Morning in Mt Cook and there was snow everywhere.. ^_^
There were strong winds blowing snow off the mountain peaks.
What looked like a thick coating of snow on Lancer baby's windscreen, was actually ICE beneath it. We spent half an hour scraping off the ice and pouring hot water on it.
see the nice pattern formed on the bonnet!No time to lose; we had a long journey ahead. Plus it was best to start early when the weather is finest.
Just when we thought we've settled the windscreen problem, as soon as we drove away, the windows started to fog up......Bad.
Tip to 'un'fog the whole situation was :- on the car heater? ....nahh
- turn off the air-con? .....nahhhhh
- roll down the windows? ............believe it or not, YES!
And it was a clear view once again.
How come I've never seen clouds like this in Msia?
Nothing beats a relaxing drive along the coastal roads.
Whilst some parts can be so cloudless.
LOVE these shots!!!
Even with the sun shining so brightly, the chilly air makes it all perfect.Man, I swore I actually stared at this photo for a full 5 minutes.
If my baby lumix could produce such a breathtaking photo, imagine what a DSLR could do!
I don't eat wholemeal nor wheat bread but as it turns out, that's exactly what everyone eats around here. Surprisingly, their bread is really really good; tasty and could really bite into the wheat bits. We bought an entire loaf to last us the whole trip. The temperature here is cool enough, we don't need to refrigerate the butter or cheese.
Still driving...
Passing the town of Twizel.
and then Omarama
These small towns not only have such cute names but they are almost deserted with very few cars on the road.
We drove through many towns situated along the highway. If we won't passing through towns, we would be staring at lots and lots of sheep grazing in the fields. I swear I think I saw at least 10,000 sheeps during my entire NZ stay.
Mountains approaching....HUGE mountains...
From afar, it looked like polka-dotted mountains.
At one point, it was too overwhelming for me, i think i developed some kinda phobia that the mountains were gonna swallow me up.
Close up, they were tiny shrubs growing amongst snow-clad mountains. Still, i was so geli-fied by them!
This is the Central Otago area.
The road signs in NZ are super informative and regularly updated. It's like attending Kursus Undang-undang all over again. It practically tells you every corner that's coming up, icy roads ahead, wet roads, falling rocks, speed limit for sharp corners, etc. It was a joy reading the signs. I saw one called 'Uneven Surface' for 2 small patches of tar on the road! Something Msia can certainly adopt.
If the sheep were as smart as humans, they would rule NZ and even star in the movie 'Attack of the Killer Sheep'.
We found a lonely cow with this still pose right beside the highway.
Passed a place called Bendigo, followed by a short stopover at Lake Dunstan.
Back on the coastal road drive. Can you see how blue the water is?
This is Cromwell town - land of vineyards.
There's like no top to these trees.
We saw quite a number of Fire Danger warnings along the way. They were all stated 'Low', thankfully.
We were nearing Queenstown and I was getting oober excited!
Still driving...
Passing the town of Twizel.
and then Omarama
These small towns not only have such cute names but they are almost deserted with very few cars on the road.
We drove through many towns situated along the highway. If we won't passing through towns, we would be staring at lots and lots of sheep grazing in the fields. I swear I think I saw at least 10,000 sheeps during my entire NZ stay.
Mountains approaching....HUGE mountains...
From afar, it looked like polka-dotted mountains.
At one point, it was too overwhelming for me, i think i developed some kinda phobia that the mountains were gonna swallow me up.
Close up, they were tiny shrubs growing amongst snow-clad mountains. Still, i was so geli-fied by them!
This is the Central Otago area.
The road signs in NZ are super informative and regularly updated. It's like attending Kursus Undang-undang all over again. It practically tells you every corner that's coming up, icy roads ahead, wet roads, falling rocks, speed limit for sharp corners, etc. It was a joy reading the signs. I saw one called 'Uneven Surface' for 2 small patches of tar on the road! Something Msia can certainly adopt. 
If the sheep were as smart as humans, they would rule NZ and even star in the movie 'Attack of the Killer Sheep'.
We found a lonely cow with this still pose right beside the highway.
Passed a place called Bendigo, followed by a short stopover at Lake Dunstan.
Back on the coastal road drive. Can you see how blue the water is?
This is Cromwell town - land of vineyards.
There's like no top to these trees.
We saw quite a number of Fire Danger warnings along the way. They were all stated 'Low', thankfully.
We were nearing Queenstown and I was getting oober excited!Passed the Kawarau Gorge and then a cool hydro electric power station linking with a turbulent stream known as 'Roaring Meg'.
It was roaring all right!
With Gibbston comes more vineyards.
Finally, welcome to Queenstown!
We met a Malaysian petrol attendant who hailed from Subang Jaya. Petrol prices fluctuate from town to town with the more secluded towns chalking up a price as high as NZD 2.06/l. Hence, it's always good to check with the locals on the best options available.
No wonder Queenstown is one of the most popular cities in NZ; it is surrounded by the most beautiful lake and mountains.
The city does not have that many cars too.
The houses look so tiny from afar.
This stair case leads to the heart of the city.
We've reached our YHA hostel.
Saw this cute car and even cuter iguana on it. 
The highlight for today is Horse Riding as organised by Dart Stables.
The van drove about 45 minutes to this place known as 'paradise'.....Glenorchy. But first, a stop at a scenic spot for photo taking.
Looking ridiculously like a Nazi army officer, this was actually our riding gear.
It was roaring all right!
With Gibbston comes more vineyards.
Finally, welcome to Queenstown!
We met a Malaysian petrol attendant who hailed from Subang Jaya. Petrol prices fluctuate from town to town with the more secluded towns chalking up a price as high as NZD 2.06/l. Hence, it's always good to check with the locals on the best options available.
No wonder Queenstown is one of the most popular cities in NZ; it is surrounded by the most beautiful lake and mountains.
The city does not have that many cars too.
The houses look so tiny from afar.
This stair case leads to the heart of the city.
We've reached our YHA hostel.
Saw this cute car and even cuter iguana on it. 
The highlight for today is Horse Riding as organised by Dart Stables.
The van drove about 45 minutes to this place known as 'paradise'.....Glenorchy. But first, a stop at a scenic spot for photo taking.
Looking ridiculously like a Nazi army officer, this was actually our riding gear. Damn heavy to be dragging my feet around in these too.
The backdrop is one of the most gorgeous I've ever seen. Horses lined up to be assigned to us.
Meet Oscar - dear's horsie. Oscar was one of the five horses featured in the movie, LOTR. Wow.
This is smashing Glenorchy - the place where LOTR was shot. And Dart Stables has had the exclusive rights to operate their horse riding business here, so how could we miss the precious opportunity to see what their rides have to offer.
After a very brief explanation on guiding our horse to go left, go right, go faster and pull back, we were sent off to start a 2-hour+ horse ride all on our own. So cool.
I was really multi-tasking between taking photos, enjoying the picturesque surroundings and trying not to fall off Murphy.
Oscar turned out to be the bully of the group. Once a while, he would attempt to bite the tail of the horsie in front of him or kick the one behind, which was none other than Murphy. Talk about a horsie acting like a diva just because he appeared in a movie before?!
Horses generally do not like walking on muddy trails, hence they look for drier ground.
But most of the time, Oscar likes stopping for a light snack as well.
Where there's input, there must also be output.
We went through the forest where a few memorable scenes from LOTR were shot.
Yikes, muddy tracks! And my cam cam was shaking like crazy as my horsie plodded along wearily. Thank God I was given those boots and trenchcoats to wear.
One of the best views we saw.
The only picture of me taken by myself.
The trainer was kind to take us together.
Then me solo.
Time to head back...
My butt was getting flat(ter) dy...
Once again, we got stunning pictures.
I love taking photos with reflection in the waters.
Meet Murphy - a very 'handsome' horsie...yet the slowest and laziest among the pack. He was sort of tilted to the left as he walked; maybe he knew I was a lefty.
Our beautiful Irish coach, Shevon.
The backdrop is one of the most gorgeous I've ever seen. Horses lined up to be assigned to us.
Meet Oscar - dear's horsie. Oscar was one of the five horses featured in the movie, LOTR. Wow.
This is smashing Glenorchy - the place where LOTR was shot. And Dart Stables has had the exclusive rights to operate their horse riding business here, so how could we miss the precious opportunity to see what their rides have to offer.
After a very brief explanation on guiding our horse to go left, go right, go faster and pull back, we were sent off to start a 2-hour+ horse ride all on our own. So cool.This is MY horse, Murphy.
Too bad there weren't many shots of me on my horse as I was holding the cam cam the entire time.
So here, you'll only see Murphy's hair blowing in the wind. So much hair like me. :P
I was really multi-tasking between taking photos, enjoying the picturesque surroundings and trying not to fall off Murphy.
Oscar turned out to be the bully of the group. Once a while, he would attempt to bite the tail of the horsie in front of him or kick the one behind, which was none other than Murphy. Talk about a horsie acting like a diva just because he appeared in a movie before?!
Horses generally do not like walking on muddy trails, hence they look for drier ground.
But most of the time, Oscar likes stopping for a light snack as well.
Where there's input, there must also be output.
We went through the forest where a few memorable scenes from LOTR were shot.
Yikes, muddy tracks! And my cam cam was shaking like crazy as my horsie plodded along wearily. Thank God I was given those boots and trenchcoats to wear.
One of the best views we saw.
The only picture of me taken by myself.
The trainer was kind to take us together.
Then me solo.
Time to head back...
My butt was getting flat(ter) dy...
Once again, we got stunning pictures.
I love taking photos with reflection in the waters.
Meet Murphy - a very 'handsome' horsie...yet the slowest and laziest among the pack. He was sort of tilted to the left as he walked; maybe he knew I was a lefty.
Our beautiful Irish coach, Shevon.Unlike her, I suck at pulling off that horseback rider look eh? Everything on me looks oversized.
All done and while waiting for another group to finish their ride, we took some fun shots....lame, i know but wat da heck...
Here's how one should eat their lamb ..... whole.
This pose makes no sense at all...just for laughs...so, ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-..
Back in Queenstown, it was evening and we decided to try this burger place that was brimming with the longest beeline of customers. Since it also came highly recommended by Shevon, it became a MUZ-try.
'Fergburger' was packed and the staff were assembling burgers like nobody's business at a speed that would put McDonalds to shame.
The menu and what we chose as our take-away dinner.
Some lovely pictures of dusk in this scenic town ...
Bee-YOOOO-ti-ful!
Strolling along the streets....I came across this cute shop selling all sorts of candy.
Then I came across this Chocolate heaven which is supposedly a MUZ-go-to place...We didn't though as we were still carrying our Fergburger around and it was getting coldddd...the burger and us.
Making our way back to YHA......
walking along their speck-clean streets...........I've never felt safer! Weather was awesome...a bit chilly.....street musicians were out trying to make a buck......lights illuminated every corner of the town...........in short, p-e-r-f-e-c-t!
Not a single traffic light in Queenstown - just lots of mini round-abouts like this one.
We got back and unwrapped our FERGBURGER to find this HUGE BUN!!!
OMG!
It was gooooooooooooooood.....especially coz they buttered and toasted the buns to perfection!
Our room was the nicest looking among all our YHA branches.
Queenstown was very south of the island, so it was the coldest here among all the places we went to. 
All done and while waiting for another group to finish their ride, we took some fun shots....lame, i know but wat da heck...
Here's how one should eat their lamb ..... whole.
This pose makes no sense at all...just for laughs...so, ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-..
Back in Queenstown, it was evening and we decided to try this burger place that was brimming with the longest beeline of customers. Since it also came highly recommended by Shevon, it became a MUZ-try.
'Fergburger' was packed and the staff were assembling burgers like nobody's business at a speed that would put McDonalds to shame.
The menu and what we chose as our take-away dinner.
Some lovely pictures of dusk in this scenic town ...
Bee-YOOOO-ti-ful!
Strolling along the streets....I came across this cute shop selling all sorts of candy.
Then I came across this Chocolate heaven which is supposedly a MUZ-go-to place...We didn't though as we were still carrying our Fergburger around and it was getting coldddd...the burger and us.
Making our way back to YHA......
walking along their speck-clean streets...........I've never felt safer! Weather was awesome...a bit chilly.....street musicians were out trying to make a buck......lights illuminated every corner of the town...........in short, p-e-r-f-e-c-t!
Not a single traffic light in Queenstown - just lots of mini round-abouts like this one.
We got back and unwrapped our FERGBURGER to find this HUGE BUN!!!
OMG!
It was gooooooooooooooood.....especially coz they buttered and toasted the buns to perfection!
Our room was the nicest looking among all our YHA branches.Most expensive too at NZD 108 a night.
It was a nice change though as we had our own TV in the room.
Queenstown was very south of the island, so it was the coldest here among all the places we went to. We're talking about the temperature dropping down to 1 degrees C.
Yup, so freaking cold that these 'warmers' could actually have come in handy.
