4 days in ADELAIDE

The long Easter weekend has arrived and Adelaide here I come. Was a 4 days journey to the driest state in the driest continent, South Australia. Kangaroo Island was the first destination and the trip stated as early as 6am. We drove from Adelaide city to Wirrina Cove for a two hours ferry ride to Kingscote. The view was amazing as the full moon was still visible with the sun slowly climbing up. The ferry ride was very refreshing and relaxing, with the cool air blowing onto your face and the ray of sunlight warming you up. Just perfect.

At the Remarkable Rocks. Just some rocks with weird looking shapes.

At the Admirals Arch. There were New Zealand fur seals just laying aka lazing on the rocks. They should be more creative with the names, not just describing with some adjectives; remarkable, admiral =P

Next destination was the Seal Bay Conservation Park. There were plenty of Australian sea lions laying on the beach and we were on the same beach as them! The seals were just a meter or two away from us. They are endangered species compared to the New Zealand fur seals which are expanding (hmphh). There were mix feeling when I was there. I felt bad for invading their space. Imagine thousand pairs of eyes looking at your while your are sleeping. But it was also a way to educate us about this animal. I felt touch when I saw a young sea-lion looking for his mum for milk. He was approaching the female sea-lions on by one but he was turned away at every attempt. "A female will only look after the new pup and generally fights off the previous season's pup if it attempts to continue to suckle from her". I hope that this little pup will eventually find his mum We had dinner before heading to Penneshaw Penguin Centre to see penguins. They were adorable but noisy. Haha.

Done with Kangaroo Island, we headed to Victor Harbour, Fleurieu Peninsula. A scroll down the bridge will lead to Granite Island for more penguins. We had enough of penguins and hence we also walked half way and turned back. Haha.

South Australia is famous for their wine and a trip to the winery should not be miss. We went to McLaren Vale where they were heaps of cellar doors and had some wine tasting. Penfolds Maggil Estate, just 8km of Adelaide city centre was closed by the time we reached. Too bad then.

We headed to North Terrace for Northern Lights. It was held in conjunction with Adelaide Bank Festival of Arts. It was supposed to end on the 16th March but due to overwhelming response, it was extended until the end of the month. So we were lucky to be able to catch it. The city historic architectural icons such as the state library, museum, art gallery and University of Adelaide were projected with constant changing jaw-dropping designs aka the electric canvas. It was spectacular as the buildings were lighten up with every single details of the building being accounted for. Below is just the different designs potraying on one of the building.

This isn't just an ordinary red truck. It sells green-pea soup with pie, a trademark of Adelaide City. It tasted not bad.

The following day, we went to Glenelg. It is Adelaide's version of Gold Coast's Surfers Paradise but smaller and nearer to the city.

Then, we went to Hahndorf, the oldest German town in Australia. We went to Beerenberg Strawberry Farm. I bought heaps of jams and spreads as they were cheap =p. Can't miss out tasting German food. So we went to German Arms Hotel for some German sausages and Franziskaner beer.

My Adelaide trip was completed with a trip to Alex Gauld's farm. Hehe. His farm is just 2 mins away from Hahndorf. How could I miss it. He brought me and Chee Wai for a tour around his farm. It was interesting. Saw sheeps and more sheeps. There were chickens as well and we caught some of them to pose for pictures. Haha. Thanks Alex for the short tour.

My final day was a chocolate day. I had choc waffles with strawberry for breakfast at Cocolat with Hola. Yum yum. Then bought some Haigh's chocolate which originated from Adelaide. Had chocolate bubble tea and dim sum for lunch with Ru Hui. And rocky road and hot chocolate at Cocolat again, but at the airport this time for dinner. Hoho. Overdose with chocolate by the time I get back to Brisbane.

I love their Central Market. Practically everything can be found there. Fresh veges, fruits, meat, seafood, cheese etc. If only there was something similar in Brisbane that is easily accessible. Haha.

Adelaide is pretty good. Kinda like the city. Thanks a lot to Yeap for allowing me to crash at his place despite not knowing him before the trip. Hehe. I am glad to be able to make at least one new friend each trip!!

The Phantom of the Opera

Even since my first year, I have always wanted to watch a musical/play. And studying overseas makes it easier as there are plenty of performances here compare to back home. But it never happen until my final year of uni when it strike me that I don't have much time left. Nevertheless, all the procrastination was worth-while. It is this year that Phantom of the Opera is showing at QPAC (Queensland Performing Art Centre), South Bank. Since it is a famous show and a lot of great comments about it, my friends and I decided to watch the Phantom.

I have never watched the movie or read the book before. So, it was all brand new to me. The performance was simply amazing and absolutely awesome. The voices were incredible. There were so much details for just a pair of eyes to watch, simply not enough. It was indeed a good experience.

Housewarming

The series of housewarming started at the first weekend back to uni. Kev and Ernest had a potluck dinner on Friday night. Followed by Pey Weon the next night. Two days of housewarming in a row. Crazy. (sorry la, no pics to put up) The following weekend was my turn. A new house with new housemates. Started setting up the house and preparing food the day before and on the day itself. By 7pm it was all ready to hold a whole bunch of friends. People started turning up real slow. But once the pace initiated, people kept following in. Haha. There were people in every area of the house. It was indeed a successful party. Enough of food and drinks for everyone. The number of people that turned out was also manageable. It was a good night and I hope everyone enjoyed themselves. But the series of housewarming doesn't end here. There are more to come in the following weekends up to the Easter holiday. Haha. Everyone is just using it as an excuse to gather and catch up.

The housemates!!

The ex-housemates

Some of the friends that turned up.

The people in the circle from different angle that were playing some games.

The cam-whoring began with the girls. But it did not take long for the guys to join in =P.

10 days in New Zealand

Just thought of following my trend to start blogging/re-blogging by writing about my trip to overseas. This time the destination was New Zealand. I have always been wanting to go to New Zealand but 3 years have gone by and I never step into the The Land of the Long White Clouds. And I wasn't my intention to go over this summer. Raymond tempted me with a road trip from Auckland down all the way to Christchurch. It was a good opportunity to see what New Zealand has to offer. Being able to take one week off my lab work, why not go then. Celest managed to get time off from her summer work as well. Finally, she managed to persude Roger to join the trip. An awesome crew was formed and off we go. For the details of the trip, refer to Celest's blog. Haha.

1) Epic Journey from Auckland to Christchurch: Part 1

2) Epic Journey from Auckland to Christchurch : Part 2

3) Epic Journey: Part 3 - Poyo pics

I'll just post more picture =P.

DAY 1

While the guys were busy 'hunting' for lunch, the girls just sat around and busy taking pictures =P Cockles and mussels for lunch!! Fresh ones taste sooo good. I usually dont like to eat shells creature but I would say that time was an exception. Bottom right pic: me using my skills as a sandwich girl to prepare some sandwiches for lunch. Lol

Second round of fishing for the day at Opua. Better luck this time and hence fresh yummy dinner!! Caught a fish, snapper for the first time. Each of us contributed a little for the dinner. Haha.

DAY 2

Took a ferry over to Russells and just wandering around the town.

Had a quick pitstop at this interesting toilet. Made of recycle stuff.

DAY 3

On the way to Tauranga for the night, we stopped by Paeroa, the birth place L&P. Lemon & Paeroa is a sweet soft drink manufactured in New Zealand, combininig lemon juice with carbonated mineral water. Nothing interesting about it though =P. Ray drove us around Tauranga, to show off the place where he stayed over the summer.

Whitewater rafting at the Rangitaiki river. Initial plan was to do the Kaituna which has a 7m fall but the water level was not high enough due to lack of rain in New Zealand over the summer. It wasn't very adventureous. Nonetheless, I managed to fall off the raft within the first half and over at just a mild rapid. It happen so quickly. No one was ready for it but luckily I was pulled back in by Raymond. We had a laugh about it. But thats not the end. I fall off again when trying to touch the hanging bridge with my paddle. And this time I knocked Raymond down into the water as well. Haha. I suppose the falling off the raft makes this 2 hours rafting interesting. And just gotta let Celest and Roger have a taste of falling off by deliberately pushing them. Lol

After white water rafting, we headed straight for luge. Bought the 5 round pass. Went for scenic route twice, the first was just to have a taste of what luge is like, how to control it etc. The second was to stop by every pit stop and pose for the camera. Lol. Went for intermediate route twice and once for advance. It was fun watching the guys race. It was a battle of secondary school rivary since both the guys were from Kuching. Every now and then I challenged them as well. Trying to block each other, banging into one another. It was fun trying to go down hill and trying not to break. Hehe.

DAY 4

Aratiatia dam release. I didn't know that dam release would be so interesting. Look at the little creek forming into a river. Simply stunning.

The guys picking wild berries. It was yummy delicious. Then, we visited an art centre. Not willing to pay entrance fees. Haha. But I end up buying a necklace from there. Loving it. And since there was free entry and honey tasting, it was worth making another pit stop. After all, we were very flexible with our journey.

Crates of the moon. Just took a slow stroll around it, seeing smoke coming out from everywhere.

We were actually driving around looking for Lake Taupo for a picnic spot when we came across Taupo Bungy. Since we were there, why not just bungy since Raymond and I have not done it before. Haha. Without much mental preparation, we just jumped. It was pretty good because I don't have much time to think or to feel fear. It helps me to jump down easier =P

Raymond in action.

Then, is my turn. And I managed to dunk half body into the water. Wohoo. Everything happen quite fast. I could only scream once I am out of the water. Haha. It was pretty awesome but I still prefer sky dive =P. Finally, we managed to find Lake Taupo. Enough of detour. Is time for lunch. And this is what we did after filling our stomach. Not enough of jumping from bungy, more jumping happened. This time Roger and Celest joined in the fun of jumping. Haha. Lake Taupo is very huge. Driving around it to continue on with our journey and another pit stop for more photo shotting. Enough with all the jumping and adrenaline, time for some quiet moment. Everyone wants to be a model. Haha. Being the only one from Australia and haven't seen a mud pool, we stopped by to see some 'blupp'. The sulfur smell was also strong. Stinky.

Spend the night at Palmerston North. A proper meal at last after many days of Woollies roast chicken, coleslaw and bread. Haha.

DAY 5

Being the odd one out again, travelling with three engineers I did learn more about engineering this trip. Not surprising that they were interested to visit the windfarm although it was out of the way and lots of windy road. It was pretty amazing especially when you stand directly underneath it. At certain point we could feel like our heads were being chopped off by the blade. Scary.

Next destination was Wellington. We visited the Te Papa museum (twice!!) and learnt more about the Maori culture. Since it is the capital of New Zealand, we went to have a look at the parliment. Saw Victoria Uni as well. I guess every big city has a botanical garden. Visited the Botanic Garden of Wellington and took more photos.

The best place to visit at night is a lookout. Mt Victoria lookout. It was so windy and I had to jump up and down to keep myself warm as I was only in shorts and a thin jumper. Haha. Plan to picnic at the lookout was cancelled too because the windy could just blow our food away. Lol

DAY 6

The next morning, we took Bluebridge ferry to the South Island. It was a 3 hours journey, so Raymond entertained us with his card tricks. And we even saw some dolphins.

Long and windy roads to get to French Pass. The destination was beautiful and lucky us, we managed to get a spot to pitch our tent despite being fully booked. The scenary all along the way was amazing. There is alot that the nature has to offer and it is up to us to explore it. Despite being car sick, I would say it was worth it.

We celebrated Valentines there. It was good timing. At a peace and serene atmosphere with amazing views, there wasn't any better way than to spend it with this bunch of lovely friends.

DAY 7

We stopped by at Nelson for some wine-tasting. We bought a bottle of Riesling Ice wine. Haha It was gloomy and raining when we reached Maruia Hot Springs. But it did not stop us from soaking ourselves in the outdoor hot pool and indoor Japanese bath house. That was our last stop before heading towards Christchurch.

DAY 8

As the weather in Christchurch wasn't too inviting, we just stayed home. Bohooo. The highlight of the day was a yummy dinner at QPot. Supposingly the no 1 Chinese restaurant in Christchurch. After a week of simple, instant food, is time for us to have good food everyday. Yahoo.

DAY 9

It was bright and sunny the next day. Awesome weather. We headed towards Christchurch city with the newly arrived juniors. Just can't miss out the botanic garden. I guess it a must place to visit in every city. Haha.

It was then time for BBQ! The star of the night and the long-awaited dish, babi panggang. Yum yum. The two Dayak boys have been talking about it the whole trip and the anticipation has finally arrived.

DAY 10

The last adventureous activity, cave streaming. Having Raymond as our guide, we managed to go though it safely. Good job. Haha.

Enough of caving, we went to Castle Hill to picnic. It was the location where Narnia was filmed. Another breath-taking scenary. Watermelon seeds became a source of entertainment. It was so much fun aiming and shotting it at people. After enough of eating and playing, we just couldn't sit down quietly. We starting climbing the rocks.

I couldn't help but to post this picture up too. Haha. It was indeed a classic moment. Never had I laughed so hard. It will always be remembered. Wahahahaha.

A tour around University of Canterbury and the Christchurch boy.

A final stop at Taylor's mistake. Just sit down and relax. It marked the end of our awesome 10 days journey from North Island to South Island. Everyone was forced to go back to reality, the duties and tasks awaiting for us after that day. It was a sad moment but indeed the journey was just simply amazing. It will be remembered for times to come.

DEPARTURE DAY

It was time to say good-bye. Raymond and Celest woke up to send me to the airport for a 6am flight while Roger just couldn't get himself out of the couch. Haha. Miss you guys.

Thanks alot Raymond for organizing this wonderful trip, Celest and Roger for making it a memorable one and everyone in New Zealand. Will miss New Zealand for sure and I might be going back there again soon!!