalau rajin. Teruskan sokongan! (self-monologue semua ni)


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