NZ Part 14 : The Road That Leads To Home

This is (hopefully) the last entry on this series.

Kata Ziela, there are too many posts that she cant keep up with everything. Haha. Sorry everybody, but I have to rush these posts. After all life goes on and I have too many things to tell. Bak seperti yang dibaca di WA recently - malaikat maut pun asyik menjenguk kita setiapa detik! (does this relate..?)

Nevertheless.

This is the last leg of our journey. From the glaciers we drove North through seaside towns and then across the Southern Alps heading back to Christchurch.

Beautiful landscapes.

We stopped at Hokitika for prayer and fish and chips. Namun f&c di Kaikoura juga yang masih unbeatable.

It was quite late when we arrived in Arthur's Pass. Mana tidak nye. Jalan ke Arthur's Pass agak jauh and it was a rather tricky route. Mountains and gorges and rivers and bridges. Nak menyeberang gunung kan. And curves and bends.

Arthur's Pass Village pun agak kecil. Tak ada apa di sini kecuali to explore the mountains. Air terjun. Hiking. BUT. If you are here you must take the Tranz Alpine train. The scenery is really something (or so I read). But we didnt do that. Because the train ride costs the earth and where would we put the camper van pulak kalau nak naik train.

The evening was cold and wet. We spent the night at the DOC campsite in Arthur's Pass, with a few other campers. Tak ada apa nak buat di sini sebab it was late and raining too. We took time to pack our bags as it was our last night on the camper.

The road into Canterbury and Christchurch was beautiful. Nothing but open space and the mountains (boleh imagine la LOTR was filmed here).

Then out of nowhere on the mountain road we'd see junkies like this.

Alhamdulillah we made it safe to Christchurch. Without a scratch. Dan tanpa sebarang calar to the camper van pun. We emptied out all the waste water. Fill up the gas. And the cooking gas too. Kalau tak you'll be slapped with a few hundred dollars fine.

We returned the camper van intact to its depot (we said bye2 to the camper that was our home for 2 weeks). Jonas from the Euro Campervan depot drove us to Christchurch airport. He is a German who now live in NZ (me to hubs, can we move here like Jonas, you think..?)

We flew back to Auckland on Air NZ. And then on MH the next day to KL.

It was lovely (to the power of infinity). In fact lovely couldnt even start describing the whole journey. MasyaaAllah, nikmat Allah.

We will return! InsyaaAllah.



~ xoxo

NZ Part 13 : The Land of Glaciers

Our last planned stops in NZ is the glaciers which is up north on the west cost. Which means we traveled on the opposite side of the mountains and Mount Cook, by the sea.

We drove through Wanaka; also a rather popular tourist destination.

This is one of the attractions in Wanaka. The Puzzling World. Namun kami tidak masuk; only a quick stop for pictures. We are after all on a scenic tour..

We stopped at the lavender farm in Wanaka. Sebenarnya saya terjumpa website ini di internet; but forgot to explore further. Lagi pun saya ingat kami tak punyai masa. Namun, we saw its signage and decided to stop. I am happy that we did. Because although it was a rather short visit, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

It was beautiful and quite unforgetful. There was a lavender farm (of course), a beautiful rose garden, friendly sheep that you can feed. An awesome scenery. And a quaint and beautifully smelled shop that has lots of lavender products. Yang sebenarnye, even the restroom was cantik dan sangat wangi dengan lavender.

We had chocolate and lavender flavored ice cream (which Kaia tak suka..) I like it because it is different and we are a lavender farm after all. Saya tanya ingredients ice cream and the helpful guy behind the counter kata all natural products dengan cuma cream (from the farm down the road) dan telur dan tiada preservatives (doesnt that sound like music to you..?)

But unfortunately, almost all the lavenders are harvested, except some in the garden. We will return in spring when the fields are full of lavenders. InsyaaAllah.

And I asked hubs, do you think lavenders will grow in Msia? And also, can we move here you think..?

We continued our journey to the glaciers through beautiful lakes.

And mountains and farms. More sheep and cows, of course. And some beach. But throughout the journey we mostly passed by forests unlike the rainforest here at home. Mungkin pokok saja yang berbeza. But dense green forests. Dan bermacam2 jenis water falls, high ones and tiny ones. Dan berbagai sungai. And one way bridges (which is actually quite common in NZ in fact).

And the road was seriously isolated. Very few vehicles that we pass by. Tapi ada beberapa cyclists along the way (I call them adrenaline junkies -- chewwah, dah pandai).

We got to Fox Glacier quite late in the afternoon. There was a light shower so everything was misty and cloudy. And cold.

The road to Fox Glacier. Mountains and rivers and waterfalls.



It takes about 45 minutes to walk from the parking lot to the glacier. For me that walk took longer. We pass by streams and hills. But it was an alright walk actually. Naik dan turun bukit. Not too bad.

And I dont think I have seen so many rainbows except here. Merata2 nampak rainbow.

And this is how the glacier is like from a distance. The high hills / mountains rather block the glacier from far. Bila dah dekat glacier nampak besar (namun tak besar macam Franz Josef Glacier).

And this is the closest that you can get to the glacier. You can only go closer if you have a guide with you.

We spent the night at a nice camping ground with full facilities.

And that is Mount Cook from the other side of the Southern Alps.

We got to Franz Josef Glacier the next morning. The glacier is much bigger then Fox. Dan lebih ramai orang. We were thinking that we should do one glacier only tapi lepas tu fikir balik, dah sampai kan. Ada ke nak datang sekali lagi ke sini?

Jadi digagahkan jugak memanjat.

That's how big the glacier is. Sangat ramai orang yang visit. We walked along river beds, and hills and waterfalls. The river was where the glacier used to be but has receded over the years. Nanti lama2 takde langsung dah glacier pun agaknye.

Di sini, lebih jauh kena berjalan. Maybe like an hour and a half or so (one way, fyi). Budak2 of course tinggalkan kami di belakang.

Nampak tak tinggi sebab dah digagah juga panjat habis bukit-gunung untuk sampai ke Franz Josef.

I asked the boys if they want to get on the chopper to the glacier. Tapi semua kata tak mau. Tapi bila balik lagi nak bagitau saya, mama kita boleh turun helikopter and berjalan di atas glacier tu rupanya. Saya tarik muka 14 haha.. sebab memang Lil dah bercerita begitu (she has done it in fact. Kata Lil, siap dapat certificate sebab berjalan di atas glacier tu). And I have told them over and over. Letih. Never mind, we will do that the next time (haha). InsyaaAllah.

Turun dari glacier kami semua lunyai. Terus masak maggi dalam camper dan makan! Never maggi tasted so good.

Namun. Amat berbaloi to walk to both glaciers. My motivation has always been : dah sampai, kalau tak buat bila lagi nak sampai pulak? Mungkin Allah dah tak mudahkan dah di lain kali. Dan Alhamdulillah dengan berbagai rezeki yang dikurniakan Allah.

After Franz Josef we traveled back to Christchurch via Arthur's Pass, a small town on the Southern Alps. The last leg of the journey. Next.



~ xoxo

NZ Part 12 : The South and the Fiordland

Dari Queenstown we pushed on to south. Saya dah letih bercerita tentang pemandangan sepanjang jalan yang amat cantik! haha.. But please read it as so, although I do not specifically write about that.

We stopped at Athol about an hour drive from Queenstown, where the world famous Stu fly fishing shop is located. Kata hubs, I dont do fly fishing (or any fishing anymore, tambah saya). Saya terbaca di internet dan ternampak sign board di jalan lalu kami berhenti.

Kerja saya macam biasa - tangkap gambar dan beli fridge magnet! Kalau hubs tak fly fish apa lagi lah saya.

We continued to Invercargill. In fact tak berhenti pun di Invercargill. Cuma lalu sahaja. Tak terbaca tourist attraction di situ. But if you are heading to Dunedin, kena lalu sini dan diceritakan dalam internet jalan Invercargill - Dunedin juga teramat cantik. Namun we dont have the time for that otherwise we will miss the glaciers.

So we moved on to Bluff, the southernmost town in the South Island. When I wrote about Bluff oysters in the post on Kaikoura, this is where the oysters come from. And I love our pictures in Bluff..

The iconic directions post in Bluff.

The B&B is aptly called Land's End. And the road to the light house is posted as private property. A pity.

We went up on a steep hill for a scenic view of land's end and where a no camper sign is posted at the top (kalau letak di bawah tentulah kami dah tak naik). The road was seriously curam and straight.

And had fish and chips for lunch. They dont have oysters although the sign said otherwise. I like how the order was wrapped in clean white grease paper (teringat di UK they put the fish in newspapers - is that still how it is, I wonder).

We then drove up north again to Te Anau and Milford Sound. Te Anau is a small tourist town, serving the fiordland by the Lake Te Anau (of course). We put up the night at Te Anau at a place that faces the sunset on the hills where faraway you can see more hills, mountains and lakes.

We drove to Milford Sound early the next morning; wanting to beat the late morning crowd from Queenstown. Unfortunately it was cloudy. We were told it rains almost everyday there.

The scenery was of course lovely. The road is the steepest here than anywhere else we travelled in NZ. Saya agak kalau dah lalu jalan ni takkan kect perut drive di mana2 jalan yang lain.. I was more afraid of the wet weather on the steep road. The road could be closed at times in winter depending on weather. Memang memandu di puncak bukit-bukau gunung-ganang.

To get to Milford Sound we drove through hills and rivers and savannah grass land. Cantik. And lakes and forests. Through tunnel and mists. Tight corners and winding roads.

What can I say? Kalau dalam cloudy day gambar macam ni, can you imagine what it would be like on a bright sunny day?

We took a cruise on the sound. And went out to the Tasman Sea, tapi sebab the sea was choppy we didnt make it that far out. Bagus cruise tu; there were waterfalls, seals, seagulls. On a lucky day you may even see dolphins. We were not that lucky. Hot drinks are complimentary, sebab sejuk on the boat.

We will come again on a sunny day..

We returned to Queenstown but detoured to a charming small town called Arrowtown about half an hour drive from there. In autumn, the whole place turned glorious into autumn colors of gold. Saya agak kecewa kerana kami agak awal for the fall colors. A charming woman at the Kaikoura camp site said oh you must come in April - May dear for the colors. Hmmpf. Internet kata April.

Arrowtown sangat cantik. Secantik Colorado semasa late summer & fall.

We walked and take photos around the small town. Saya agak locals sure agak2 letih tengok tourists datang ke situ. The tourists come in buses!

I was hoping to see the hills at the back in gold! And sebab Arrowtown sangat cantik, saya tanya hubs; do you think we can stay here maybe..?




~ xoxo

NZ Part 11 : Where Adrenaline Runs High @ Queenstown

The landscape from Mount Cook to Queenstown is very diversified. We pass through lakes, hills and gorge, valleys and passes, farms and vineyards.

We drove through Cromwell that is known for farming and fruits. And then through the quite notorious Lindis Pass where the road is actually at the highest elevation in the South Island; with tight corners and turns and up hills and downhills. Katanya sangat cantik semasa winter when the hills are dusted with snow.

We also passed by the renowned AJ Hacket bungy jump site. But there were no takers for the bungy from our faint-hearted camper passengers.. haha. And we also drove through the Kawarau Gorge yang - and let me repeat myself over and over - teramat cantik. Dan di sini juga terletaknya the Roaring Meg Stream and dam and also the Roaring Meg hydro station. The water is bluer than blue. From the name you can imagine what the flow of the water is like - exactly that - roaring.

We made a quick stop at the river look-out; just enough time for us to have a look and take some photos. We then ran back to the camper and continued on to Queenstown. (ps - sila ingat gambar pemuda yang bergaya macho - konon - yang memakai baju kuning ini..)

We came to Queenstown which is sooo beautiful on the edge of Lake Wakatipu.

Queenstown views.

Queenstown is called the adrenaline junkie heaven. Apa yang tak ada di sini - bungy jumping, paragliding, mountain biking, skiing, jet boating, hot air balloon rides, luge, white water rafting, sky diving dan entah apa lagi. Just name your game.

We took the gondola (that is the cable car for you and me here).

The view from the top is really something. You can see the lakes for miles and miles.

We went on the luge. The boys loved the rides. But I enjoyed the view even more. Saya tak pandai luge; not my game. The boys zinged past me.



I call this ski lifts / chairs. Tapi sebab kat sini tak de snow tak tahu nak panggil apa.. lol.. Anyway. You need to take this lift in order to ride the luge. Saya suka scenery yang amat cantik. Namun sangat gayat! All the time I was thinking, why did I ever agree to this?

If bungy jumping is your cup of tea, you can jump off this ledge too.

Ini selingan - remember the pemuda berbaju kuning dalam gambar di atas?

This was what he was wearing, in fact. Beratus km dia pandu di NZ dengan berpelikat! Bila tangkap gambar dia berpesan, snap dada ke atas saja.. (after all the camper was our home for a while)

We camped at a huge camp ground with full facilities in Queenstown. It reminds me of the college residence hall of my younger days. Clean. Very well maintained. Dan cerah!

Our camp site. See how many campers there are here.  It is located just a mere 10mins walk from the town center and the gondola (that is why it is popular I suppose). So after Maghrib we walked to the shops looking for souvenirs. Lots of souvenirs can be found in Queenstown - those in Asian owned shops are almost always cheaper..

More views of the camp site. Macam2 ragam.

Sunrise on our camping ground.

We moved on further south after Queenstown to Invercargill, Bluff and Milford Sound. And then returned to Queenstown for an extra night before moving north towards the glaciers.

I think I will keep the NZ posts short from here on. Have to keep moving!




~ xoxo

NZ Part 10 : The Highest Peak @ Mount Cook

Mount Cook adalah antara tempat yang kami singgah yang saya amat2 kagumi. It is awesome. Dan best sangat2.

Our journey from Methven (dan hot air balloon ride yang tidak kesampaian) takes us through farms and hills and amazing NZ landscapes.

 We stopped at a local farm we passed by in Geraldine and got local honey and home made jam. And plums and peaches. And apples that had a sign that read picked this morning from our farm. No other apples tasted so good (the kids thought so too).

Sayang it was cloudy with some showers that day. Kalau tak gambar mungkin jadi lebih cantik.

And then we saw the first indication of the mountains, far away.

Sebelum sampai Mount Cook we got to Lake Tekapo. Kata internet, mesti singgah di sini kerana pemandangan gunung dan tasik yang amat cantik. Air yang teramat biru.

We stopped and we concur. Pemandanganan amat cantik. But we missed nak tangkap gambar di tasik dengan reflection gunung di air. Tak teringat. We will do that when we come next time.. InsyaaAllah.

We also passed by and stopped to take photos at Lake Pukaki.

Almost there - a closer view of Mount Cook.

We stopped for some photos.

Dan anak2 tangkap gambar di tengah jalan. I said, do you have to? Walaupun jalan agak lengang kerana jalan ini tidak ke tempat lain kecuali ke Mount Cook Village. Kata Luqman, ma that is his dream in coming to NZ. I know kan.. I do not comprehend either.

We camped at the White Horse Hill camping site. With toilets and dump station (kalau tak ada shower tu maknanya kami tak mandi malam tu .. haha.. siapa ingat orang putih mandi tiap2 hari?) And anyway it was too cold to mandi. You need thick clothes here. This is the closest you can get to Mount Cook via road because the road stops here.

Amat ramai campers lain di sini. Kami pilih parking yang sesuai dengan qiblat sebab bersolat di luar amat sejuk; terutama untuk Subuh.

Mount Cook is located in the New Zealand Dark Sky Reserve which means it has one of the most darkest skies in the world. We waited for night fall for the star gazing experience. I suppose other campers have the same idea too.

Sambil menanti senja saya membaca beberapa ayat al Quran dan kebetulan terjumpa ayat ini,

إِنَّ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْ‌ضِ لَآيَاتٍ لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ
Sesungguhnya pada langit dan bumi terdapat tanda-tanda (yang membuktikan kekuasaan Allah) bagi orang-orang yang beriman.
(Surah al Jaathiyah; 45:3)

and I prayed may we always be thankful and be amazed with Allah's creations and benevolence. Dan menjadi sebaik2 hambaNya. InsyaaAllah.
  

Anyway.

Kami nak ikut tour pergi stargazing and see the skies through powerful lenses; but that meant more $! Jadi malam tu kami star gaze from our camp site.The night was very cold. Tapi memang the sky was sprinkled with much more stars I have seen anywhere else.

Early morning we went out and look at the sky again. Lebih banyak bintang termasuk milky way pun boleh nampak (and a couple of shooting stars!) We should have gone on the paid star gazing tour. We will do that next time..

Our last view/photos of the mountain. We will return! InsyaaAllah.

I said to hubs, do you think we can move here? No, it is too cold was the answer I got.




~ xoxo