Encounter the Land of South: New Zealand Episode 1

This post is written in English for ease of understanding and contain recommendations, along with my own planning for the trip as a reference for those need it.

Most of  the places I visited are located in Otago so I will mainly talk about the attractions there and list out the prices as well.

When planning for a trip, several factors need to be considered: how do I get there? Do I need a map? Do I have any emergency contacts? Is there anyone i can rely on over there? Where do I stay? Food? How is the climate? Do I need any extra clothing? Where do I want to visit? My budget? Safety? Transport? How do I get back? and many more.

Regarding New Zealand, everywhere can be a tourist spot especially for Malaysians. Some of the famous cities to visit are Auckland (warmest place in NZ), Rotorua (if you like to experience Maori culture), Christchurch (well, before the earthquake, haiz), Wellington, Queenstown (hotspot for snow activities), Dunedin, Otago Peninsula and so on. One thing to be noted is the seasons: some activities are only available in spring or in winter....so choose when you will like to visit the place well. As for myself, I went in winter partly because of coincidence but I do love to experience snow myself for the first time.

 For more travel information, you can visit www.jasons.com.

NZD 1.00 equals to RM 2.55 and above (depends on the current rate). Look for flight promotions. There is no direct flight to NZ from Penang. Either travel from Penang to Singapore first, then transit to NZ or directly fly to NZ from KL. Singapore airlines, Australia airlines and NZ airlines can be considered. In between NZ cities, there are skybus (which is domestic plane flight actually) available, usually by AirNZ, though Jetstar is also available. Airports are from cities, so you may want to book a shuttle beforehand. Transport to different cities can also be done by Intercity coachlines. My flight is from Penang to Singapore (tiger airways RM107), then from Singapore to Auckland, Auckland to Christchurch (Jetstar RM1319.05), then to Dunedin (Air NZ RM336.31). Please note that dairy products are not allowed into NZ and if you bring any food such as bread, you need to declare it. For return trip, i travel from Dunedin to Christchurch (AirNZ RM238.67), then directly fly to KL (AirAsia RM942.94, a torturing 11 hours of flight. In total, I spent RM 2943.97 for my flights. Please prepare travel sickness medication beforehand (dimenhydrinate, mostly available as Novomin).

i-site is available throughout the whole NZ nation. They provide information of the city especially tourist attractions and you can buy souvenir coins there. Look for offers from websites such as www.grabone.co.nz. When you are in the airport, get a few free travel magazines, some contain discount vouchers especially magazines by Jasons. Some places requires booking beforehand, so plan your trip well. Check out the weather forecast. For a good Dunedin city map, you can buy 1 from Dunedin i-site visitor centre at a price of NZD2.00. (The blue map which is easier to understand).

I stay over at my friend's (my dear Jia Pei ^^ which is currently a student in University of Otago)  hostel and borrow her winter clothings. Therefore, I save a lot on accommodation, food and clothes. And I also have a chance to sneak into their lecture halls to experience the NZ pharmacy course.

From this point onwards, I will explain about my personal trip. So, next time in Otago, you know where you want to go.

1st DAY

1st Part: Let's Fly!

 My first plane flight, Yipee!..oh no, feeling nausea...

At Changi Airport. For food, there is a very good chinese reataurant here called RuYi (如意），The mapo tofu rice is delicious! Economic set at SGD10.00

 Comfy Jetstar flight, sleep through the night here.

 Cool panorama

I'm above cloud 9..woohoo~

2nd Part: Streets are fun
To experience the culture, walking through the streets should never be missed. Enjoying the architecture of the buildings there while seagulls are flying over ahead. Restaurants here are mostly opened by foreigners such as turkish, japanese, chinese, thai, indian and so on....local? Very few, and they offer only western food. However, it is best to try out some beef delicacies, hash brown, gelato and some.

Sneaking into lectures

 Knox church

 Streets here are easy to walk and there is low crime rate, so walking alone is not a problem at all. Traffic lights are almost available at every point and the signs are at every junctions, you can easily find your way. The people here are very kind. While I was standing at the pavement, interpreting my map (I'm not lost! I'm just trying to get familiarize) for a long time, an old man actually come towards me and ask if I need help. LOL, great thanks to that uncle for being so sweet even though i did not need help.

 A bar

 Nice buildings

Fortune theater

3rd Part: Speight's Brewery tour
The Speight’s Brewery Tour is an award winning interactive and informative tour guided tour through an historic working brewery. Tour duration – 90 minutes (includes tasting and appreciation session).

• Adult: $22.00
• Children (Under 18 years, under 5 free): $9.00
• Family (two adults, and four children): $45.00
• Senior: $19.00
• Student: $19.00
• Alehouse Lunch Package: $51.00
  (includes Speight's Brewery Tour and two course lunch)
• Alehouse Dinner Package: $64.00
  (includes Speight's Brewery Tour and three course dinner)

 My price is at NZD13.00 plus 1 free drink at the ale house as we obtained a discount from grabone.

 Ancient Egypt Hieroglyphics about beer

 Vikings

 The founder, look so real

Copper kettles for water

 Heavy smell hops

 Brewing..

 A bar for the tasting session with 6 flavours

 Our guide, pretty right?

 The factory and the ale house is side by side

Inside the ale house, very warm.

4th Part: Churches and Places
After the brewery tour, my friend and I went around the corner, looking at sites. Great stamina is required for full travel enjoyment as many spots we went along my whole time in NZ need us to climb here and there. Many streets here are in the form of steep slopes.

 Fountain

 Bell Hill

St. Paul cathedral and Municipal chambers side by side

 The statue of Robert Burns

 St. Paul cathedral. (To go in,  open till 4pm something, enter from office at the side first)

Municipal Chambers

That is all for my first day...More to come, after all, I'm there for 11 days!

2nd DAY
1st Part: Appreciate the Art
In the morning, I went to the Dunedin Public Art Gallery. Actually, there is a lot of galleries here but most of them serve to sell the art pieces. I wore 4 layers of clothes that day: 1 sweater, 1 t-shirt and 2 jackets. The sun might be bright but it does not mean it is not cold. The admission to the public art gallery is free. Upon arrival, a group of adorable kindergarten children came out. The art gallery is just somewhere around the Octagon.

 The Octagon

First room of the art gallery, actually photography is not allowed but I am a professional after all, LOL

Rooms with different colours and all kinds of art

I failed to take photos at the 2nd floor as there are more people up there but it features an exhibition of sex, gore, violence and radical issues art (Nollywood) and you won't find it confortable.

up above the walls

2nd Part: Wild Wild New Zealand
Close to Antartica, New Zealand offers a variety of wildlife such as kiwi, penguins, albatross, sea lions, fur seals and many more. Sheep and alpaca should not be missed too. For that, I have pre-booked Elm Wildlife tour, the Otago Peninsula encounter package. The student price is at NZD 85.00 in which the tour took 5 or 6 hours. After visiting the art gallery, i find my way to the Dunedin i-site visitor centre which is nearby, looking at souvenirs and buy myself a souvenir coin while having my lunch there (thanks Jiapei for the Bihun). The tour guide will pick us up from there. While I was eating, it starts snowing!

 It's snowing!

 Heading towards Otago Peninsula, the tides are high but the road never floods

 Another option for wildlife sight-seeing will be the Monarch wildlife cruise which is not available during winter.

 We have 2 tour guides that day, both are Sean

 Royal albatross centre

 Beautiful view with albatross flying around

 Inside the centre

 plovets, noisy birds

Black swans and other exotic birds

 The beach where we are heading down to see the penguins and sea lions. The fur seals are at the other side

 Little blue penguin

 After a very tough climbing down the steep hill (trust me, it is not easy to come up and down the long and steep hill with 5 layers and the wind is blowing at 108++km/h which can easily blow a petite person like me off the road into the sea)

Sea lions sleeping, some of them rest in the bushes.

 They lend me a jacket and a pair of binoculars

 I love this photo

 Yellow-eyed penguins resting on hill

Penguin came up from the sea and quickly rushed to the hill

That is all for for this particular post, stay tuned for Episode2 where railways, castles, chocolates and snow awaits.....