Day 12 ; 10.6.14 - A day at the museum.
After coming back from South Island, I had a few more days in Auckland and was toying between visiting Rotorua or Waitangi. The children have enough of long distance road trip after a week travelling in South Island and prefers to stay at home with MK and Nicholas. I had wanted to visit the treaty grounds where the historic Treaty of Waitangi was signed and hoped to understand a little bit about the Maori. The plan was to drive up on Tuesday ( 10.6.14 ) for a day trip. However, it had been raining the day we came back from the south and it continued raining the whole of Tuesday as forecast. This force me to change my plan as it would be no fun travelling 250 km in the rain and the wet day would not allow us to venture long outdoor, especially the treaty ground. We cancelled our plans to Waitangi and instead opted to understand the Maori history by visiting the Auckland museum. It was still raining when we headed out to town.
I am only interested in the Maori history.
The origin of the Polynesians is intriguing. They are thought to have originated in China 15,000 years ago.
5,000 years ago, they migrated eastwards to what is now Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia.
They are seafarers that uses outriggers like this.
How this sail the Pacific ocean is beyond my imagination.
They follow the stars, birds behaviour, wind and waves pattern to venture into the faraway land over the vast Pacific Ocean.
A Maori house for meeting of the leaders.
The interior of the building.
A typical Maori house.
The side view.
A Maori war boat.
It can carry a hundred warriors.
I did not make an estimate if it could fit 100 men.
The museum is comprehensive, early European arrivals, NZ war heroes, volcanic landform, natural habitats the people of New Zealand, the early years, etc. I just went through all those quickly as it can take an entire day if you want to be profound.
Day 13 ; 11.6.14 - A day trip to Waiheke Island.
Debbie took a day off and suggested we make a day trip to Waiheke. Waiheke is an island just off the coast. Aucklanders go there for the weekend if they want to get away for the weekend. It is an island resided by some Aucklanders who chose to stay there and commute to work by ferry daily.
We drove down to Half Moon Bay at Bucklands Beach and took a ferry from there. Upon reaching the island, we just drove the car off the ferry and began exploring the island. We stop by a little quaint Italian Restaurant and have our lunch there. After that we stop by the highest point of the island and have a little picnic there to enjoy the view. After an hour there, we drove around a little and took the 2.30 ferry back to the mainland.
At Half Moon Bay ferry terminal
Inside the ferry
I enjoyed the view from outside.
Rangitoto Island.
The cloud formation over the blue sky viewed from the sea is simply beautiful
It kept reminding me of the Maori name for New Zealand.
Aoteroa ; the land of the long white cloud.
At the Island.
Exploring the small touristy town.
Nice shop decor.
Oceanview Road.
Chill out at Waiheke Island.
Oneroa Bay is at the background.
We saw a nice place for brunch.
It's a quaint little Italian cafe.
It's called Fenice Restaurant.
Debbie waiting to order her food.
Margherita pizza
Spaghetti
Eggs and ham.
Outside Fenice
We took a drive around the island and stop at Delamore Drive.
There's a short track leading to a viewing point.
It's light undergrowth along the roadside.
The weather is nice and cool.
You have a clear view of Owhanake Bay.
The viewing point at the top.
Feel the nice cool breeze.
KC and his stunt.
First the back, now the front.
And got everyone into the mood.
Nice day for a picnic.
Can be cold when the wind blows.
Otherwise, it's nice and relaxing.
We spent maybe an hour there.
Soon, it was time to leave.
We were at Kennedy Point ferry terminal after a drive around.
What do you do while waiting for the ferry to arrive.
You start taking pictures.
all at the same spot one at a time
or two at a time
after that you pose
macam macam pun ada...
On board the ferry.
And more pics.
me included.
You can't beat them,
Join them.
This is really like on board a cruise
Yet it is only a ferry
Plying every hour between Half moon bay and Waiheke.
As we approach Half Moon bay,
We could see a fleet of sail boats
They are all anchored at the bay.
Sailing is a sport and a great pastime in this country.
Little wonder Auckland is also known as the City of Sails.
We reached home at 4.30 pm.
The boys had been home most of the day and I took them out to Pakuranga Plaza nearby
for some ice cream on cone.
Day 14 : 12.6.14 - A day in the city.
Since KC's arrival, he has not been to the city. We had decided not to bother our host MK and Debbie today and will explore Auckland city on our own. The plan was to meet up in the evening at Newmarket where David insist on buying us dinner at a Chinese restaurant there. The convenient way for us to go to the city was to take a half hour ferry ride from nearby Half Moon Bay. The ferry leaves every hour and we took the 10.00 am ferry to leaves for Auckland. Just like Waiheke ferry, this too feels like a cruise ship. We sit outside to enjoy the wind sweeping over our faces. In half an hour, we were at the ferry terminal at downtown Auckland.
All onboard the ferry.
KC and Valen enjoy each other company.
The ferry pulled off in no time and passed the beautiful Rangitoto Island.
It's a lovely day.
In no time, the city beckon.
KC at the ferry.
Auckland skyline from the bay.
I could see Zurich building among them.
Valen all excited.
After disembarking from the ferry, we took a family photo at the ferry terminal building.
This building did not change since I first came here 24 years ago!
We started walking towards Albert Street.
It was upslope and then downslope.
This looks familiar from the outside.
It is the Victorian Park Market that we had visited long time ago.
But it is completely changed when we went inside the building.
There are more eateries than shops.
It was not like this before. Then it was a flea market, just like our local "pasar malam" type.
Now it's ultra modern and organised. The retro look is no more.
This Indonesian eatery looks good.
Everything looks familiar.
We each ordered our favourite. It was really good authentic Indonesian food.
After lunch, we were ready to leave.
Walking back towards the city center.
This is Upper Queentreet.
This was exactly where I took a photo during my first visit.
Relaxing at Aotea Square.
Auckland Town Hall.
Scenic Hotel, Upper Queenstreet, Auckland.
These old buildings are my very first impression of Auckland when I came here more than 20 years ago.
It is good to see some of them well preserved.
They are now being dwarfed by modern highrise all around them.
Edwardian shops at Upper Queenstreet.
They are occupied mostly by Chinese shops and is known as Chinatown..
Walking along Queenstreet.
It is now a busy like any other city
We walked the entire Queentreet
I still have fond memories of the old buildings
They never knew what was like before.
It is quaint old Chinatown at Upper Queenstreet
and modern shops at Lower Queenstreet.
It's busy with traffic.
We walked back towards the Ferry terminal
Valen at the ferry terminal building.
Sculpture of a Maori warrior.
I took KC to have a look at the wharf area.
KC at the bridge.
North wharf is behind KC.
The drawbridge just opened for a sail boat to pass through.
The boys relaxing at the ferry terminal.
Just across the road from Zurich's office is Bistomart train station.
Debbie came back and took us out to Mandarin Palace Restaurant.
We met up with MK and the rest there.
The Dim Sum menu is operated by Chinese chef from China.
The menu is the same as whay we have back home.
Slight difference in taste.
But still good.
Callum giving Auntie Debbie a thank you hug.
On the way back, I ask MK to circle to Howitt Golf Club to have a look.
This club is just a kilometer from where they live. I was supposed to play here earlier, but was rained out..
The golf club is situated near the sea with a clear view of Rangitoto.
The club in fact uses Rangitoto Island as their logo.
He is all ready to leave after having his bags all packed..
Yvonne giving him a big hug.
And Debbie too ready to hug him.
Now he is all set
and ready to go.
MK reversed his car
Debbie the forever good host.
Making sure the boys get what they love.
It's a nice day to have a drink al fresco.
View from the back.
View from the front.
What can be better than having curry noodle on a cold day.
We enjoyed the meal so much.
On this very last day, it was non stop eating since morning.
Nicholas have been a good host despite having to prepare for his upcoming exams.
Very soon, the Lims sent us to the airport in two cars.
I had to plastic wrap my bag for added precaution.
There, all seven bags to be checked in.
Sherman handles all the checking in.
And in no time, everything is settled.
It's time to say goodbye..
The boys really love their auntie Debbie
And so does Debbie. She loves them too.
And so too is Uncle MK
He has natural liking for them
and the boys likes to be with him.
Nicholas is all grown up
and we can see that he is brought up well
he's a fine young lad.
We will miss NZ and Debbie's warmth.
We had sometime before the gate opens.
Soon we were at the boarding lounge.
The return flight took about 11 hours.
We landed at KLIA in the wee hours of the morning.
Little wonder Auckland is also known as the City of Sails.
Day 14 : 12.6.14 - A day in the city.
Since KC's arrival, he has not been to the city. We had decided not to bother our host MK and Debbie today and will explore Auckland city on our own. The plan was to meet up in the evening at Newmarket where David insist on buying us dinner at a Chinese restaurant there. The convenient way for us to go to the city was to take a half hour ferry ride from nearby Half Moon Bay. The ferry leaves every hour and we took the 10.00 am ferry to leaves for Auckland. Just like Waiheke ferry, this too feels like a cruise ship. We sit outside to enjoy the wind sweeping over our faces. In half an hour, we were at the ferry terminal at downtown Auckland.
Outside the Victoria Park market.
It was nice and cool out here.
Zurich House at 21 Queenstreet is an energy efficient building.
We took the train from there to Newmarket for our dinner appointment with David.
Day 15 ; 13.6.14 - Holiday coming to an end.
This is the last day of our holiday. All good things seems to end so fast. It was not to long ago that we were planning to holiday in NZ and now in now time, we are already going home. MK took Yvonne and KC out for some last minute shopping. She had to get some Manuka honey and other stuff for family and friends back home. We met up at a Chinese Restaurant for some Dim Sum lunch. There are no short of Asian food in NZ.
Sherman and playful Valen.
It is also a place where people came and relx and enjoy the view.
KC's flight back to the States is earlier than us.
and off he goes sending KC to the airport.
It had been too cold to have any party in the garden. We had wanted to do that since arrival and today the weather looks bearable. We had a good cup of coffee and some bites while having a good chat.
It's really a lovely house.
We enjoyed the warmth of Debbie on a cold day.
Our flight is at midnight. A few hours later, Debbie had dinner prepared for us, and guess what, curry noodle, Malaysian style. We did not really miss food from home.
Very soon, the Lims sent us to the airport in two cars.
The return flight took about 11 hours.
It's good to see all our bags accounted for.
It was a good two weeks vacation. The time we had with Debbie is valuable and we wish to be able to do it again. As for us, revisiting New Zealand is a trip down memory lane. Doing it this time with the children makes it more memorable. Campervanning is fun and doing it as a family brings all of us so much closer. It had been a good experience and we would like to do it again.
New Zealand is one of the most beautiful country on earth. I can imagine how amazed Abel Tasman and Captain Cook must be when they first set sight on this land. These early explorers eventually led to the development of New Zealand. But the Maori tale about Kupe's discovery of Aotearoa never fail to seize my imagination. When on the ferry, I could see a lot of white clouds hanging over the islands.This is truly the land of the long white cloud. It is a land you hope to be able to come back to again to enjoy beautiful postcard-like scenery.
But until then, it's kia ora New Zealand.
