Woke up this early morning to find it drizzling in Q-town. shuCks! (well at least it wasn't snowing)
Nothing would dampen our holiday spirits (well ok, just mine) so I still got dear to take a 20-min drive to this quaint former gold mining town known as Arrowtown. How cute is that name huh.
It was a wet town that morning, nevertheless, its main street, Buckingham St is like a shopping heaven with an old-fashion setting. It felt like walking along a long road in one of those cowboy shows, with fashion boutiques, mini galleries, museums, gift shops and jade shops on both sides of the street.
Tourists who are feeling a tad 'lucky' also have the opportunity to pan for gold!
This humble looking post office caters to all 2,400 residents of Arrowtown. Coincidentally, it was also used in one of the recent episodes of The Amazing Race Asia.
It had actually stoppped drizzling by now - just thought my trusty old umbrella deserves to be in my photos as well. lol.
We went to some of the attractions on the map, like this church...
and Mary MacKillop's Cottage, which initially I thought was gonna be all rustic and cozy inside...
but turns out, it was just 'for show'. The cottage was built in 1897 for a Sister Mary who came here.
Imagine how lovely these lined up trees would look like in autumn with the gold and red leaves.
It had actually stoppped drizzling by now - just thought my trusty old umbrella deserves to be in my photos as well. lol.
We went to some of the attractions on the map, like this church...
and Mary MacKillop's Cottage, which initially I thought was gonna be all rustic and cozy inside...
but turns out, it was just 'for show'. The cottage was built in 1897 for a Sister Mary who came here.
Imagine how lovely these lined up trees would look like in autumn with the gold and red leaves.Now it's simply botak.
This is purely advertising the versatility of dear's North Face windbreaker.
This is purely advertising the versatility of dear's North Face windbreaker.Seriously, the wind was so chilly, it felt so much better covering our mouths and noses. Nevermind you end up looking like a devil ninja.
We caught a glimpse of their jail too. It looked spooky so we didn't go in and have a look. Plus it was too far to fetch the keys.
One of the many al fresco dining cafes...
The 'Chinese Settlement' caught our attention.
It's actually a partially restored area showing the homes of past Chinese goldminers and business people and how it evolved since the 1800s.
Of course, no one was home.
Must have been a real breeze to clean the entire house...it's so tiny!
Has to be the best-smelling place here!
I literally froze in delight when I saw the Patagonia Chocolates shop. Yey, they've got an outlet here!
They've got the widest variety of freshly made chocolate bars and ice cream here.
They say you should have ice cream on a cold day, so we tried their best seller flavour, Tramontana. While 'tramontana' means 'cold, dry wind' in the Oxford dictionary, here in Patagonia world, it actually means cream and caramel with butterscotch balls coated in chocolate. Now, eat dat! 
Can you tell how 'high' I looked sipping my hot cocoa?
Shortly then, we were out from Arrowtown and heading back to Q-town. First thing we needed to do was to check with the Milford Sound info centre about our cruise for the following day. You see, we had earlier paid for a 1-day cruise at Milford Sound, a very popular scenic tour along this fiord of spectacular beauty and natural grandeur. 
The beef stew was heavenly tasty and rich! Loved the serving of bread and butter on the side.
You know how there's the common B.L.T. sandwich which stands for Bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich and then there's the B.M.T. in Subway which stands for 'Biggest, Meatiest, Tastiest'? 
Thought we should at least try a NZ local beer - Emerson's Pilsner to be exact,
and ended up drinking it all by myself. Hmmph.
After a brief rest in the hostel, it was time to head back out for our Gondola ride + buffet dinner high up on the mountains.
We caught a glimpse of their jail too. It looked spooky so we didn't go in and have a look. Plus it was too far to fetch the keys.
One of the many al fresco dining cafes...
The 'Chinese Settlement' caught our attention.Don't expect to be rubbing shoulders with some real Chinese families living in Arrowtown.
It's actually a partially restored area showing the homes of past Chinese goldminers and business people and how it evolved since the 1800s.
Of course, no one was home.
Must have been a real breeze to clean the entire house...it's so tiny!
Has to be the best-smelling place here!
I literally froze in delight when I saw the Patagonia Chocolates shop. Yey, they've got an outlet here!
They've got the widest variety of freshly made chocolate bars and ice cream here.
They say you should have ice cream on a cold day, so we tried their best seller flavour, Tramontana. While 'tramontana' means 'cold, dry wind' in the Oxford dictionary, here in Patagonia world, it actually means cream and caramel with butterscotch balls coated in chocolate. Now, eat dat!We tried a chocolate bar (should have gone for some fruity mix rather than plain ol' rice crispy) and what else but their steaming Hot Chocolate.
Can you tell how 'high' I looked sipping my hot cocoa?
Shortly then, we were out from Arrowtown and heading back to Q-town. First thing we needed to do was to check with the Milford Sound info centre about our cruise for the following day. You see, we had earlier paid for a 1-day cruise at Milford Sound, a very popular scenic tour along this fiord of spectacular beauty and natural grandeur. We were supposed to be on the cruise today but the bad weather did not permit. Only thing we could do was postponed it till tomorrow and keep our fingers crossed.
Alas, again it was bad news for us.
There was a snow avalanche hitting the roads leading to Milford and it couldn't be cleared on time. What a bummer!
I guess, the good news is we got back our ticket refund of NZD 396.
Yup, the cruise was worth RM 900! Costly leh...
As a consolation to the bitter news, dear and I decided to treat ourselves to a nice sit-down bar meal at one of the locals' recommendation, Atlas Bar and Cafe.
The beef stew was heavenly tasty and rich! Loved the serving of bread and butter on the side.
You know how there's the common B.L.T. sandwich which stands for Bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich and then there's the B.M.T. in Subway which stands for 'Biggest, Meatiest, Tastiest'?This is the first time I see a B.L.A.T - Bacon, Lettuce, AVOCADO and Tomato!
Thought we should at least try a NZ local beer - Emerson's Pilsner to be exact,
and ended up drinking it all by myself. Hmmph.
After a brief rest in the hostel, it was time to head back out for our Gondola ride + buffet dinner high up on the mountains. All suited up, ready to conquer the cold and windy chills.
At this point of time, I was starting to wonder that since we were always wearing our winter jacket as an outer layer, why even bother to wear a nice blouse on the inside? lol.
Even so, our best friend during the entire NZ holiday had to be John.
Good ol' (long) John.
By 6, it was getting dark but we still managed to get a few pictures of the still and calm jetty, once lively with jet boating activities during the day.
A couple was seen shooting wedding pictures there. Really salute the bride for daring to bare her shoulders in the cold.
Nice restaurant by the harbour.
All warm and fuzzy...
Night was approaching as we walked our way up the slopes to the Gondola station. 
Don't worry, the roads weren't as steep as the road leading to Genting Highlands.
The gondolas were very small even for the two of us.
And lighting was a real problem when we were trying to shoot the night scenery out there.
We opted for the Gondola + Buffet Dinner combo at NZD 72/RM 165 per person.
A couple was seen shooting wedding pictures there. Really salute the bride for daring to bare her shoulders in the cold.
Nice restaurant by the harbour.
All warm and fuzzy...
Night was approaching as we walked our way up the slopes to the Gondola station. 
Don't worry, the roads weren't as steep as the road leading to Genting Highlands.
The gondolas were very small even for the two of us.
And lighting was a real problem when we were trying to shoot the night scenery out there. 
We opted for the Gondola + Buffet Dinner combo at NZD 72/RM 165 per person. Bring out your magnifying glass if you want to know what was on our buffet menu...
I look like a worm about to wriggle out of a half-cut apple.
Some Kiwi Hakka dancers sang and danced for us right before dinner. 
I think 70% of the buffet crowd were the 'grandpas and grandmas'. 
Dear was gaga over this gadget that would vibrate and light up in your hands when it was our turn to be seated at the table.
I look like a worm about to wriggle out of a half-cut apple.
Some Kiwi Hakka dancers sang and danced for us right before dinner. This was just a teaser before they invited people in for the full show for about another NZD 30/ RM 70 per pax. Nah, we didn't go for the show....could watch it from Youtube. tee~hee.
I think 70% of the buffet crowd were the 'grandpas and grandmas'. Looking at the huge group of people waiting to go in, we were glad we booked and paid for dinner much earlier from the Internet.
The thing we learnt from our NZ activities - do your homework, make your reservations early and never assume there's vacancy waiting for you.
Dear was gaga over this gadget that would vibrate and light up in your hands when it was our turn to be seated at the table.So cute, he's still talking about it till today. =.=
My oh my, the buffet dining area looks like the dining hall in Hogwarts (it's from Harry Potter la). It could feed up to a thousand people here.
I've never eaten salmon this way - steamed and you just rip off the flesh with a pair of tongs.
Tried their popular local fave Kumara soup which was very thick mushy Sweet Potato soup and did not like it. Sorry, no pic coz I was in a hurry to finish it up.
My oh my, the buffet dining area looks like the dining hall in Hogwarts (it's from Harry Potter la). It could feed up to a thousand people here.
I've never eaten salmon this way - steamed and you just rip off the flesh with a pair of tongs.
Tried their popular local fave Kumara soup which was very thick mushy Sweet Potato soup and did not like it. Sorry, no pic coz I was in a hurry to finish it up.I DID like their delectable and perfectly-cooked Mussels and Scallops topped with one of the best sauce I've ever tasted.
I also have MAD love for their lamb and pork slices.
I also have MAD love for their lamb and pork slices. Never in a million years would I imagine finding the best, most succulent, odourless pork in a place like NZ. Aww man....I miss those porkies!
We drank only plain water that night. For some reason, it was so addictive, we finished the entire jug!
We weren't missing Malaysian food at all! muahahaha...
We drank only plain water that night. For some reason, it was so addictive, we finished the entire jug!
We weren't missing Malaysian food at all! muahahaha...Even if we were, I guess we could always try a bit of their 'kecap manis'.
or try and steal the Malaysian flag we saw outside the Gondola station.
AweSome, most relaxed day we had today.
or try and steal the Malaysian flag we saw outside the Gondola station.
AweSome, most relaxed day we had today. Looking forward to tomorrow where we made a slight change of plans since Milford was a no-go.
Goodnite Q-townies z_z
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