NZ Day 1 : KL - Auckland - Christchurch

"what fear of earthquakes, thunderstorms or snowstorms?...just go ahead and do it!"


I just got back from a magical getaway of my dream destination ever since I was 10.......



NEW ZEALAND, baby!! (Thanks to honey for initiating it sooner than expected)



Read about my daily travels to D most 'bee-YOO-ti-ful' place on earth!! (says I!) in my future posts to come...beginning with




18/9/10 (Sat) - 19/9/10 (Sun) : KL - Auckland - Christchurch


My insatiable hunger for picturesque NZ kicks in as my 14-day vacation kicks off.

I think I got the best deal from MAS to fly to Auckland (d only place they land in NZ) at a rate of RM 2,670/ return. The key to getting the best deals from any vacation ... BOOKING IN ADVANCE.
Alternatively, I've heard many say you save so much more by flying Air Asia to Aust and get to NZ using their domestic flights. I say by all means, do that if you've got the time and interest for Aust as well. I had only 14 days; hence a South Island roadtrip was my preference for THE SCENERY. Otherwise, if you're a city person, then North Island's your thing.
Ours was a night flight that was gonna make us stay up in the air for 10 hours.
When the flight crew announced that they were serving supper (at 11.40pm), I had not expected it to be this heavy.....!

fish or sausage?

Supposed to go to sleep on the plane la...not watch their in-flight movies,
or jamming to their music.

Rise and Shine....it's 7.2oam in KL but here in NZ, it's 11.20 am.

fast forward 4 hours................

I was super super excited to see NZ down below me.....omg, i'm in NEW ZEALAND!!! Finally!!

And the weather's looking superb.

Could have sworn I felt happy tears welling up in my eyes... *_*

No, Auckland is NOT the capital of NZ (it's Wellington la!), but it IS the largest and most populous urban area in NZ, comprising 31% of entire NZ's population. It's known as the 'City of Sails' simply because their harbours are dotted with hundreds of yachts.

I only went as far as Auckland Airport's car park...hehe..had another flight to catch ma.

Had no idea who this statue was but he sure looks like he's in a bathrobe.

As MAS doesn't fly to South, we flew Air New Zealand to Christchurch almost immediately after touching down in NZ.

Air NZ is a low-cost carrier, just like our very own Air Asia.

Just that they are 'nicer' for serving me coffee/ tea/ juice and little snacks on board...

without having to pay extra.

An hour an a half later, my first glimpse of snow-capped mountains!

Magnificient view of the countryside awaits me.

My 'ability' to drive only auto cars turned out to be a blessing in disguise for us.

The car rental company had to change our (manual) Nissan Sunny and gave us a Mitsubishi Lancer instead. Boy, was Mark excited.

Driving along Christchurch, finding our way to the hostel before dark.

It was very cloudy and the winds were chilly but other than that, the weather was perfect!

I supposed we were experiencing the end of winter season as it was still around 15 degrees C in the daytime and 4 degrees C at night.

Sightseeing around Victoria Square and the botanical gardens. This is just one of the many gardens in Christchurch.

The Crowne Plaza here looks majestic!! (and expensive, I bet)

You could easily find all variety of ducks and their little ones roaming around the gardens and ponds.

Modern ruins of Christchurch.

The effects of earthquake wasn't as bad as I imagined. Only the very old buildings were damaged, mostly those standing at the corner of streets, I noticed.

Business must be badly affected for some, as we see ads like this on notice boards.

I took so many pictures of trees that were left with just branches and twigs like this basking against the sunlit sky. I guess come spring, the tress would be full of greenery and flowers again. That's the thing about this place; every season shows you its unique colors - all so pretty in its own way.

For dinner, we stumbled upon this Subway-like place called 'The Pita Pit'

It was merely a grilled pita pouch stuffed with a whole lotta ingredients, topped with your choice of 16 sauces to choose from!

The outcome was one helluva delicious pita! I instantly felt like bringing this franchise to KL dy.

My Pita of the Day was Roast Pork for NZD6 (just multiply by 2.3 for RM conversion).

Cheap right?? (if you don't convert la of course)

Look, it's even got beetroot as one of the stuffings.

After a quick and satisfying meal, it was time to head home.

Our accomodation for most part of the trip (cept the last bit) was YHA (one of the most recognised youth hostels in NZ). We've already paid for all accomodation before we arrived as we wanted their limited double bed rooms with attached bathrooms (known as ensuite rooms). Otherwise, if it's just a bed for you to sleep for the night, bunking in with other backpackers is a much cheaper, 'could-be-done-last-minute' alternative.

This is YHA Christchurch City Central.

Staying in youth hostels was truly an eye-opener.

If at first I was reluctant (because it was too 'open' for me), it actually turned out to be pretty fun.

You get to play around their kitchen and dining area. Cooking utensils and even free-for-all-to-use spices were available. It's free interactive fun with a stranger using the stove right beside yours. Added bonus if he turns out to be a cutie.

Gaming room and lounge was available for use too.

Washing area has a dryer and ironing board for use too.

Our NZD81 room.

came with an attached bathroom and small tv.

NZ has the best customer service centres and helpful information kiosks I've seen yet.

You can find displays of brochure, map or informative booklets in almost every single store.

If this FOC-brochure rack was in Msia, these shelves would have been long empty.