Sloppy Chic

Types of Porcelain Beads and Their Versatility in Jewelry-making

sloppychic — Thu, 03 May 2012 10:33:24 +0000

Porcelain beads can come in ceramic, clay or polymer and are used in crafts, home décor and jewelry projects. You can purchase them already fired (glazed) and decorated, or you can buy sheets of plain clay and make your own porcelain beads for special items like earrings, bracelets, and necklaces. As for decorating and designing your own porcelain beads, you can use stamps, crimps, bead presses, stencils, images for imprinting and more. Porcelain beads can be paired with various other types of beads, such as glass, acrylic, clay and metal, resin and even lampwork beads to create stunning pieces of jewelry.

For example, pair a bunch of small or medium- sized porcelain beads in pastel hues with coordinating glass spacer beads on a length of 20guage memory wire (or use jeweler’s wire and a lobster claw clasp instead) for a dazzling necklace. Porcelain beads also make gorgeous charm bracelets; simply string dozens of small porcelains beads and medium-sized charms onto a 6-7mm length of wire and secure ends with a claw clasp for easy fastening. For a simple yet stunning broach or lapel pin, use a jumbo gold or silver safety pin and place 5 or 6 large porcelain beads onto it, using small spacers and maybe one large charm for a dazzling pin. Jewelry designers prefer porcelain beads because of their versatility and uniqueness, and often pair their creations with customized chains, findings, hooks and other materials to create exquisite pieces of jewelry for shops and boutiques. Porcelain beads can also be used for artwork such as sculptures, or framed pictures.

Self-Drive Tour: New Zealand South Island Day 8 – Visiting Larnach Castle and Railway Dunedin

sloppychic — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 01:52:42 +0000

Wow…has it been that long since I last blogged already?
Time certainly flies!

After our visit to Cadbury factory, we had to rush to Larnach Castle as it was near 5pm, and the sun set at 6pm. Not familiar with the road, it was not easy to find places after dark.

The Larnach Caste tour you have two options: The full package was about NZD$30+ while the ground tour (just the garden was NZD$16.

Since we were running out of time, we decided on just the ground tour.

There were quite many tourists on the day, but the crowd was not so bad. We still had shots of just us or the building without extras in the pictures

The garden is huge and green. It was beautiful, but it was not because of the flowers. The flowers were not as much as I had expected.

However, the view was magnificent. So picturesque.

In the castle area, there is also a resort for the tourists. But, I would suggest staying in the city for convenience purposes.

Last shot of the castle before we headed back to the city.

It was one of the most memorable destinations to us as our car was running out of fuel when we were heading there (and no gas station within 5km). We lost our way and drove to a dead end up the hill. And our car wouldn’t start again after it died off!

But thank god we had to make a u-turn down the hill and we needed no fuel to just roll down the hill.

But at last we managed to start the engine again.

The small paths heading back to our car.

We made it back to the town before dark and had the chance to visit the railway station.

Hello glamor!

It was a huge railway station, and only this wide angle lens could capture the entire building.

It was old but very well maintained. And there was no littering AT ALL!

And a church near the railway station.

I almost wished my wedding ceremony was held in this ancient church.

The sky turned dark before 7pm and it was dinner time.

Sicked of burgers and sandwiches, we found a little Japanese restaurant that was affordable!

Bliss!

Our tour had almost come to and end in Dunedin. Another 2 destinations and we were going home!

Self-Drive Tour: New Zealand South Island Day 8 – Visiting Cadbury Chocolate Factory in Dunedin

sloppychic — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 03:17:54 +0000

Cadbury is a brand of chocolate that we are all familiar with, but I never fancied Cadbury chocolate as none of the chocolate I tasted here was so fascinating to keep me addicted.

Anyway, our destination after visiting the Milford Sound was Dunedin, which is one of the biggest cities in South New Zealand.

The bustling street. We were excited as if we were in touch with civilization again!

Our lunch stop – McDonalds.

Thick and juicy Angus beef burger at NZD$10. Certainly not very cheap, but it was so huge!

After the quick lunch, we had 30mins to kill before we could check into our hotel at 2pm. They had Cotton On in the shopping malls too

Right after we checked in to our hotel, we had to leave the room as we had 2 destinations for the day – Cadbury chocolate factory and Lanarch Castle.

Hello Cadbury!

They have the full factory tours (including watching their operations) during the weekdays; unfortunately it was a Saturday for us, and we had to make do with the 1/2 factory tour.

Follow me!

(And all their staff were dressed in the same jumpsuit uniform)

As soon as we entered the shop, we were greeted by a mountain of gold chocolate bars! We were already excited

While waiting for the tour to start at 3pm, we had a little tour in their exhibition centre.

Process of turning cocoa into chocolate!

The Cadbury in New Zealand is totally different from our milk chocolate here because the cows there produce better milk. That is of course, when all the cows have fresh air, green grass and clean water to live on.

There is a milk aroma that it is not found in our local Cadbury chocolate!

Some of the displays in the mini-museum.

The history of the chocolate factory.

We were not allowed to snap photos within the operation area. However, we had the chance of witnessing a ‘chocolate waterfall’ with pouring of chocolate down into the bucket from above. It was truly a sight to behold! And the aroma of chocolate completely filled the air in the room.

We had a goodie bag filled with Cadbury chocolate as a gift from the entrance ticket. And our tour guide had a pocketful of chocolate bars in her jumpsuit, and you will be rewarded with a chocolate

Final shot with the cadbury truck. It used to carry gallons of milk in the container, and it can still move until today, but only to be used during parade or special occasion.

The chocolate shop! You can only enter the shop if your purchase the tour or purchase a special ticket to enter.

The selection of chocolate was surprising as I never knew Cadbury had these much of products.

We hauled a total of about NZD$70+ chocolate as souvenirs, well, the supermarket nearby was selling it for $0.01 cheaper than in the factory -_-

It was quite a pity that we could not buy more as we had to watch our luggage weight, which was already close to limit when we departed.

Nonetheless, it was really an eye-opener for both of us, and now we love Cadbury chocolate! (Only those that are manufactured in NZ or Australia).

After the tour, we had to rush to Lanarch Castle which was about 12km+ away from the factory before sun set, which I will show you in another post

Self-Drive Tour: New Zealand South Island Day 7 – Milford Sound Nature Cruise and Te Anau Glowworm Caves

sloppychic — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 04:24:13 +0000

If you are following my trip, sorry that I am unable to update very frequently

Continuing after we departed from Queenstown, it was a long drive ahead of us, 286km to reach our destination before 1.30pm. And the roads were winding as we were going up hill!

Hot air balloon to welcome us along the journey as though they knew we were passing by

The tunnel that has been dug as a passage through. The tunnel is nothing like our SMART tunnel, it is very primitive and you can’t help but to wonder..how did people do it back then when there was no high-tech machinery. It is a dark and long tunnel.

Our only stop over along the way.We did not have much time for photos and all I did was struggling to fight the nausea.

We were rushing our hell out to reach our destination as we had paid for the booking already.

Finally! We made it to our destination in time!

For most of the cruises, you have a check time time, which is usually 15 mins before boarding time.

Do note that you have to park further away from this center, about 10-mins walk.

Our Milford Sound cruise of the day

Me sitting on the deck. It was very windy and sunny! It was not cold but I couldn’t decide to keep my jacket on or off. And it was impossible to wear a hat under the strong wind.

Most people hung out on the deck, and thank goodness the water was calm.

It was NZD$99 (~RM237) per pax for the cruise. And we were given a lunch box to fill our tummy.

And there were free coffee and tea too.

We were told that it was quite a dry season, almost drought, and therefore the water volume was low and the waterfall was definitely not at its prettiest moment.

The thing about watching scenery is…..your luck is entirely depending on nature! When my parents were at Milford Sound years ago, it was raining heavily, sea was rocky and the waterfalls were enormous!

Well, I guess I would have still chosen a calm sea otherwise I would be throwing up left and right on the cruise!

The cruise was navigating towards the sea direction.

Nature is such a great painter No one else could have done a better job.

Seals were spotted along the way!

The control room where the humorous captain was sitting.

The sparkly sea water LOVE!

In fact, we were lucky enough to spot some dolphins and a pink penguin! We were told that pink penguin was rare and we were lucky if we saw it.

Our last glimpse of the waterfall before we headed back to the shore.

Honestly, we were disappointed by the waterfalls. We had visions of water splashing our face and awed by the view. Oh well, I guess that’s fate

Right after the cruise, it was already 4.30pm and we had to rush back to the town to check in our hotel and hop on to another cruise.

The Te Anau Glowworm Caves.

Glowworm is not the same as fireflies as they glow constantly, and all the time! They are actually larvae, a predator that emits light to attract insects.

There was even a TV crew from China filming on the site.

However, they were not allowed to film in the caves as the worms are very sensitive to the light or noise, they can die.

The vessel that carried us.

It was a 30mins ride to reach the cave.

We were given a small pamphlet to read about the worms.

Cameras and any recording devices were not allowed in the cave.

We had to walk in the cave to reach the water. The cave is a limestone cave and the view was amazing. There was no modification done to the cave other than building the staircase and walk way. You would have to be careful walking in the cave to avoid slipping and falling into the gushing water. If you had watched the movie Sanctum, you would know what a real cave is like.

It was pitch dark in the cave and the boater navigated the ‘sampan’ by pulling the rope. We were allowed to even talk loudly either.

The view in the cave was amazing! We felt like in a galaxy with stars within our reach. But of course, no touching of worm was allowed either.

After the boat ride, we went to the center and there was a little exhibition hall and followed by a Q&A session.

It was really an experience to be remembered for life.

When we finally reached the ground again it was already 9.30pm and all restaurants had closed.

Thank goodness for a Chinese restaurant which was still opened (surprisingly) and we had a takeaway of Yang Chow fried rice.

After the dinner, it was bed time. And there we ended our day.

Stay tuned for the next day as we visited the Cadbury factory in Dunedin!

Self-Drive Tour: New Zealand South Island Day 6 – Arrowtown and Queestown Onsen (Hot Pool)

sloppychic — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 03:44:40 +0000

Queenstown is the only town that we stayed for 2 days because the scenery is amazing, so much to see, and it is one of the most happening towns!

The next morning, we started the journey to Arrowtown, a town that is about 25 mins away from Queestown.

Arrowtown used to be a mining town in the olden days.

We were greeted by the fallen leaves.

Arrowtown is very well maintained, the shop lots are refurbished but the old looks stay.

There are not many residents in Arrowtown, and most of them are running the businesses on the street.

Wool Press anyone?

It looks very much like WordPress.

There are about 2 rows of shopping streets, where you can really find some bargains if you are looking for knitted wear or boots.

And of course, being a mining town, there must be a gold shop right?

When we saw the old vs new photos of the street, it hasn’t even changed much. But only extended to building some new shops.

After the window shopping, we walked around the town for more photos.

There is a jungle trekking path which will take about an hour’s time.

We did not take the trek as I injured my leg during the Glacier climb so I was actually limping my way.

It was quite cold and we even found frost on the car!

The blue sky, a stream, and fallen leaves, picture perfect!

I still prefer wearing slippers even though it is cold! But of course Not all the time.

After the Arrowtown tour, we drove back to Queenstown for more scenery-discovery moment.

The secret way to Kelvin Peninsula Walkway.

And you find scenery like this.

The reflection of the sun created sparkles like diamonds on the crystal clear surface.

Pollution is really minimal in New Zealand, you hardly find any water that is not crystal clear.

Our main relaxation for the day – Onsen Hot Pools!

We have pre-booked and paid for the onsen ( about NZD$80+ for 2 pax for an hour). Cancellation must be done an hour prior to your appointment because they would heat up the pool before you arrive.

The walkway to the rooms.

A pool can accommodate about up to 4 pax and no, you must keep your swimsuit on.

Towels can be rented there too.

There are a few buttons next to the tub and you can choose to add more cold water, or unwind the window panel.

Lo and behold! The view that we were overlooking while soaking in the water.

The combination of cold weather, hot water and perfect scenery was the best thing of the day.

You can choose to extend your pool time for additional 30 minutes if you wish. Showers are provided too.

We did not stay longer as it was already close to 5pm and we would need dinner before all the shops closed.

There is a shop in town – Ferg Burger, which was crowded day and night!

The Q was always long when we passed by there, and of course, we ought to check the burger out

The huge ass burger at NZD$11, which I thought was not bad at all.

The beef patty was so fresh and juicy, and I thought the highlight had to go to the bun.

The bun had this taste and fragrant that I have never eaten in any other burger before. It was soft yet firm. And no sesame on the bun! Seriously, we would have regretted if we did not try this as this is not available anywhere else in the world.

We headed to some honey and souvenir shopping after getting the burger. This shop carries tonnes of New Zealand made products, eg honey, kiwi-snacks & skincare, shirts, boots etc.

Honey is not the cheapest here, and I suggest you go to hypermarket like Countdown to get, it is few bucks cheaper in supermarket.

We called it a day after the shopping as we had a big day out the next day

Self-Drive Tour: New Zealand South Island Day 5 – Visiting The Most Beautiful Town – Queenstown and Skyline Gondola

sloppychic — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 02:51:08 +0000

After leaving the beautiful Wanaka, we were excited to go our next destination – Queenstown!

We were really eager as we have seen so many beautiful pictures of Queenstown online

The ride to Queenstown was not a whole straight road, we passed though endless winding road before we finally reached. If any consolation, it was the amazing view along the way!

There is a signboard that depicts the landscape of the city.

It was rather cold outside, thank goodness for the heater in car!

*Tip: Bring a thermos with you so you will have supply of hot water in the car because you won’t be able to find any starbucks along the road.

Once we landed, we headed straight to the town center and what greeted us was the sight of the red leaves!

We fell in love with the place already

One of the shopping malls in Queenstown.

It is not like our shopping malls, their shopping malls are smaller, and the highest I have been was only 2-storey.

We were sick of ‘anything n chips’, so decided to go Thai instead at Thai Siam.

They have special promo for lunch which selected meals were only NZS$10. It was considered cheap already.

After the lunch, we parked our car and wandered around the town. Even a little church is beautiful under the always blue sky.

Gothca!

The parking in New Zealand is quite expensive, being at NZD$2 for an hour. They have this rule where the parking lots have signs that show P15, P20, P30, P60 or P120. It means you can only park your car for 15 mins, 20mins ..etc. And your tyre will be marked to not let you park at the same spot again.

Parking in major town centres was really a pain.

The weather was chilly but sun was burning. Only they could sun-bathe, I even had sunburnt even with sunblock already.

The famous Queenstown Lake, as seen it some beautiful pictures.

It was peaceful and serene. Maybe it is why the people there are more courteous than in Malaysia.

Our main spot for the day: Skyline Gondola!

The main activities are Luge ride and buffer dinner.

This is the centre where you will purchase your tickets ( we booked online but payment was only made on the spot).

Then you take the gondola (cable car) up the really steep mountain. Just like the Genting’s, except that this journey is longer and steeper.

Once we reached, we were amazed by the city view!

The luge ride!

This luge (pronounced as – looge) is similar go go-kart, but easier to ride and even kids can ride themselves!

You have 2 tracks to choose from, but first timer must go for the Scenic Ride and experienced riders can go for the Challenging track.

I got off the ride earlier so I could snap a photo

They do have camera to snap your photos, but of course, you can always choose not to buy it if you see yourself looking ridiculous in the photo.

The entrance to the restaurant.

After the ride, we had another 2 hour to spend before our dinner at 6.15pm. Other than browsing through the souvenir shops, you have nothing else to do. So, it is advisable to book the earliest slot. They have lunch buffet too!

Thank goodness for the spacious lounge where you can sit and play Angry Birds while waiting to be called.

Finally!

Unfortunately, we didn’t get to sit by the window. But our view was good enough to look out nonetheless.

They have 3 sessions for the dinner and you have about 1.5 hours to eat before having to leave.

The dining area.

Water, coffee or chocolate are free but you can order wine too. You can see a trend which most of the Caucasians have wines on their table while Asians will just go with whatever is free.

The salad bar.

I did not take any more pictures after this as I think I was the only weirdo who snapped picture of the food!

They have mussels, scallops and prawns as cold dish.

And roast beef and pork too!

The pork was tender soft, juicy and savory!

Along the lounge, you can find the historical development of Queenstown.

In fact, nothing much changed since the old days. Everything is very well-maintained.

The night view of Queenstown. It was only about 8pm and it was completely dark already!

And it was freezing cold! From the Skyline to town centre is only about 5 mins drive.

After the ride down, we headed again to the streets before calling it a day.

The biggest pharmacy in Queenstown – Unichen. It’s like our Guardian, but much bigger!

The busy street in the day turned quiet at night. At least some shops were still open after 8

Then, we returned to our hotel and rested as we had another early day next! We had time of our life in the Onsen Stay tuned!

Self-Drive Tour: New Zealand South Island Day 4 – Beautiful Wanaka Lake and Puzzling World

sloppychic — Wed, 25 May 2011 07:52:20 +0000

After a good night rest in the beautiful motel in Fox Glacier, we had to bid Fox goodbye and head to the next town – Wanaka, which is famous for its beautiful lake.

The beautiful beach as we drove.

The great thing about self-drive is, we can stop as and when we like, to take a wee or to capture a beautiful moment.

We were enchanted by the view!

We did not linger long as there were some kind of insects (like mosquitos but they were not) harassing us as we took the photos.

And and…we even passed by a cliff with gushing stream!

At that moment, there was only calm in my clear mind. Wonderful!

From Fox Glacier to Wanaka was approximately 262km, which was quite a long drive considering the 100km/h speed limit and some windy mountain roads.

I suffered from endless motion sickness! Boy it was so miserable.

Our lunch at a little cafe called Cheeky Monkey.

Beautiful landscape to welcome us to Wanaka.

After grabbing our lunch, we headed to our destination of the day - Puzzling World.

Hello Puzzling World!

Touristy shot with Leaning Tower of Wanaka.

The lobby for ticketing and to the exhibition room. There are puzzles on the tables for you to play with too.

Now, why is it called puzzling world?

Because it has the largest puzzle in the world for humans!

The rule of the puzzle is – you must get to 4 towers in different corners, then find your way out again. The entrance is also the exit. However, there are cheat exits for those who are frustrated or trapped.

Back to the exhibition hall.

Inside the hall, you will find all these 3D image generated by laser beams.

And also a hall of faces, when the faces will rotate and look at you as you walk pass them.

See the fun staircase? I was actually just standing normal, the trick is actually the ground.

You can take the funny slide too which the bottom is actually the higher end.

Another fun room for photo opp – by just standing in different corners, I appear to be so much larger! This illusion was used in the filming of Lord of The Rings too.

The toilet in puzzling world is not just any other toilet, it has this special mural which looks 3D but it’s actually flat.

Story was that the Romans used to go toilet in that fashion with their own toiletries. Can you imagine if our toilet were still like this today? Eeew!

After visiting the Puzzling World, it was almost 5 and time to visit the beautiful Wanaka Lake.

Such beautiful scenery, we really did not want to leave.

It was only close to 6pm and the sky turned dark.

And we saw this beautiful couple with a boy feeding the ducks.

Our apartment for the day – Wanaka Edge Apartment.

It even has a dish washer and oven too!

We were too tired from all the driving and walking, so decided to call it a day by having dinner which we bought from the supermarket.

We snuggled on the couch watching Hell Kitchen and had an early night. We were thankful for the electric blanket which kept us from freezing, as it was only about 1-2 degrees out there.

Our next destination – Queenstown.

Self-Drive Tour: New Zealand South Island Day 3 – Fox Trot: Half Day Fox Glacier Walk

sloppychic — Sun, 22 May 2011 04:46:38 +0000

After our Whale Watch in Kaikoura, we left the town and headed to our next destination, which was the most strenuous activity in our itinerary – Fox Glacier Walk.

Town – Greymouth.

Before reaching the Fox Glacier, we had to stop by a town for a night because the journey was really long and the sky turned dark as early as 6pm. So we needed a place to rest for the night.

As you can see from the picture, Greymouth is almost a dead town! There were not many shops on the street (with 30% of them have been closed down).

The main street was even quiet in the morning! It is a really pity that the town is now deserted. It was a busy pier back then.

Since there was nothing much to see, so we left at about 8am to our destination – Fox Glacier.

In the South Island, there are 2 glaciers which are: Fox Glacier and Franz Joseph Glacier.

You can opt to have heli-hike or hike up this mountains.

We booked a Half Day Glacier Walk through their website earlier, which is about 4.5 hours of walk. The tour cost us NZD$99/pax which included the rental of boots and crampons. Or even raincoat if you want.

Our lunch at the cafe in Fox Glacier shop. Hot chocs are all pretty there!

Japanese fried rice and a jumbo sausage roll. It tasted exactly like luncheon meat.

Our hike was 1.35pm and a bus sent us to the foot of the mountain from the station.

This was our starting point. So far! *gasp* I almost fainted at this point already.

It is a 40-min walk from the ground to the glacier.

The information board for you to read.

We were told that the glacier has receded at least 1-2km over the years. We were glad that we opted the hike option as I don’t think hiking will be possible anymore down the years if the glacier continues to recede.

Every guided tour has a guide that leads and explains the scenery as you hike.

Danger signs before you can hike further. Without a tour, you are not able to surpass a limit where the challenge starts because the rocks can fall anytime!

A backpack is compulsory for you to place your crampons (the spikes that attach to your boots to walk on ice).

As you can see, it is definitely not as easy as you might think. It is rocky and also steep. In fact, it was tougher than I had expected!

I definitely regretted for not exercising daily prior to this hike. And oh, it was my first time hiking too!

The rented boots and crampons. We were told to put it on before we reach the ice.

The climb up hill was really tiring and I had to take off my jacket was I began to feel sweaty.

Hello long walk up!

It was slippery and the path was so narrow that I was not able to place my feet parallely. And part of the ice was like crushed ice (similar to ice-kacang) and not exactly solid. So as you walk, it is safer to hold on to the rope at the side to be alive.

When we finally reached the glacier, the view was amazing! I couldn’t help but to feel belittled by the nature.

An obligatory tourist’s shot.

Our guide dug a hole with the axe to show us what’s underneath. And you can just drink the water underneath the ice to keep you youthful.

Yeay we made it in one piece!

It’s safer to have gloves on in case of slipping you can use your hands to grab anything near to keep yourself balanced.

Just when I thought walking up was tough, walking down the ice stairs was even scarier! I wouldn’t even call it walking.. it was more like slipping my way down.

After the long exercise, we finally checked into our motel and settled down.

We were amazed by the view of the motel! It even had a huge LCD TV!

Needless to say, we were starving after the hike and headed to dinner without shower.

There were not many choices for dinner (I think only 2 restaurants opened).

Our dinner for the night. A kid next table shouted in disbelief when I snapped the photos of our food. O_o

We had our breakfast outdoor overlooking the breath-taking scenery. Unfortunately, we had to pack up and leave Fox Glacier after a glorious breakfast (we had Maggie cup noodles and coffee with the beautiful scenery).

The scenery just got even prettier as we drove. Will be sharing in the next post!

And and we discovered 4 Square supermarket in New Zealand!

Self-Drive Tour: New Zealand South Island Day 2 – Whale Watch in Kaikoura

sloppychic — Sun, 15 May 2011 23:02:23 +0000

We installed NZ map on our phone so we can navigate around even more easily!

Driving in New Zealand is definitely enjoyable, drivers are courteous, speed limit signs are clear, roadsigns are obvious, although they don’t have much highway on the road, but all the trunk roads are very good in condition. And usually the speed limit is either 60km/hr or 100km/h.

Beautiful scenery along the way.

And oh, you might find huts like these which are public toilets. ALL FREE. And most of them are really clean even though they look deserted.

After almost 2.5 hr drive, we finally reached Kaikoura.

After checking in to our Willow Bank Motel, it was already almost 4pm. We headed out immediately to tour the town before the sky turned dark.

There will be another post with photos of all the motels we have stayed

Most of the seas or lakes are really beautiful! Clean and soft sand, and always blue sky. It is not easy to find garbage bin on the road but all the places are clean!

Even the stones look so beautiful!

A monument was built in memories of those who sacrificed themselves in the South African War 1899-1902.

Every place is just so beautiful!

It was almost 6 and you see how fast it turns dark?

Most of the shops were already closing so we just hopped into a shop that was still open – Why Not Cafe.

Interesting name.

My fish and chips burger. It was a mega huge portion and I barely ate half.

The beef burger with chips.

Each cost about NDZ$11.50.

Most of the food choices there are something + chips, eg fish and chips, burger and chips, sandwich and chips.

I have burger and chips phobia now already!

We settled down in our motel after our dinner at about 6.45pm, street was almost empty.

We had a good rest that night. In the morning, we had to pack up our stuff and check out already and head to our purpose – Kaikoura Whale Watch.

It was only about <10 mins drive from our motel. You will have to check in at this center to redeem your tickets (we booked online and paid in advance). The good thing is also the flexibility they gave us. We booked for 10am watch but we boarded at 9.30am since we were early. YEAY!

Whale Watch tickets aren’t cheap, it cost us NZ$145/pax, which is close to RM330+ for 3.5 hour of boat ride. If the sea is rocky or rain on that day, trips will be cancelled and you will be refunded. And in the event of no whale is spotted, it’s 80% money back for you.

The souvenir shop in the centre. Most of the items are pricey but I did pick up a fridge magnet

They have anti-nausea pills for those who suffer from sea-sick too.

And I did… -_-”’

Our vessel for the day – Aoraki, which is named after the highest mountain in New Zealand (Aoraki/Mount Cook).

Could you spot the Sperm Whale behind me?

It was a sunny day and sea was considerably calm. But soon, the motion sickness got better of me

The captain was a funny dude, as he was broadcasting on the vessel about the sea, some background, and also alerting us the appearance of whale or dolphins.

It was not easy to detect the fish, they used a stick which detects movement of the sea creatures by radio frequency. We were ‘lucky’ that day because the sperm whale decided to float for about 30mins before it dived in. It usually floats only for 10-15 mins. And the kids on board started to get irritated because it was boring watching the whale that did not do anything.

After some long good wait, we finally spotted its tail!

And, we moved further and spotted schools of cute wild dolphins.

See the stunts? They are really cute!

After the whale watching, it was time for us to move to another town for our next activity – which was a physically challenging glacier hike! View was absolutely breath-taking. Stay tuned!

Self-Drive Tour: New Zealand South Island Day 1 – Christchurch

sloppychic — Fri, 13 May 2011 03:23:03 +0000

Visiting New Zealand was not in our planning, but since Japan trip was cancelled due to the quake, 2 of us immediately brain stormed for the next destination to go, after about 2 weeks of planning, we executed our journey successfully

We are really glad that we did this, although we really wanted to go Japan, but New Zealand is a beautiful place nonetheless

I will document our whole trip, if you are going to tour New Zealand (South Island) on self-drive, you are welcome to ask for my itinerary as a reference

*We picked a hot seat (+RM160) which I think totally worth it!

Air Asia flights to New Zealand are rather limited, there was only one flight to Christchurch in the morning (8.30am) and it’d be an 11+ hour flight so by the time we reached Christchurch, it was already near midnight.

Thank goodness our car rental Budget Car Rental counter was right at the airport, so it was a breeze to pick up our car. We had booked the car in advanced so there were not many procedures to picking it up. We rented for 12 days and it cost us about NZD$680 (~RM1632) which was not too bad. But, the petrol is not cheap in New Zealand, which is about NZD$2.2+- per litre. And more expensive in smaller towns.

New Zealand is UTC +12:00 so it is 4 hours in advance of Malaysian time, and the sky turns dark at 6pm!

Our hotel for the first night: Abbey Motel. Motels are abundance in New Zealand, and B&B is a great choice too!

An average price for a motel per night is about RM200-RM300.

Fast forward to the next morning, we checked out from our Motel and toured Christchurch city a little and to our shock, the quake damage was worse than we had read!

It’s definitely not a pretty sight

The famous Cathedral square was closed and no one could enter the area as they have fenced it up with police guarding.

I must say that shopping in New Zealand is really minimal other than groceries. They have large supermarket like Tesco, but the famous ones are: Park’n'Save, New World, which we found MANY interesting fruit juices!

Before we headed to our next destination – Kaikoura for whale watch the next day, we grabbed our brunch at a restaurant nearby. It was Easter weekend and many shops were closed! Easter is big there and they had holidays for 4 days.

Our breakfast cost us about NZD$30 in total and definitely not a cheap one. But the portion was huge!

After a quick refill to our tummy, we started our driving tour to Kaikoura which is about 190km away from Christchurch.

In the next post, I will share my whale watching experience