Day 3: Auckland - Christchurch - Lake Tekapo

Day 3: 16.09.2015 (Auckland – Christchurch – Lake Tekapo)

Day 3 started a bit drama juga bila tak terbangun sebab letih sangat during the day before. Hehe. Bukan tak terbangun langsung tapi set jam at 4.30am, bangun Subuh dan tertidur semula dan terjaga at 6.10am where we were supposed to catch shuttle to the airport at 6.30am! Kelam kabut bangun, mandi, siapkan both kids, packed nasi goreng etc. and we managed to catch the shuttle (Yellow Bus) at 7am. Pheww. Semalam husband dah beli ticket shuttle NZD5 per adult (child: FOC), tapi pagi tu baru perasan as the ticket can be used for the day of it purchased only. So kena beli balik ticket shuttle pagi tu untuk 2 ticket dewasa (NZD10). Sampai di Domestic Terminal, Auckland Airport at 7.10am and rushed to Jetstar counter to check in sebab flight to Christchurch jam 8.20am. Counter and bag drop closed 30 mins before departure and sebenarnya dah tulis dalam itinerary tapi ingat 1 hour before sebab tu berlari ke kaunter. Lulz. Takpelah exercise pagi. Bahahaha :P

My kids in front of Ibis Budget Auckland Airport Hotel

Dah check in, dah lega, apalagi terus minta anak-anak posing :P

Then kami duduk kat bangku luar airport dan makan nasi goreng for breakfast. Both kids berselera je makan. Haha. Then we went to Gate 23 for boarding Jetstar flight which was not delayed that morning and it took about 1 hour 25 mins to Christchurch. The flight tickets cost us about NZD400 for 4 persons with 20kg luggage per person (luggage will be charged separately macam booking AirAsia, and 10kg dengan 20kg beza NZD1 je, jadi kami terus ambil 20kg). Pretty cheap rasanya. Alhamdulillah. 

Pemandangan udara sewaktu 10 mins sebelum mendarat di South Island, NZ. Subhanallah.

Luggage claim area : Christchurch Domestic Airport

We were safely arrived 15 mins earlier than the scheduled arrival time (arrived at 9.30am where it was initially scheduled to be arrived at 9.45am). South Island was a bit colder than North Island tapi masa kami sampai di Christchurch suhu adalah around 11’C. Sebelum call our Motorhome shuttle, semua pergi melepaskan hajat kat toilet dulu termasuk Khayra dan Hafiya. Hafiya masuk children toilet in Family Room toilet and dia ternampak gambar mural kanak-kanak dengan tangan kotor and I said, “Eee, germs”. Lepas tu bila tangan dia kotor dia akan nangis dan minta wipes or cuci sebab teringat gambar tu dengan gambaran germs. Hihihi.

After about a good 30 mins melepak dalam airport Christchurch, we called the Motorhome Centre (they opens at 10am) and they said to wait for their shuttle at gate 9. About 10 mins later a guy approached us and we showed him our booking voucher tapi dia kata dia perlu ambil kami semula sebab ada 1 family dia perlu hantar dulu ke Motorhome depot. So we waited about another 15 mins and the said shuttle came to pick us up together with another Chinese family from Sabah. Sempatlah kami berborak sakan dalam shuttle tu dengan that family. The Motorhome depot at Orchard Road Harewood was just about 10 mins away from the airport and shuttle adalah FOC. 

Sementara tunggu Motorhome shuttle – outside Christchurch Airport

Sampai kat Motorhome depot, kita perlu register at the counter to confirm on our booking voucher and kena tunggu sampai turn kita dipanggil for briefing. Kat situ ramai juga pelanggan lain yang dah tiba. Kami diberikan free flow drinks and Wifi password serta maklumat and contract tentang Motorhome yang perlu dibaca. Ingatkan sekejap je tunggu turn tapi we waited nearly 3 hours jugaklah kat situ. Hafiya pun sempat tidur satu round T___T

Tempat menunggu dengan free Wifi and free drinks – ada coffee machine

Sementara tunggu turn, Hafiya sempat tidur dulu

Bila turn kita dipanggil, kita akan kena log in to register (don't worry, they will assist you on this) and akan brief kita on the journey / road guna Motorhome, the restrictions, speed limits, 24-Hour assistance, briefing on how to operate the snow chains and most importantly the demo on handling and operating the Motorhome itself. Fuhh, berdebar jugalah memula. Hiks.

Our Motorhome

Inside view of our Britz Motorhome

Around 2.45pm dengan lafaz Bismillah dan doa kepada Allah, kami mulakan perjalanan ke PaknSave, Hornby Christchurch sejauh 7km (13 mins) from Motorhome depot to buy groceries. Waktu nak turn right untuk masuk junction ke The Hub di traffic lights, tiba-tiba enjin Motorhome kami turned off. Fuhh, panic kejap sebab kami kat depan sekali and kereta kat belakang kena mengelak kami to move sebab kami try nak hidupkan semula tapi it took about 3 minutes, baru engine working and lampu isyarat dah bertukar merah kembali. The great part was, masa kami dalam kekalutan itu (I pressed the emergency lights to allow other cars pergi dulu), no one ever tekan hon kat kami. Phewww. Next obstacle kami adalah di PaknSave masa nak parking Motorhome tu yang besar gedabak. Fuhh, menguji ketahanan mental jugalah. Kalau aku yang drive, aku give up kot tapi husband yang memang bersifat cool itu, dia macam rileks je. Haha. Susah wei, aku pulak yang cuak. Then terpaksa aku masuk PaknSave tanya boleh ke ambil parking 2 space sebab kalau 1 space memang berpeluh nak parking and masa tu tak ada Motorhome lain parking nearby untuk kami jadikan rujukan. Then dia kata boleh, tapi aku macam takut kena saman, terjumpa polis kat situ and tanya lagi. Dia pun kata OK so rasa lega. Hihihi. Parking kami tu ada tulis P180 bermakna FOC for 180 mins. Kalau lebih dan dapat ticket saman, kena pergi bayar saman tu dalam NZD80. So timing kena pandai jaga kat sana ya. Kami terus masuk PaknSave and beli groceries dan jumpa ayam Brink’s yang Halal. Sila baca sini untuk refresh memori. Hehe. Total groceries kami NZD142 dan ini termasuk barang merepek macam berus gigi dan ubat gigi DORA yang Hafiya nak, Honey Star Frozen yang Khayra nak etc. Kahkah.

Our groceries – macam-macam ada :P

Lepas habis shopping, kami simpan barang basah dalam peti dan nak cari Halal restaurant sebab dah tahu ada retoren Halal kat area tu tapi kena mencari. Kalau boleh, memang tanak alih parking Motorhome tu haha. Tetibe ternampak Kinara, Indian Restaurant yang Halal betul-betul depan PaknSave tu yang kena lintas jalan je. Alhamdulillah, rezeki kami hari itu sebab kedai yang kami plan nak pergi tu kena menapak jauh lagi. So bila tengok menu boleh diterima, maka kami pun decided to have our late lunch in there. Kami order Beef Beriyani, Naan Cheese and Butter Rice Chicken. Sedap sangat (atau mungkin kami dah lapar, hehe) and it cost us about NZD39. 

Kinara, Indian Restaurant - 413, The Hub, Hornby Christchurch

Just across the road from The Hub PaknSave, Hornby, Christchurch

Kemudian, balik ke Motorhome to solat jamak dan kami teruskan perjalanan ke 1^st holiday park kami di Lake Tekapo Motels and Holiday Park melalui Pekan Ashburton. Perjalanan mengambil masa selama 2 hour 48 mins (about 223km). Sebelum kami nak bertolak tu, tiba-tiba pula hand brake Motorhome kami still menyala (warning lampu merah) even dah released. Another dugaan buat kami, tapi kami just called Britz Assitance and dia tolong settle through phone call je cara-cara nak buat. Alhamdulillah dah dapat settle, terus kami bertolak ke Holiday Park. Pengalaman semua ni untuk kami yang first time drive Motorhome.

Kami selamat sampai di Lake Tekapo pada jam 9pm and it was regarded as ‘After Hour Check in’ sebab Reception closed at 8pm. As we have already paid and booked the powered site, so they left a map for our powered site number at the door for us to park our Motorhome. 

Berdebar jugak sebab dah malam dan gelap gelita weh nak cari nombor parking site. Huwaaa. Cabaran juga. Then we found our spot and hoi payah nak parking sebab gelap. Ya Rabbi, nasib baik bukan aku yang jadi driver. Allah bless you, my husband Hazri. Teehee. Bila nak masuk to our parking site tu tak muat sebab ada kereta block (dia sewa motel depan parking site kami) jadi terpaksalah aku gi ketuk pintu minta jasa baik diorang to move their car. Sejuk beku weh dengan angin sepoi-sepoi sebab betul-betul tepi lake. Fuhh. Nasib baik mat salleh tu mengerti dan minta maaf lalu mengalihkan keretanya untuk kami lalu. Lalu bermulalah 1^st task suami to recharge the Motorhome (sambung connection electric, sambung air, pasang heater etc) dan aku pun mula menyamak segala pinggan mangkuk dan kelengkapan dapur yang lain untuk kegunaan kami. FYI, samak jenis liquid spray kami dibekalkan oleh agen syarikat Motorhome kami. Both kids lepas dah mandi terus tidur lena. Lepas tu bermula juga kerja aku untuk masak for pre packed lunch untuk esok sebab senang sediakan siap-siap dan just reheat saja nanti.

Masa ni dah ada rasa sikit menyesal booking Motorhome sebab kesian kat my husband sebab kena buat banyak kerja dalam kesejukan malam, drive jauh dan aku pun letihhh gila. Tsk. 

Stay tuned for my next entry.

Hobbiton - Photos

Tak lengkaplah kalau ke tempat cantik dan menarik tanpa banyak gambar, kan? Nah, kami sajikan gambar-gambar menarik di Hobbiton Movie Set, Matamata, NZ.

 Ini hobbit hole yang pertama kami nampak during the tour.

Some of the hobbit holes

Hobbit’s bread and pastry

Hobbit village dari jauh, cantik sangat. Subhanallah.

“The Green door of Bag End and find Bilbo Baggins inside” – Peter Jackson

The party tree, Hobbiton

Hobbiton Mill and double arched bridge

 The Green Dragon Inn

Inside The Green Dragon Inn - Khayra tengah merasakan fire heater sebab sejukkk kat luar before sampai sini

Hafiya, inside The Green Dragon Inn

Day 2: Auckland, NZ

DAY 2: 15.09.2015 (Auckland, NZ)

Onboard flight menu were served around 11pm and 2 hours before the arrival time. Alhamdulillah we were safely arrived in Auckland at 11.50am local time (Malaysia time: 7.50am). Both kids were well behaved in the 10 hour flight (they slept for a good 8 hour straight and woke up for games and foods). The weather was 13’C when we arrived and we had to fill up the Arrival Card at the airport sebab MAS lupa nak sediakan! Pffft.

After claiming our luggage and went through the customs clearance (some friendly interview before last luggage screening to Arrival Hall), we quickly search for free phone booth to call our rental car (NZ free phone untuk call NZ free phone numbers). The luggage claim and customs clearance took about 1 hour 50 mins. Sebab kami kena isi Arrival card, masa tu sampai another flight from China so queue nak ke customs clearance pun dah panjang sob sob. They didn’t provide for any fast lane for family with children or for disability person macam di Australia. Sigh.

We went to Relay shop to buy our simcard (2 degrees) for NZD30 (NZD5 for the card and NZD25 for reload calls) and later baru jumpa Vodafone. Jadi beli another simcard for NZD49 with calls and 4GB data. Actually simcard 2 Degrees don’t come with data service unless kena call them to activate and they will deducted NZD16 for 1GB data activation.

Next, we went to gate 11 to wait for our shuttle (our rental car depot was just 11 minutes away and it provides for free shuttle service). Hubs sempat beli Mc Fillet for us sebab kena lunch on the go memandangkan kami dah lari dari scheduled time (flight delayed, long queue for customs clearance, kena isi Arrival Card etc) sebab nak ke Hobbiton. We rented out our car from Omega Rental Cars and bila sampai kat depot kena sign kertas kerja sikit, bayar balance of booking (they took 10% deposit when we did the online booking), check kereta inside and out, installed car seat and booster seat (they will help you to install those), set the GPS and we were good to go. Oh, when we booked the car online, kami pilih untuk return kat airport tapi bila diorang tahu yang kita will spend a night at Ibis Budget Auckland Airport Hotel, they suggested to just return it at the hotel and deducted NZD36 for ‘After Hour Return’ at the airport sebab Ibis bagi free parking, so yeay! The rental car (Mazda Demio Auto – compact car) costs us NZD132 per day rental, inclusive of day rental (NZD61), GPS rental (NZD12), After Hour Return NZD36 – deducted sebab kami return kat hotel and Drive Easy Premium Excess Car Cover insurance (NZD23). Shuttle service and both car seats adalah FOC, so yeay again!

*TIPS ON RENTAL CAR: adalah sangat penting to survey kereta sewa yang bagi kemudahan shuttle if their depot is outside the airport area (kebanyakan yang tersedia di airport itself harga mahal dari depot yang kat luar dan tak ada yang bagi FOC for car seats / booster seats sepanjang aku buat research), kena cari yang bagi sewa GPS and car seats (if you have kids with you) murah or affordable or FOC lagi bagus dan sila ambil full insurance to cover sebab if anything happens (nauzubillah), the excess cover jadi sangat mahal. Juga kena baca terms and conditions on ‘After Hour Pick Up and/or Drop Off’ if kita plan nak sewa kereta outside their working hour. Ada yang company charge mahal, ada company yang charge murah and ada company yang tak provide langsung on this particular policy. Initially kami pilih nak return pukul 11.30pm sebab tu ada fee on “After Hour Return” sebab kena bayar parking fee kat airport. A bond of NZD2,000 by credit card akan diremitkan masa nak ambil kereta and lasted for 3 months sebab diorang akan hantar saman kepada kita if any, and will deducted from the bond straightaway.  

Khayra with our rented car – Mazda Demio Auto (compact car)

Kami bertolak dari Omega Rental Cars depot to Hobbiton, Matamata NZ around 2.20pm and sangat sangat sangat berdebar sebab the journey will take about 1 hour 50 mins and the last tour adalah at 4.30pm. Kalau terlambat sikit atau salah masuk jalan, memang for sure kami tak sempat kejar the last tour of the day and the speed limits adalah 100km/h sahaja. Kalau laju sikit the GPS akan bagi signals on speed limits. Fuhh. The speed limits in town area adalah about 50km/h atau 80km/h sahaja, memang nak nangis dah masa tu. Haha. Oh kami lunch on the go je haritu and Alhamdulillah both kids sangat well behave. Agaknya berdebar tengok parents diorang cuak nak kejar masa dan nak ikut the traffic flow. We already have an email confirmation on Hobbiton Tour at 4.30pm dan sepanjang jalan berdoa je moga Allah permudahkan urusan kami. We reached at the Buckland Road around 4.10pm and nak mencari The Shire’s Rest Café pulak satu hal. *Nangis* Memang Hobbiton ni tempatnya masuk ke ladang yang jauhhh ke dalam and krik krik krik juga. Hehe. Akhirnya jumpa The Shire’s Rest Café at 4.20pm and hubs dropped me off kat depan café and dia pergi cari parking. Aku apa lagi buat mini marathon lari masuk dengan harapan they still can give us a chance to redeem our tour tickets based on the email confirmation.

Alhamdulillah, alhamdulillah alhamdullillah they still accept our late check in dan tickets were then issued to us. The tour will start tepat jam 4.30pm (we were supposed to check in 15 mins before the tour departure, tapi Alhamdulillah rezeki kami haritu sebab still dapat check in). I went out to get my kids and hubs when suddenly I heard nama dipanggil.

“Wahidaaa, Wahidaaa!”

God. Macam mimpi ada orang kenal aku kat Hobbiton. Bahahaha :P

Rupa-rupanya Nik Fara! Apalagi kami berpelukan macam lama terpisah (memang tak pernah jumpa since we left Law School of UiTM in year 2005). Memang tak sangka jumpa dia kat situ sebab we plan to meet kat Southern Island kalau berjodoh. Then nampak my husband and my kids datang rasa nak peluk my husband cos we could make it to Hobbiton tours. Alhamdulillah *star jump* Haha. Sempatlah berbual sikit dan ambil gambar dengan Nik sekeluarga. Jodoh betul Allah temukan kami kat NZ walhal kat Malaysia tak jumpa langsung. 

With Nik Fara and her family at Hobbiton Movie Set, Matamata, NZ :D

Then bas Hobbiton Movie Set Tours datang tepat at 4.30pm and kena naik bas untuk ke movie set of The Shire, Hobbiton. Masa tu baru perasan husband tertinggal kasut Hafiya, apalagi memang kena dukung for the whole tours (about 2 hours) budak 14kg. Ticket tours adalah NZD75 per adult, NZD10 for child 5-9yo and FOC for infant 0-4yo. TIPS: Masa booking must state ada infant atau tak cos a ticket will also be issued even for infant.

Overall aku tak faham sangat (kahkah!) sebab tak pernah khatam cerita LOTR and The Hobbit (balik Malaysia baru buat DVD marathon, hish) tapi tengoklah sikit-sikit but I could feel that my husband was really enjoying the Tour sebab dia paling banyak bertanya (kahkah) to our tour guide yang memang very expert bab Hobbiton and LOTR movie. Part of his birthday treat lah kiranya ni and I’m glad that my husband was really enjoying it! :D The whole movie set was really nice macam nak nangis pun ada. Subhanallah. Hikmah kami ambil Tour at 4.30pm when we managed to experience the movie set (with a close up visit to all 39 Hobbit holes) juga pada masa hari dah gelap. So beautiful dengan tanglung dan lampu warna warni at 6pm.

Entrance to Hobbiton movie set

Samwise Gamgee’s hobbit hole *am a big fan!*

The Tour also includes a free flow drink (Ginger Beer – non alcoholics) at The Green Dragon Inn café. Rasa ginger tea yang ada gas. Bahaha. The Tour ended at 6.30pm and kami ke souvenir shop untuk beli souvenirs (the souvenir shop tunggu group kami sebelum tutup sebab group kami adalah the last tour of the day). Oh, masa tour tu kami sekumpulan dengan a few groups lain and ada berkenalan dengan a Chinese family group from Singapore. So bolehlah kita tolong menolong ambil gambar family masing-masing sebagaimana di atas. Hehehe.

Hafiya inside The Green Dragon Inn Cafe

The Hobbiton Movie set at 6.15pm during end of Winter

Next, our journey back to Auckland at night (around 7pm) and sampai Auckland kami kena refill minyak kereta (NZD44) and adalah disyaratkan isi minyak full tank before return kalau tak akan kena extra charge, bought mineral water from the convinient shop and balik ke hotel to check in at 9.15pm. Kami pilih Ibis Budget Hotel Auckland Airport ni sebab dekat dengan airport dan tak mahal sangat to stay for an overnight. Nama je budget tapi besar juga with king sized bed, toilet and shower and spacious room. Masa survey hotel ni ada juga komen kata kecik tapi bagi kami OK je, no complaints at all. The receptionists were very helpful and process nak check in pun laju je. Parking space available for FOC in front of the hotel, it takes 15 mins walk to the airport, and ada shuttle bus (Yellow Bus) right in front of the hotel mengikut scheduled time, what’s not to love kan? We got a pretty cheap deal for this hotel for RM181.00 and we booked through Agoda.com.

Malam tu kami dinner maggi, roti and waffles je sebab most kedai dah tutup at 9pm. Sebab tu berguna bawa maggi kalau travel. LOL. Malam tu juga I cooked fried rice untuk breakfast esok pagi guna traveller cooker tu. Mudah sangat, Alhamdulillah. Then kami rest and tidur even aku tak boleh tidur sebab time difference. Tsk.

Day 1: Malaysia - Auckland

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim,

DAY 1: 14.09.2015 (KT – KLIA, Malaysia – Auckland, NZ)

My hubs birthday! Happy birthday to my dearest husband! Behold for the next awesome adventures in NZ :D (Kami purposely booking flight tickets tarikh ni untuk celebrate sekali birthday suami walaupun dia yang keluarkan duit. Wiwiwiwi, thank you to my dearest hubs! :D)

Both of our parents sent us off to the airport and we had big breakfast together that morning before catching up our Firefly flight to KL (masa tu paling murah about RM400 for 4 persons one way tapi kami booking MAS balik dari Auckland – KLIA - KT) and landed at Subang Airport at 12 noon. 

At Subang Airport – bad haze day :(

At Mitsui Premium Outlet for lunch with my bestie, Linda together with her family :D

My BFF Linda and her husband, Zul had volunteered to pick us up from Subang Airport (they both apply cuti on that day terharu sangat sayang kau muah muah muah!) and we went straightaway to KLIA to check in our luggage. Then pergi melencong to Mitsui Premium Outlet for lunch and went to Putrajaya untuk jumpa Zmah dan Bon yang juga apply cuti pada hari tersebut, yeay! We planned to surprise my hubs for a small birthday celebration where Zmah buat brownies yang sungguh lazat (yums!) along with other foods. Kami sempat mandi, tukar baju, rest sekejap dan kasi the kids main puas-puas dulu kat rumah Zmah pada hari tersebut (and habiskan tenaga, hihihi) sebelum naik flight 10 jam nanti. Such a happy day to spend time with your besties before starting our long haul journey that night to Auckland. Terima kasih kawan-kawan yang disayangi for your hospitality! 

Yummy (surprised) Brownies baked by my bestie, Zmah for my hubs' mini birthday celebration :D

At 6.30pm Linda and Zul sent us off to KLIA and we performed our solat Maghrib and Isyak including solat sunat musafir at KLIA before boarding our flight to Auckland at 9.45pm. Our flight was delayed by 20 mins due to bad haze. 

My little girls – ready for (another) traveling adventure with us :D

Preparation NZ - Part 2

Part 2

What's not to love about packing? LOL. Ada je orang tak suka packing, kan? But as for me, I love love love packing my own things (and my family stuffs) especially when we are going to travel! *star jump*

The thing is, sebelum memulakan packing – MY OWN completed itinerary must be ready before hand. So kalau korang ada rezeki tengok my own itinerary, you will find things to do day per day basis. So bila packing, senang nak budget apa nak bawa, baju mana yang sesuai nak pakai, baju mana lebih selesa etc. The reason I start to pack early adalah kerana tanak kacau baju atau perkara yang nak dibawa supaya semua dah set aside. Complicated perempuan ni. Heh.

So this is how I pack – dengan menggulung baju supaya save space dan senang nak cari. It works, peeps. Trust me.

This is how I pack Hafiya’s diaper (the reason why kita tak seriously PT her before pergi NZ, sebab risau cuaca sejuk. Haha). Memang guarantee save space. No need to buy extra diapers kat NZ haritu sebab memang dah buat maths siap-siap. Actually ada banyak je jual and senang nak cari kalau tanak bawa banyak, OK? Tapi kena fikir on exchange rate kalau nak beli.

Bring packing to another level – dengan tanda siap-siap baju yang nak pakai ikut hari mengikut scheduled activities and places to visit. Ini memudahkan sangat sebab nak jimat masa. Banyak benda nak buat actually especially waktu pagi. Nak prepare breakfast, nak siapkan diri kita and the kids, nak buat bekal, nak set jarak masa perjalanan, nak checking out the Motorhome itself, nak ambil gambar or doing photo shoot etc. So bila dah mark siap-siap macam ni, dah cross one item to think atau untuk dibuat pada waktu pagi. Haha. Oh, on another note – tak perlu bawa baju banyak sebab kat sana ada laundry service so sangat mudah. Macam kami yang sewa Motorhome, setiap holiday park memang ada laundry room yang boleh digunakan with minimal charges (not more than NZD8 for both washer and dryer).

 Antara barang penting to pack:

1. Botol air kosong for toilet use. As you know toilet kat NZ tak ada pili or bidet shower, so botol air kosong is an essential thing to pack. Boleh beli saja kat sana kalau tanak bawa dari Malaysia. I use this kind of bottle sebab it works as bidet – the spray type, so lagi senang.

2. Kids’ medication. I packed them in a transparency bag / pack supaya senang nak cari and for customs purposes – this is very important waktu nak screening.

3. Liquid medicines – I purposely put them in a small padded bag supaya senang nak cari and this will go inside the luggage. So senang nak protect from pecah. Standard ubat such as motion sickness, flu, fever and colic I dah set aside dalam hand luggage in case of emergency. I made a long list on medication that I bring untuk memudahkan customs checking.

4. These are the essential things to use on the plane for example: tooth brush and tooth paste, wet wipes, tissues and essential ubat yang perlu guna and in case of emergency. This pack is a different set from the one inside the luggage. Nampak tak I take packing as a serious thing? Kahkah!

5. Kompas atau Qiblat Direction. Kami beli dengan harga RM15. So useful when travel.

6. Daily disposable lenses. D’uh.

7. Bepanthen – this will always be in my hand carry and inside my handbag (tapi kadang terlupa kalau tukar handbag. Hehe) sebab berguna for my kids. Kami guna in most situations i.e bila terkena gigitan serangga, bila ada minor scratch, bila kena gatal-gatal, bila kulit merah-merah etc. Work wonders for my kids dari mereka kecil. Alhamdulillah.

Next, food packing! First and foremost, I packed my food inside a zipper plastic bag untuk elak dari pecah atau mixed with other items. Kebanyakannya pun adalah Brahim’s dan Adabi punya paste. Kami bawa juga beras yang 2kg incase tak sempat shopping masa first sampai sebab mengejar masa. FYI prohibited foods in NZ adalah segala jenis meat, honey, dairy products (except susu tepung kanak-kanak dan membawa kanak-kanak bersama), fresh fruits etc. Boleh check out their website untuk prohibited foods and items in NZ. Again, I have prepared a long list for foods yang dibawa in case they query masa customs check. Tapi sebenarnya apa yang penting adalah kita declare semua barang yang kita bawa dan masa sesi soal jawab dengan kastam, just bagitau apa kita bawa dalam beg dan nyatakan tiada barang terlarang seperti yang dinyatakan di atas. Insyaallah boleh lepas. Jangan mengelat tau sebab ada screening nanti before keluar ke Arrival Hall. I also brought a portable traveling rice cooker with me (sometimes be called as electric lunch box) yang I rasa sangat berguna for us in NZ. If you noticed, I also bawa paper plate sebab plan nak picnic so macam senang je pakai buang. Benda tak berat bolehlah consider untuk dibawa ya untuk kegunaan kat sana :P (plus point kalau naik MAS sebab luggage 30kg per person). We have a total of 120kg of luggage and yeay for the comfort feeling on doing the packing! :P

This is what I love the most about packing; my kids stuffs. Actually they will pack their own stuffs in their respective bags tapi ini kira surprise things yang akan didedahkan (yes, it is a secret mission. Lulz) to them in any emergency case disaat diorang bosan atau cranky. Haha. Kena fikir lebih sikit kalau travel with kids. I called this as “Kids Happy Pack” and I packed them inside small zipper bags so senang nak bawa dan capai nanti. Ada stickers and sticker books, activity books, colouring books, doodles books, note books, colour pencils and crayons, stamp pens, small legos, Shopkins, mainan masak-masak and other toys. Semua ni I bought in mini sizes supaya senang nak pack. I also bought a few biscuits in mini sizes (individual packs) for them kalau travel. Sorry, the OCD inside me just came out by doing these for my kids. Haha!  

So next, will be on the itinerary itself. Stay tuned. 

Preparation NZ - Part 1

Part 1

The idea nak pergi NZ adalah sebenarnya sebab my husband nak sangat try Motorhome. Masa tu kami hanya tahu term “Caravan” je, so tak apa, sebab tu kena travel banyak so that boleh menambah ilmu alam. Kekekeke. I will divide this entry into a few parts, so selamat menambah ilmu! :P

TRAVELLER BLOGS AND RESEARCHES

Kami start baca pasal NZ and landed on blog Kembara Sang Kancil. Seronok baca blog Encik Faizal ni yang sangat details sebab dia pun sewa Motorhome. Then I started emailed him (dan juga PM) sebab ada a few questions nak tanya. Alhamdulillah, dia jawab dengan baik. Terima kasih sangat! :D

Untuk trip NZ ni memang banyakkk kena membaca sebab kami plan nak pergi sendiri tanpa agensi pelancongan. Ada anak-anak kecil ni sukar sikit nak komited dengan masa yang orang tetapkan, jadi baik kita chillax je ikut convenient kita anak-beranak. Sebelum ni pernah pergi dengan travel agent to China and Turkey tapi masa tu anak sorang so rasa boleh lagi kejar masa, ni dah dua orang anak, rasa lagi best plan sendiri. So I started kumpul itinerary orang Malaysia yang dah pernah jejak NZ. Antaranya Kaki Berangan, Cik Safura, Neena Anuar and a few bloggers lain. Memang memberi panduan maklumat yang bagus traveler bloggers ni. Appreciate every detail in their blogs. Then kami start rangka jarak dan perjalanan dan apa aktiviti kami nak buat kat NZ.

Kitorang pun pernah pergi MATTA Fair untuk tahu lanjut pasal motorhome ni dan secara tak langsung rezeki kami terjumpa booth Ahmad Caravan. Kitorang ada juga tanya quotation dengan diorang tapi tak buat booking pun, cuma dapatkan maklumat penting pasal motorhome ni sebab masa tu flight tiket belum beli. Sebelum tu dah tahu sikit pasal Trip Adik Beradik dan Trip Kekawan yang juga buat travel by motorhome / caravan ni.

FLIGHT TICKETS, PASSPORT AND DRIVING LICENSE

Nak dijadikan cerita, sebenarnya plan asal kami nak pergi bulan April, 2015 dengan both sides of our parents. Tapi masa nak booking bulan January tu, my Tokki was not feeling very well at that point of time. So my parents berat juga nak bagi komitmen nak travel jauh. So kita dah cancelled terus plan April (autumn). Fast forward, masa akhir bulan 4 (at that time 80% itinerary semua dah siap), kami dapat tahu MAS ada buat online sale, so saje je aku gatal tangan tengok tickets to NZ and Alhamdulillah, rasa affordable, terus bentang proposal kat Menteri Kewangan kami, a.k.a Mr. Husband. Hehe.

Lepas bincang balik dengan our parents and diorang macam tak confident nak naik motorhome, then we agreed to proceed sebab dah dapat date yang Khayra tak perlu ponteng school lama sangat in September. So waktu kami berkobar-kobar nak booking pagi hari sebelum pergi kerja, tengah key in segala data for booking TAPI …

Jeng jeng, passport Khayra pula expired! Huwaaa. Nangis kejap sebab dah bersemangat waja semua kan. Pastu kita risau harga tiket akan naik nanti. So pada hari yang sama, lepas ambil Khayra dari school, terus pergi renew passport and hari yang sama juga pergi tangkap gambar passport Hafiya untuk renew gambar sebab gambar lama masa dia umur 5 bulan. Petang tu juga bawa both kids pergi buat urusan di Imigresen dan Alhamdulillah semua settle.

So kami try booking semula esoknya sebab malam tu ada hal (macam-macam hal), dengan berdebarnya tengok harga sebab memang dah confirm akan naik sikit, tapi Alhamdulillah, harga turun pula by RM200! Ya Allah, rezeki kami lah pagi tu. Ada hikmah kan dengan apa yang jadi the day before.

Oh, pasal tiket flights ni, kami dah start survey dari January kan, sehingga membawa ke MATTA Fair masa bulan Mac etc. So bila compare dengan harga yang kami dapat masa online sale, rasa macam within our budget, sebab tu kami booking terus. Dan kami memang nak pilih MAS sebab the only direct flight ke Auckland. Yang lain kena transit dan ada yang transit up to 28 hours of total flights and transit, rasa macam tak mampulah nak transit lama-lama with the kids tagging along. Memang harga flight transit is way cheaper tapi if solo traveler atau without kids, maybe boleh consider. Tapi kena put in mind that kalau transit, kena tambah hari sikit (dan kena apply cuti lebih kalau yang bekerja, kena obtain Visa kalau transit di Australia (Melbourne, Sydney) dan China, dan kena fikir kos nak melanggut lama during transit serta faktor-faktor lain. Macam kami yang sedar diri hanya kuli biasa dan bukan big boss, kenalah consider banyak benda especially bab cuti dan kerja dipejabat yang milik bos kami. Hehe.

FYI, Visa tak diperlukan di NZ just isi borang Arrival and Departure sahaja dalam plane atau di airport nanti. Driving license kita boleh digunakan di NZ dan tak perlu International Driving License or Translator Letter dari JPJ dengan syarat lesen memandu kita perlu yang ada cip yang latest sebab dah siap-siap ada English translation kat belakang (kaler pink).

My kids – during nak renew passport and renew gambar passport :D

ITINERARY

This is the most crucial part (bagi aku). Sebab kena buat banyakkk research pasal tempat nak pergi, jarak perjalanan, aktiviti nak buat, holiday park atau accommodation to stay, kereta sewa, tempat makan halal atau kedai yang jual makanan halal (raw food material or cooking food material), child friendly environment, child activity etc. Ni paling lama nak siap dan paling dramatic sekali sebab ada banyak insiden berlaku. Haha. Siap menangis dan hampir nak give up pun ada. Haish. Tapi semua ni kenangan, so ada manis dan ada pahit nak ditelan. Ecewah. Ini akan aku go into day by day nanti in my next entry.

On a small note, kebetulan kami pergi NZ tu sekali dengan kawan masa U*iTM iaitu Nik Fara. Tak plan pun pergi sekali tapi lepas booking tickets baru tahu sama tarikh cuma Nik pergi 14 hari dengan family dia dan kami hanya pergi 10 hari. So masa buat itinerary, ada juga bertukar-tukar info dengan Nik.

HALAL FOODS

Actually kat NZ banyak kedai dan restoran makanan halal, especially in town area so no need to worry too much. Mostly kedai ala Turkish (hello kebabs and salads! Yums) and from Middle East dan portion agak banyak. Biasanya kalau kami jumpa kedai Halal, kami akan order 2 main meals je for 4 of us. Most of Nandos kat city town area pun Halal. Kalau nak beli raw food material, boleh ke PaknSave dan cari jenama ayam Brink’s NZ Chicken. Product authentic and certified Halal by FIANZ (Federation of Islamic Association New Zealand). Masa tengah research pasal ayam Halal di NZ, a few blogs kata kena potong ayam sendiri into small cuttings lepas beli sebab most ayam Brink's jual seekor terus. I was a bit berdebar jugak masa tahu tentang hal ini sebab kalau beli ayam kat Malaysia pun, I request potong kecik siap-siap terus, inikan nak potong dari seekor into small parts tu macam alahai, tak kuasa. Haha. Dah siap plan nak beli pisau besar kat sana kalau tak disediakan inside our motorhome. Tapi bila kami beli groceries kat PaknSave Hornby, Christchurch, Alhamdulillah they did sell yang dah potong into small parts (thighs, drums, skinless breasts, whole legs etc) siap-siap dan ada juga yang dah marinade. Nak melompat happy pun ada masa jumpa tu. Hehe. So you can read more on Brink’s NZ Chicken here. Untuk seafood macam sotong dan udang, they did sell yang already packed and frozen, dan ada yang jual per kilo so bolehlah beli mana yang sesuai. One thing to consider, kalau masak lebih jimatkan masa sebab nak locate kedai Halal dan cari parking pun makan masa. 

CURRENCY EXCHANGE AND CREDIT CARDS

Kat NZ guna NZD (New Zealand Dollar). Masa kami dapat quotation dari a few Motorhome company, hampir semua darab 2.9 dan masa bulan Ramadhan (bulan Julai) masa kejatuhan matawang dunia, kami tukar selambak siap-siap dan dapat rate 2.6! The lowest kami dapat masa tu. So kalau kami tukar sekarang dengan NZD yang masih berbaki, kami untung lagi! Credit cards especially Visa and Master Cards boleh guna in most kedai and petrol station and they rarely accept American Express (AMEX) kat sana. American Express langsung tidak diterima di mana-mana petrol station.  

Photo: Hafiya and tempat kami tukar duit NZD.

WEATHER

Kalau ikut general weather di NZ, September dah masuk Spring tapi sebenarnya September will still be regarded as end of Winter. So masa kami pergi still boleh pergi main snow di Coronet Peak (opens in June – October only) and still banyak tempat ada pemandangan snow capped mountains. Indahnya, Subhanallah. Di Auckland (Northern Island) masa kami sampai dalam 13’C and in Southern Island around 10’C and below. Gigil jugalah waktu malam hari. Brrrr. Please take note that during Summer (December – February) will be regarded as peak tourists season hence most accommodations and rentals akan mahal. They regarded this time as expensive months.

PACKING

If you know me very well, you will know that I always take packing as a serious stuff. Kahkah! Even nak pergi KL je atau staycation pun akan packing dengan teliti and I always hope that I could bring the whole house! Bahahaha. If nak ke overseas, I usually start to pack a month earlier and this is a serious commitment, guys. No kidding. Kena fikir packing for 4 orang jadi kenalah start awal and siap ada checklist, hokey? Haha. My BFFs will surely faham my stand on this thing. Hehe. For this trip, kami bawa 4 beg i.e: 1 bag pakaian (the biggest size but lightweight luggage – 25kg), 1 beg for foods (cabin size luggage – 15kg), 2 backpacks i.e small size and hoversack 120L (for convenient storage and for our winter jackets). More details on packing will come up in Part 2.

Our luggage.

I will stop here for this entry. More to come insyaAllah. Doakan I ada masa to write down everything, to watermark my photos dan juga mengarang entri berikutnya. Hewhewhew :P

Salam Tahun Baru Hijrah 1437H!