Auckland,NZ

Finally,the last embark of our three weeks journey at Middle Earth ended here in Auckland – The Sailing City. To tell the truth, i started to feel a bit sentimental on the few last days towards departing back home. *sniff* Throughout the journey, we met lotsa people, new friends, witnessed so many God’s glorious creatures, learnt and gained new experiences in life too. I HEART NZ. I know this entry had been lagging for 16 months, as it ain’t easy for me to choose the right pics to be uploaded here. But at least, better late than never huh?

City of Sails

Route 1 Highway,Auckland

Auckland War Memorial Museum

Some views from Mt. Eden

I was wandering around and looking for a good subject to shoot when i saw this couple embraced each other. As my hands started to feel tired, i saw this young couple sat and cuddled about less than 100 yards away from me. The scene was just like in the movies,to good to be true..i quickly pulled my long lens and managed to get a quick snap before they parted and walked towards me. To tell the truth, i didn’t even get the chance to meter the shot. As the young couple walked past me, i had a quick glance on my screen and to my amazement, the shot came out perfect. It really made my day! Lucky,huh?! *grin*

Yours truly at Oxford Street,with the Skyline Tower at the back.

Paihia,NZ

From Hamilton, one day stop at Auckland before off to Paihia,Bay of Islands. One site of NZ that has beautiful beaches. We ride on the Hole in the Rock and Dolphin Watching cruise and later that evening, sightseeing and wandering around. This place is very nice…reminds me of the beaches in Malaysia but too bad i didn’t swim – the water was so cold ,though (less than 20 Celcius).

the dolphins and they’re wild.

some of the tourists on board.

The Hole in The Rock.

Since we had nothing to do that evening, we decided to drove off to the suburb part and look at what we found…the horsies and the view up there…it was STUNNING!!!

The Haruru River.

Next stop – AUCKLAND…final stop!!!

Hamilton,NZ

Right after the Hobitton tour finished, we rushed to Hamilton -about 45 minutes away from Matamata. Caught up with my long lost junior back in school and her super cool friends who ended up are my friends now. As soon as we arrived, Elun served us with ‘Nasi Ayam’. Lapar punye pasal,3 pinggan aku bedal.Hehe! Resting for a while and later she brought us to her friend’s open house (yeaah,it was still Raya mood bebeh…) for another nom-nom session. ‘Rezeki jangan ditolak, org memberi kita menerima’. Baik punye cover line.LOL! Anyway, thanks to the host for the warm welcome and the yummy foods.

My eyes caught this beautiful little creature in the middle of the crowd during the open house. I feel like pinching her chubby little cheek..soooo adorable!!!

After the nom-nom session,Elun showed us around. She brought us to Hamilton Gardens – the most popular tourist attraction which hosts the Hamilton Gardens Summer Festival each year. Below pic is Italian Renaissance Garden.

one perspective of Japanese Garden.

me and Elun marking our presence in front of the entrance of Te Parapara Garden. (stupidest pose ever..LOL!)

Us with Abg Nik. He invited us to sleep over at his crib, accompanying Elun since she will be babysitting his sons that night while he was away working for night shift. Abg Nik is a medical doctor at Hamilton Hospital, by the way.

Back to the girl’s house, had shower, pack our stuffs, had the most enjoyable laughs and super kenyang breakfast with the fellas!!! Thanks girls for the very warm welcome and next time if ade rezeki,i will come to Oklen again ya…LOLOL!

Huntly Power Station,  on the way to Auckland from Hamilton. This power station reminds us of TNB’s Manjung Power Station.

The Hobitton at Matamata,NZ

From Rotorua, we went up to Matamata -about 30 mins away. It’s a rural town in Waikato province. A nearby farm was the location for the Hobbiton – Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings film trilogy. The New Zealand government decided to leave the Hobbit holes built on location as tourist attractions, since they were designed to blend seamlessly into the environment. They have no furniture, but can be entered. We arrived there a bit early and since i had not eaten anything yet for breakfast, i managed to grab a piece of moist choc cake(it’s the most exquisite and delicious choc cake that i’ve ever taste) and a cup of hot mocha before the tour begun. Since the Hobitton Movie set is right in the farm, 360 degrees view are mostly sheeps and farms. Hehe!

See,even Kirah sempat ‘bermesra-mesra’ with the cute lambs. So cute and very the manja oneee!!!

Mmmmmbeeeekkk!!!

our transit (credits to Kirah)

marking our presence at the Hobitton (credits to Kirah)

our group with the tour guide (the guy in the black sweatshirt),Benji.

pretend to be a Hobbit – let’s see which one suit us. Frodo or Samwise? Hmm….

(from this point onwards all pic credits goes to Kirah)

our Hobitton tour finished with the farm experience – a demonstration from a professional sheep shearer followed by…..

…..hand bottle feeding of pet lambs in which we are invited to participate. I was sooo enjoying this!! The pet lambs are sooo cute and can finished drink the milk in less than 10 minutes.