Spring in North Island一路向北

15-16 September 2010

-Finally, the journey in North Island has begun after the journey in South Island has ended.
-Here it comes to my first day in North Island.
-Here I am in Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand.
-Feel exciting to explore further up north? Yes, I do.
-However, I have some kind of ‘culture shock’ when arrived in this busy city, full of vehicles and people. Oh, I have been too long running away from city life!
-Well, I will still proceed with my journey to next station.
一路向北, 来到了纽西兰的首都.
竟然, 有点不太适应那拥挤和繁忙.
是从天堂回到了人间吗?
哈!
无论如何,依然
期待, 在继续北上的当儿,
可以找到,
另一个天堂.

Goodbye South Island 迎春接北

-Finally, spring has arrived after winter has gone.
-Flowers start to gloom, weather starts to get warmer, but wind still blows strongly and rain falls quite frequently.
-Here it comes to my last day in South Island.
-Here I am in Picton, where the ferry terminal located, connecting both islands of New Zealand across the Cook Strait.
-Feel reluctant to leave? Yes, I do.
-Traveled around South Island again to see how spring has coloured up those places of interest, I just couldn’t help to get this lovely island out of my mind.
~Christchurch (thrilling farewell by the earthquake) ~ Lake Tekapo (chilling farewell by the storm) ~ Oamaru (lovely farewell by the cute penguins) ~ Dunedin (challenging farewell by the steepest street) ~ Alexandra (beautiful farewell by the blossom) ~ Queenstown (rushing farewell by the busy town) ~ Wanaka (exhilarating farewell by the piloting experience) ~ Fox Glacier (stunning farewell by the glacier) ~ Westport (relaxing farewell by the sandy beach) ~ Kaikoura (awesome farewell by the sunrise & seals) ~ Blenheim (tasty farewell by the wines) ~ Picton (bid farewell at last).
-Goodbye South Island.
-I’m gonna miss each of every places here. I’m gonna miss the Autumn, the Winter, as well as the new coming Spring. Well, I missed the Summer!
在南岛体验季节的变换, 过过生活, 打打散工, 走走玩玩, 转眼就过了几个月.
在这里渡过了落叶纷飞的秋季, 也渡过了雪花飘散的冬季, 在迎接春季的这一刻却也来到了告别的时刻.
老天也知道我的不舍啦, 所以时不时都会洒泪!
老天也很厚待我啦, 那朵朵绽放的花卉点缀了那么炫目的告别礼!
所有的风光, 所有的体验, 都会被我牢牢记住的.
南岛, 拜拜咯!
北岛, 我来咯!

Part II: Catlin~Invercagil~Te Anau~Milford Sound直抵最南端(28-30 June 2010)

~CATLIN is a small village and visitors normally go there to get access to the Slope Point which is claimed as the southernmost point of NZ.这算是一个鸟不生蛋的小地方。我们到时四周寂静无人，很多住宿点都没有营业（冬天停业），终于找到一家BBH，还要自己开门进去（门都没上锁）自选房间，self check-in，主人后来才来收费呢！
~INVERCAGIL is the southernmost city and visitors normally go there to get access to Stewart Island.就，最南部的城市嘛！也没什么特别或非去不可的景点，就是气温很低咯！
~BLUFF is NZ’s southernmost export port. It’s claimed to be famous of ‘Bluff Oyster’ but after we tasted it, we felt like cheated as the oyster was so tiny and not really taste good. Bluff indeed!!!不要再上当了！！！
~TE ANAU, on the southeastern shore of Lake Te Anau (the largest lake in South Island, 417m deep & 53km long which was gouged out by a huge glacier, takes its name from the caves called Te Ana-au which means ‘Cave with a Current of Swirling Water)), is Fiordland’s commercial centre and a good base for exploring Fiordland National Park.我们去时天气不太好，浓雾把天空笼罩得灰灰的，所以显现不出这座全南岛最大的湖的风采。
~MILFORD SOUND is a 16km long fiord. Its famous landmark is Mitre Peak, a pyramid shaped mountain rising 1692m straight from its deep fiord. The high rainfall in the area creates a spectacular deluge of cascading waterfalls and adds a ghostly mist to the scene. Instead of taking cruise, we drove along the 121km long Milford Road (earned World Heritage Highway status for its beauty and scenic variety) and stopped by at few attraction points for some short walk to visit the Mirror Lake and The Chasm. The Homer Tunnel (101km from Te Anau)) has a steep east-west gradient and involved many employers during its construction which took over 20 years.一路驱车向这想象中很梦幻的海峡前进，途中停下来的一些景点和真正抵达后虽然都没有让我们有‘哗’的赞叹，但，也，还可以啦！

‘Quake & Awake 30 hours’~“有惊无险30小时

-NZ time 4th Sep 2010 4.35am
~Magnitude 7.4 earthquake hit Christchurch and woke me up from bed in a BBH located in the city centre. The tremor lasted for at least a minute, followed by countless aftershocks where each shaking was far more thrilling than all types of roller-coaster that I have ever tried before! Evacuated out to open-space in dark accompanied by windy and freezing cold weather, all luggage trapped in the room as the whole building was quarantined for further inspection due to the cracks, transferred to another hostel temporarily, without power supply and with limited water supply, without any other clothes except the pyjamas and jacket grabbed along during the evacuation and with the on-and-off aftershocks restricting rest and sleep…all these made up to the ‘Quake & Awake 30 hours’.

-NZ time 5th Sep 2010 10.30am
~Finally managed to claim back the luggage and left Christchurch, moving towards South which is further from the epicenter. Now I arrive in Oamaru and got access to internet at last.

Hereby I would like to announce to all that I AM SAFE AND SOUND now.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, my dear family and friends for all the concern and care, I truly appreciate it by all my heart.

第五次回到基督城，竟然遇到了大地震，震央只距离这里区区不到30公里！
历经了在基督城的“有惊无险30小时”，
人生的历练又多了那么一个难忘的‘第一次’。
这一次的第一次，还真是轰轰烈烈非常！（轰隆作响激烈得很！)

无论如何，
总算，
我和身边的人现在都安然无恙。
真的非常感谢大家的关心和问候。
让大家操心了。
再次感谢，
依然感恩，
持续祈愿，
希望所有的情况都会好转。

南岛初冬之旅：Part I: Mt Cook~Oamaru~Dunedin (24-26 June 2010)

Highlights:
~MOUNT COOK, known to Maoris as Aoraki (Cloud Piercer) is the highest mountain in Australasia (3755m). 在下过雪的隔天从Lake Tekapo向这座全纽西兰最高的山前进，沿途遥望铺满厚厚白雪高耸入云霄的山顶在阳光反射下闪闪发亮，耀眼得促使我们停在大马路上跳跃玩闹野餐搞怪摄影，然后再进入该National Park里‘踏雪寻湖’。
~OAMARU is a pretty town with wide, tree-lined streets, galleries, colonies of rare penguins (we saw blue penguins crossing the road, so cute and funny!!!), and the best preserved collection of historic public and commercial buildings in NZ. The buildings were fashioned in the 1880s from Oamaru stone, a local cream-coloured limestone which is easily cut, carved and moulded. 冒着寒风在天黑之际躲在一旁寻找企鹅的踪影，看着一只只小小的身躯左右摆动鬼鬼祟祟地从海上作息归来， 还会看左看右没车没人然后加速横跨马路回家的滑稽模样，真是太太太有趣了！
~MOERAKI BOULDERS have long been the subject of legend and curiosity. Almost perfectly spherical, with a circumference of up to 4m, the grey boulders lie scattered along a 50m stretch of the beach. They were formed 60 million years ago as lime salts gradually accumulated around a hard core.那一颗颗浑然天成的大小圆石排列在海岸上，放眼望去, 不免会为这大自然的杰作而赞叹。
~DUNEDIN has close historical links with the Scottish city of Edinburgh.. Its buildings are among the most interesting and architecturally diverse in the country. The Must-Visit places include The Octagon, Railway Station, St Paul’s Cathedral, University of Otago and the Baldwin Street (claimed as THE STEEPEST STREET IN THE WORLD in Guinness Book of Record). 我们到步时，恰逢Mid-winter Carnival (to celebrate the longest night of the year), 庆典中心在八角大厦附近，计有乐队表演和花车灯笼游行等, 所以整个城镇热闹非凡，暖和着零下的温度。
-OTAGO PENINSULA offers a wide variety of attractions including rare and unusual wildlife, historic buildings, spectacular harbour and coastal scenery. We visited Royal Albatross Centre but didn’t see any albatross as we did not join the tour. 这里也可以看到黄眼企鹅, 可是暂时还和它们无缘. Larnach Castle是这里著名的城堡,可惜入门费不菲所以没进去参观.

31 August 2010~ Merdeka Hiking with snow冒着风雪爬上滑雪场的异乡庆国庆记

31st August 2010 = Independent Day of Malaysia = Last day of winter in NZ = 2nd snowing in my life!!!!!! 10 Malaysians in NZ climbed all the way up to Temple Basin Ski Field in Arthur’s Pass accompanied by SNOW and sang NEGARAKU on top of the hill to celebrate this extraordinary day, SWEET AS!!!!!! :p



就在纽西兰的雪山上，用雪花来欢送冬天，用国歌来迎接大马国庆日， 好一个非同凡响的庆祝方式嗯？！

随着八月的结束，也象征将要告别这里的冬天。
竟然，还可以再迎接另一场雪。

冒着风雪爬山，
坐在雪地上畅饮啤酒，
耐着酷寒打起雪杖，
一行10人的大马帮在覆雪的山腰高唱国歌州歌，

爱国爱疯了？
还是爱雪爱疯了？

总之，
疯得很尽兴。

2010年的8月31日，还真是一个非凡的日子。