Tuesday, August 28, 2012

{New Zealand Aug 2012} Setting foot on New Zealand

Tickets bought on a whim.
Two weeks of madness.


After a day of crazy packing, we were on the plane to New Zealand.

DAY 1
Singapore to Christchurch

This flight was one with the most turbulence I experienced.
It was like travelling on a bumpy road and the dinner service had to be delayed.
It was not easy to get the food into your mouth. Most of the time, the food preferred my nose.
But it was on this same flight I got a lovely surprise from the husband.
How rare is that?

I was extremely disciplined for this flight. Because I know that there was going to be a lot of travelling for the next two weeks, I chose sleep over in-flight entertainment.

This is my first glimpse of New Zealand.


Can you believe that 'What a Wonderful World' was playing in the background when this gorgeous view met our eyes? I never got any SQ flights that played music on board like that.

It was most apt and amazing.



Christchurch airport is clean and easy to navigate around. (There were a couple of airports which were not idiot-proof enough for me.)

We needed data plans so that I could log onto FB and instagram, google for directions and whatsapp our parents.
Picked up one from Vodafone ($25) which was just at the arrival hall.
A shuttle from Apex Car Rental picked us up to collect our rental car.
The moment we stepped out of the airport to get to the shuttle, our transition lens turned black.
I was immediately reminded of the high levels of UV and know we are not going to have that many pictures of us taken during the trip.


I love our rental car.


It's more spacious and comfy than our own car back home.
And it has a lovely tinge of blue.

We stayed at Annabelle Court Motel for the night.
It was a nice 15 minute walk from Westfield Shopping Centre where we got our lunch.
No thanks to jet-lag, my eyes were barely open throughout the entire meal.

No further activities were planned for this day because the key thing was to sleep and get plenty of rest to prepare us for the long (in Singapore terms,this drive is considered short to the locals) drive the following day.

I don't usually sleep well in an unfamiliar place, especially on the first night.
This time, I crawled to the bed at 9 pm and slept like a baby.



More of the trip here:
{New Zealand Aug 2012} Geraldine, Lake Tekapo
{New Zealand Aug 2012} Lake Tekapo in Snow
{New Zealand Aug 2012} Mount Cook. Just a quick one.
{New Zealand Aug 2012} Queenstown
{New Zealand Aug 2012} Arrowtown
{New Zealand Aug 2012} Tarras
{New Zealand Aug 2012} Wanaka
{New Zealand Aug 2012} Fox Glacier
{New Zealand Aug 2012} The scary ride
{New Zealand Aug 2012} The lesson from a seal
{New Zealand Aug 2012} Kaikoura
{New Zealand Aug 2012} International Antarctic Centre 



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