Friday, 12 December 2014

South Island on Wheels: Arthur's Pass


Click the link to see the summary of the trip!

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Man altering Mother Nature
I decided not to go in order and post up this entry first because it's way overdue. Also because this entry has been typed up and just sitting in my draft folders for the longest time. It was one of the first post I finished once I came back from NZ and it's such an inspiration to have met those people.

We were heading towards Christchurch from the Glaciers and stopped by Arthur's Pass for a night to break the journey.

It was about 4.30pm when we arrive at Arthur's Pass Village. It was like a setting from a typical horror movie. The Village consisted of about 8-10 buildings, including 2 cafés/eateries and 1 information center. All were closed at that point. We drove up and down several times and we knew the next motor home park will be kilometers away, so we decided to stay at a hostel. 

Arthur's Pass Village
The first hostel/backpackers inn we went to seemed closed. A signage that said the receptionist doesn't operate from that counter and to use a phone card provided and give the owners a call. 

We felt a bit weird about it so we walked to the next hostel. We were just poking around at the front door looking at the signs that again said to pick up the phone receiver located just next to the main door to get access into the hostel. At that point, we were quite hesitant and considered driving through and out of Arthur's Pass to find any sort of life form. 

Stumbled upon this!


Then the door opened and out came Bill. He was dressed in oil-stained overalls and had the warmest smile of a wise old man. We asked if we could just pay and use the facilities as we already had our own bed. We just needed a place to shower and cook our dinner. He agreed as there was only 1 person staying for the night.


To be honest, we seriously thought we'd get murdered that night and no one would even know. (Like in the movie, Hostel) But, boy were we wrong. Bill is the friendliest, nicest and fatherly New Zealander we've ever met. He gave us a mini tour of the hostel, the surrounding areas, and even told us folk lore and legends of the surrounding landscape. He told us how he operated his hostel (which I will not write here because people may read this and take advantage of him) and asked repeatedly if we had food for dinner. 
As he only comes up a certain day of a week, I told him we were then, very lucky to have bumped into him as it was not that certain day of the week he'd usually come up. He replied, "No, I am also very lucky to have met you too." And he told me I have a beautiful and sweet smile which made me blush like a little girl. 

This post will be filled with many quotes of that night. 

Eventually, he got back to work, cleaning and oiling the machines and water heater tank (that's the reason for all the oil stains) in his backyard and we got back to preparing dinner. We got a large bundle of meat for only $10 by the way and had waaaaay to much food for the 2 of us.

Living Room/Common Area
 Then in the midst of food preparation, in walked in an American Girl and a Spanish Guy. Let's name Her G and Him A. We exchanges greetings and they asked where they could have some coffee and dinner. Told them which direction to head to and they were out the door. A little while later, this Belgium guy (let's name him D) returned from his hike with a stone in the shape of a heart and presented it to Bill. It was quite a sight to see! A 70+ years young man giggling and joking around with D. 

We cooked dinner and realized we had too much to eat so we gave some to Bill and D, as all they had were baked beans and some fruits respectively. We couldn't let them eat just that when we had so much meat and sausages. ($10 bundle remember?) 

Kitchen
Somewhere during dinner, while D was telling us about his adventures in Paraguay, G and A returned and join us. Together we were exchanging stories about our travels and also taught each other vulgarities in our own native language. All 3 of them actually quit their jobs and will be traveling for at least a few years. 

D said that although New Zealand is pretty but it is not as beautiful as some places he's been in South America. A retorted with, "If you keep comparing with other beautiful destinations, how are you ever going to fully immerse and enjoy yourself fully at the destination you're currently in?" 

LOVE THIS FIREPLACE! Just was what I needed that night!
I felt so inspired at that moment. After he said it, it kept going through my mind. It's like in life, if you keep comparing with other people what you don't have, or even what you have and they don't, how are you ever going to really enjoy what you truly have currently?

As the stories flowed, G said when she went to Laos, she met several Laosian people. She said, "They have absolutely nothing, yet they are the happiest people I've ever met." She even recounted how one day she was just walking the streets of Laos and she didn't have anywhere to go or a place to sleep. A Laosian family actually took her in, fed her and gave her a place to sleep. We need to go to Laos soon. 

G also recounted how she got lost in the jungles of Thailand (somewhere off Railey Beach) and she emerged to a deserted beach and how the stars were the best she's ever seen. If it was me, I would have started bawling my eyes out once I realized I was lost.

A photo posted by Natasha Lim (@natatatasha) on

Eventually we all grew sleepy and went to bed. 

We made funny friends
The next morning, we were talking about a waterfall Bill told us about. It was an easy hike of about 20-30mins to the Devil's Punchbowl Waterfall. Legend has it that if you drink from the falls, you'll stay young forever. Gilbert actually filled his bottle and forced me to drink it. I told him, "I'll be young forever if I drink this and die now!" I drank anyways, and I'm still alive. So I guess all is fine.

Devil's Punchbowl Waterfall
 This was the point where we split up and reassured each other that we would stay in touch via Facebook. Gilbert and I were heading towards Christchurch, A and G were taking the long 4hrs hike, and D was going back to the hostel to meet Bill.



Once we were back and collected the car, we saw Bill still working on his machines. We told him that we were leaving and to visit us in Sunny SG when he has the time. He replied that he doesn't have a passport. Gilbert and I were so astonished. Bill said, "I don't need to see the world. With this hostel, people will come and bring the world to me."

He just warmed my heart so much. 

Continuing our journey through Arthur's Pass, Gilbert and I were discussing about the stay. Gilbert said, "We are never truly happy. We just want to earn money to please people we don't like. We get married and hold an expensive and grand wedding banquet for people we hardly know. We travel on the basis that we want to reward ourselves for the hardwork we've done for other people. And we even have to buy gifts for people who we don't like (for him! I only buy gifts for people I like OK!) when we go on holiday. When are we going to do something for ourselves, truly?"

I want to live here!

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Location: Arthur's Pass, New Zealand

Thursday, 11 December 2014

Avani Sepang Goldcoast Resort Review



Sunset at Avani Sepang

Address: No. 67, Jalan Pantai Bagan Lalang, Kg Bagan Lalang, 43950 Sungai Pelek, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia 
Tel : +603 3182 3600 
Fax : +603 3182 3700 
Email : sepang@avanihotels.com

Room: Superior Twin Room
Dates of travel: 3rd - 5th December 2014

It's the time of the year where hordes of workaholics start to clear their annual leaves, or in my case, PHs and Off-in-lieus. If you know me well enough, I never want to waste a single off day! Now I have more than usual off days in the week! 

Called up my girlfriend, Y, and we planned a mini adventure (or you could call it a trip without our men curbing our spending, bloody financial controllers!). We're each others' devil's advocate, encouraging one another to spend be it spa, in-room dining or drinks (usually I'd have the virgin version of whatever she's having). 

Palm Tree Shaped Resort
After browsing through of another friend's beautiful photos of this 'Maldives' or 'Dubai' wannabe place, we're headed straight for Avani Sepang Goldcoast Resort, or formally known as Golden Palm Tree Resort. Namely so, as the entire resort is shaped like a palm tree. Aerial view would be very Maldive-ish. Plus, it's just about an hour's away from KLIA and about 1.5-2hrs away from KL town center. It's actually located very closely to the F1 Sepang Circuit.

Lobby Area
Alighting from the taxi, we were wowed by the large lobby and smell of sunshine. However, no one greeted us, welcomed us nor asked if we needed assistance or checking in. We walked past bellmen who were just chatting amicably amongst themselves. Have they forgotten they're the first impression of any resort? 
Anyway, we checked in and the receptionist very kindly explained where and what time breakfast was, gave us our keys and sent us on our way. I thought that's what you only get in city hotels? Not 5 star resorts... She didn't explain where the water sports area was, that there were Zumba & Yoga classes (I'm an aspiring Yogi) until I missed it the next day & only after opening up the map that was attached with the key. It may be my oversight and mistake not to have read everything, but it would be a nice touch to have someone point it out. I'd love a good yoga stretch in the morning!

Pathway leading to our room

We got a room on the 'trunk' of the palm tree which was nice because it's not too far to walk from either the lobby or clubhouse (where the restaurants, pool, spa and bar are located at) back to our room. We had a lovely, unobstructed view from our room. The room was actually large enough for us to hang out and have dinner on the sofa, chill on the balcony on rattan chairs or laze in bed and watch TV.

TV error!!

It's an occupational habit; I looked for the hotel's compendium/in room dining menu first thing after I put my bag down. Of course I didn't find it anywhere in the room because it's all on the TV! It would have been really high-tech and all if the TV actually worked though. It displayed a "unable to connect to server" screen and kept searching but to no avail. We eventually called for Eng/IT support and they fixed it in no time. It happened again at night when we were lazing in bed and the entire screen just froze. We decided to wait it out because it was late and I was in my pajamas and feeling really cozy. After 20mins of waiting it out, we got frustrated and called support. Halfway into the 15mins wait for support, the TV fixed itself. Oh wells...

A video posted by Natasha Lim (@natatatasha) on


Thought you should know too, the resort is built over mangrove waters, so don't expect blue and clear waters. It was always muddy brown and you'd be able to see sand/mud from your balcony during low tides. I was actually hopping to spot some mangrove wildlife (mudskipper/otters), but all I saw were mud & mud water. 
Rain shower & nice view!

You could enjoy the view while on the toilet!
Sink Area
Unacceptable
We stayed in a superior room, so the room doesn't come with a bathtub. The shower overlooks the sea and it's really lovely to stand under the rain shower and look out. However, some evenings, we noticed how far the shoreline went out due to the low tide and there were people who walked out. I'm pretty sure they could see us showering if we didn't pull down the blinds!


Twin Beds
The room is actually large enough with a sofa by the balcony/windows to enjoy the sunshine and view as you just relax or even have your dinner there. It can even turned into a day bed in the evening for small children.


spacious room!
There is sufficient space between the sofa and the bed, for a family especially. You're able to toss your floaties, bags and even spades and buckets for the little ones. The TV seems a little small considering how spacious the room is.

Rattan furniture out on the balcony

View from the balcony

 Pool

Infinity Pool
On the second day, despite the gloomy weather I might add, we decided to laze by the pool after a hearty breakfast. I know it's a sure way to put on weight, but it was just too lovely not to snooze on the deck chair for a couple of hours! Initially, there were a few families by the pool having a good time. After about 10mins it started to drizzle and we moved to this lovely cabana. Despite that the cushions were kept away to keep dry, we were contented just sitting there soaking up the cool breeze and view. Shortly, this friendly gentleman walked toward us and offered us two deck chairs under the shelter as the cabana had a cloth shelter and it's not necessarily water proof. I felt that that was a lovely touch. At this point, the pool emptied out and it was just the two of us and two other guys.  


The View inside the gym!

After finishing a book, the rain had finally ceased and we moved back out to the outdoor deck chairs. The sky was still gloomy, the wind chilly but it was so lovely to just continue another round of snoozing, which I did! I was rudely awakened though about an hour into my nap to find hordes of children covering almost every inch of the pool. I like children, believe me. But not when they're all screaming at the top of their lungs at a resort that promises rest, relaxation and luxury. 
 
Happy children having fun despite the gloomy weather

Despite all the screaming and occasional splashes of water (children will be children and they just want to have fun right? After all, I was once their age), we were well taken care of by the wait staff at Bila Bila & The Bar. They were always smiling and always inquired if we needed more of anything. Totally made up for all the screaming kids. 


In the evening, there's actually a really good live band and they sang modern songs in their first few sets (think Green Day). In between their sets, there was actually belly dancing performances! Apparently the staff at Avani are multi-skilled! The Zumba Instructor is the lead belly dancer and she's really hot! 

AvaniSpa

AvaniSpa Reception

 We wanted to have a spa session so bad, we booked an appointment for 2 hours despite the price! We got the Revive/Revitalize Me (or something similar, I honestly can't remember the name and the spa menu is not online). It's a 120mins spa session consisting of four components, namely, Welcome Touch, Malay Urut Massage, Head Massage & Refreshments. Bear in mind, the names of the treatments are based solely on memory as I was too relaxed and forgot to take photos of the menu. 

Spa Menu

 That spa session cost us RM310++, roughly equates to SG$140 nett after adding in the taxes. It's honestly the most expensive spa/massage session I've ever been to. I'm not going to compare the price to Thailand or even Indonesia (1/5th the price) because the Spa outlets I've been to is not located in a 5-Star Luxury Resort. 
Spa Form

We arrived about 20mins before our treatment as requested by the receptionist so that they are able to go through what type of massages we want and our body condition as well as preferences. We got there, filled up a form (indication our preferences on where we would like them to focus on), and got distracted by their balcony. They had two hanging lounge day beds! We propped ourselves immediately on it and enjoyed the view while waiting for our turn. We even forgot about our tea. Pretty soon, the entire balcony was filled with China/Taiwan delegates in business attire, making a ruckus (and I thought the children at the pool were pretty bad). I'm not sure if they're on a site inspection or just went up there themselves. Pretty soon there were about 20 of them taking photos of the spa reception, talking loudly and looking at Y and I lounging on the day bed.

Spa Balcony
I got a bit irritated because the spa is a place for you to relax & unwind and with 20 people staring at me, I'm stressed out! I walked back to the reception and asked if we could sit inside, the receptionist rejected my request because the area in which I wanted to sit and wait was for Medi-Pedi only. So I asked how long more till I can start my treatment then, and she replied that my therapist was with another guest at the moment and she will call me once they're done. 

Wow. Ok. So I went back out to get stared at by the 20 people. 

This is definitely unacceptable. Where I work at, I've never brought guests to the spa for a site inspection because I know how noisy we will be (shoes click and talking). Plus, the spa receptionist will never allow me in. They want to maintain a level of calm and tranquility which AvaiSpa has ZERO.

Soon we were ushered into the changing room to get changed, and I asked Y, so what exactly is the "Welcome Touch"? No one spoke with us or get to know us better. 

Spa Reception

Anyway, the treatment started, then it ended, and I must say, it is forgettable. Which was rather sad because after spending almost half of what I wanted to spend on this trip, I got a forgettable massage. With that price in SG (even in luxury properties), we are able to use facilities like Jacuzzi, Steam Rooms, etc. 

 In my form, I wrote to have a medium pressured massage, focusing on the shoulders, neck and head. Initially when the massage started, it felt good, but each stroke is done about 8 or 16 times, and after the 5th stroke, where ever she was rubbing started to hurt. I did tell her to go softer as it hurts, and she did. 

I was looking forward to the head massage so bad because I was having a headache the previous day. Sadly, it lasted about 10 mins and when I was just starting to enjoy it, we're done. I expected 30mins of head massage man. She only massaged the scalp or rather the top of the head. They didn't massage the temples or the back of the head, which was again disappointing. 

Red Touch Mocktail
"Refreshments" is actually just a mocktail they got from the Bar at Bila Bila. It's good with a mix of dragonfruit puree and sprite. No doubt the mocktail was good (Y didn't like it though), again, I expected the refreshment something in the line of lemongrass something and fruits. You know, something that alines it with the spa or relaxation or whatever. 

 Oh, did I mention I found 2 bruises on my body after the spa? The one on my shoulder disappeared after 2-3 days, but the one on my thigh is still there after 1 week.

 At the point, I was done expecting anything from that spa.

 I guess the only thing luxurious and 5-Star about this spa is the price. I even wonder if they self appointed the 5-stars or were they actually rated by Forbes or other audit companies?


So....


We enjoyed ourselves despite the uneventful spa day. The staff working at the restaurants, bars and even housekeeping were very friendly and warm. We were just walking around past all the 2/3 bedroom villas and we asked housekeeping if we could see how a 3 bedroom villa looked like. They allowed us to enter and even showed us around, even asking if we wanted a photo! 

The 3 bedrooms are really so lovely with two sun beds out on the balcony! The master bedroom toilet was ridiculous though. Despite being well furnished and designed, the tub was actually facing the main walkway. So, you gotta close the windows of course!

Will I be back? Yes, why not. It's a simple getaway and I will certainly try the 3 bedroom villa next time I come back with my friends. 

Will I go back for the spa? Never! It's just too expensive for the quality we're paying.   
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Location: Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia

Friday, 14 November 2014

South Island on Wheels: Dunedin

I

Click the link to see the summary of the trip!

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Portobello Village Tourist Park 

Portobello Village Tourist Park
Address: 27 Hereweka Street, Portobello, Otago Peninsula, Dunedin, 9014  
Tel: +64 3 478 0359     
Website: http://www.portobellopark.co.nz
Fees: $38 for 2 pax for powered site

This Holiday Park is located on the Otago Peninsula, about 30-45 mins drive from city center. The only reason why we took to long to drive there was because of the narrow and winding roads. The roads are just between the water and the mountains, if you're sleepy, you'll have a great chance of crashing into the waters!

Portobello Village has a clean kitchen, shower facilities and a TV lounge (not that we ever watched TV while we were there though). As for shower facilities, there was a handicap cubicle which I used to shower at night because it has both a toilet bowl and shower. The shower in that cubicle was must better as compared to the others because you can really adjust the optimal temperature. Gilbert said he showered in the normal cubicle and he had to turn on both the hot and cold water tap and the water was mostly cold.

Yes, I felt bad for using the handicap cubicle. :( Oh! I must add that they have hairdryer too! Many nights I slept with my hair wet because the weather was too cold and my hair couldn't dry in time. That night I didn't intend to wash my hair and only wash it in the morning. Oh, how happy I was when I saw the hair dryer!

Cadbury World

Cadbury World!
Address: 280 Cumberland St, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand  
Tel: +64 3-467 7800  
Website: https://www.cadbury.co.nz/en/cadbury-world.aspx
Fees: $20/student for 75mins tour 

It is recommended you pre-book your tour online to secure a spot, but because we went in October, it was still low tourist season. We managed to secure a spot with another couple. The tour starts off with watching a video and you have to put your belongings into a secured locker so as to not contaminate the factory. You put on a hairnet and you're given a plastic bag with a bar of chocolate in it! Yumz.

The tour starts with climbing stairs. I know. You need to work for the chocolate!

Chocolate buttons!
They brought us around the factory and showed us how they made Easter Eggs and chocolate roses. Every stair we climbed, we were rewarded with either a packet of candy or a bar of chocolate. I swear I was beaming from ear to ear. The best part of the tour was that we get to enter a purple silo and get to watch liquid chocolate form one of the tallest chocolate waterfall! I wanted to stick my hand out and grab some!

Dunedin Railway Station

Dunedin Train Station
Address; Anzac Square, Dunedin
Website: www.dunedin.nz.com/railway-station.aspx

Dunedin Railway station is claimed to be the 2nd most photographed landmark in whole of Australasia. The first being the Sydney Opera House.

Dunedin was linked to Christchurch by rail in 1878, with a link south to Invercargill completed the following year, and the first railway workshops were opened at Hillside in South Dunedin in 1875. Early plans were for a grand main station on Cumberland Street, but these did not get further than the laying of a foundation,[1] and a simple temporary weatherboard station was built next to the site in 1884. It took close to 20 years for government funding to be allocated, and planning only really commenced as the 19th century was drawing to a close.  The logistics of constructing what was at the time New Zealand's busiest railway station took three years before construction began in 1903.[2] Dunedin required a station for a wide range of activities: it was a commercial and industrial center, close to gold and coalfields, with a hinterland that was dependent on livestock and forestry for its economy.


Larnch Castle

Larnch Castle

Address: 145 Camp Rd, Dunedin 9077, New Zealand
Tel: +64 3-476 1616 
Website: http://www.larnachcastle.co.nz/
Fees: $29/Adult

Larnach Castle, is an imposing mansion on the ridge of the Otago Peninsula within the limits of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand, close to the small settlement of Pukehiki. It is one of a few houses of this scale in New Zealand. The house and its grounds are regularly open to the public.

Halfway into Otago Peninsula, heading towards where the Albatrosses were, we stopped by the Castle to have a look. It looked like a typical old English Mansion you can find in the UK. When we first entered the building, we were escorted to the basement where the "Gun Room" is. Instead of guns, there were portraits of William Larnach and his family, as well as write ups on the family's tragedy and legal battle over his properties.

Afterwards, we headed up towards all the bedrooms and nursery for the babies. The furniture reflect the period of the castle though minimally decorated. There was one room where the wedding gown of William Larnach third wife Constance de Bathe Brandon was hung up. There were portraits and other possessions of hers being displayed. To get into the room, you had to draw this heavy velvet curtain, and the entire room was just creepy.

The view from the roof was fantastic though. You could see the whole Otago Peninsula and Dunedin!

Royal Albatross Colony 

Royal Albatross Colony

Address: 1260 Harington Point Rd, Harington Point 9077, New Zealand
Tel: +64 3-478 0499 
Website: http://albatross.org.nz/
Fees: $45/adult for guided tour

The Royal Albatross Centre operates viewing tours for it Taiaroa Head facility using a modern, purpose built indoor viewing area. Tours take place throughout the day and offer 60 minute guided wildlife tour telling the story of the Northern Royal Albatross, followed by a short movie by Natural History NZ then a visit to potential viewing areas on Taiaroa Head.

If you see the picture carefully, you can see Gilbert standing next to a mock up of the Albatross. Yes, that is the actual size! It's wing span is about 3m in length, and because it was so long, it has to be tri-folded. After a short movie and a short walk up to Taiaroa Head, we stood inside an indoor viewing gallery and tried to spot an Albatross. Pretty soon, we could differentiate them from the gulls and other birds. There was an Albatross sitting just a few meters from the viewing gallery and pretty soon, it was joined by two others!

The guide said we were very lucky as it is very rare to see the Albatross land and take off as they only land once a year to mate and raise their chicks. We saw the courting process and even heard them calling out to their mates. They mate for life by the way, so after raising their chick, they go on a year long "Holiday" and meet up with their mates once again during mating season.

Otago Peninsula

Map of Otago Peninsula

The Otago Peninsula is a long, hilly indented finger of land that forms the easternmost part of Dunedin, New Zealand. Volcanic in origin, it forms one wall of the eroded valley that now forms Otago Harbour. The peninsula lies south-east of Otago Harbour and runs parallel to the mainland for 20 km, with a maximum width of 9 km. It is joined to the mainland at the south-west end by a narrow isthmus about 1.5 km wide.

Amazing Sunset partly covered by clouds

Taken on a pier at Portabello Village
Caught an amazing sunset on the pier by Portobello Village before we headed back to camp. One of the most amazing sunset I've seen in my life!

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Location: Dunedin, New Zealand

Tuesday, 4 November 2014

South Island on Wheels: Hampden


Click the link to see the summary of the trip!

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Moeraki Boulders Holiday Park

Moeraki Boulders Holiday Park
Address: 2 Lincoln Street, Hampden, Otago, NZ, 9410
Tel: +64 (0)3 439 4439
Website: www.moerakibouldersholidaypark.co.nz
Fee: $30 for 2 pax for powered site

Recommended by Ian from Glenmark Holiday Park, we visited Alex at Moeraki. We still haven't really seen much penguins and arriving at Hampden was our last hope.

The Holiday Park is very spacious and clean! It is located next to the beach, so the wind is always blowing and the temperature drops drastically at night. Gilbert was very impressed with the toilet actually, just because they provided a floor mat and a bench for you to put your stuff. The facilities are located in different buildings, so getting from the car to the toilet to the kitchen mean braving the cold and walking in the wind.

The kitchen has about 3 electric stove tops and just 2 large tables for dining. The kitchen walls are what made this holiday park so different. Lots of graffiti, drawings and messages were scrawled on every surface of the walls and ceilings.

One particular message was about how this family decided to escape the Christchurch Earthquake by having a campervan "holiday" away from all the disaster that have struck them.

Remember in Oamaru, we packed our chips from Fat Sally's to go? Well, a day's old chips are not edible, but we used them as bait!

A photo posted by Natasha Lim (@natatatasha) on


Yellow-eyed Penguin Colony



Location: Katiki Point, Moeraki Village
Fee: Free

We thought we could see the penguins come up to shore from the holiday park, but nope, we had to drive on a long, winding and narrow gravel road which leads up to a lighthouse.A short walk away from the parking lot, you'd reach a fork in the road. To turn right to head towards the lighthouse or to walk straight, past a fence and a door. We walked straight down the path instead.

Walking straight
 Well, that's what they say about the road least traveled! At first we didn't see any penguins, just lots of fat and lazy seals. Slowly, as dusk approaches, one by one the yellow-eyed penguins came up. What a sight to behold. They'd swim up to shore, waddle a little and shake all the water off. I was freezing my ass off, I didn't know how they took to just standing there air drying themselves.

Penguin Burrows
 As we walked along the path back up, we saw several burrows. In some, penguins were already nesting in them and building up their home with twigs and branches.

Moeraki Boulders



Location: Koekohe Beach
Website: http://www.moerakiboulders.com/

Moeraki Boulders are just located just 25 mins walking distance from the Holiday Park. Instead of walking, we just drove up to the beach in the morning. It's unique shape is formed by concretions that have been exposed through shoreline erosion from coastal cliffs that back the beach. They originally formed in ancient sea floor sediments around 60 million years ago.

Maori legend tells that the boulders are remains of calabashes, kumaras and eel baskets that washed ashore after the legendary canoe, the Araiteuru was wrecked at nearby Shag Point (Matakaea).

Alpacas
Moeraki Boulders also has a cafe, a gift shop and Alpacas! You can buy food to feed the alpacas and they're all really dense and greedy. We spotted them from afar and after shaking the bag of treats, they literally jogged to where we were.

We had a hard time squeezing our hand through the fence though and as the alpacas become more excited at the on sight of food, they'd bump our hands and the treats would drop to the ground. In the evenr that we were able to squeeze our hands through without them bumping our hands, they'd lick and use their thick lips to suckle every morsel from our palms.

TOO CUTE!



Scenic Drives

On our way to Dunedin, we stopped once again to take pictures of the magnificent view that stood before us.  How do you not love the blue sky and the mountains? I must say, in the pictures, everything looks so serene and like it is such a perfect weather, but in actual fact, the wind was howling and it was freezing!





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Location: Hampden, New Zealand
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