New Zealand - Day 2 (Christchurch-Timaru-Oamaru)

Thx to the groceries we bought at Pak n Save, we had our own breakfast: cereal & milk, toast bread with strawberry jam. Yums..!

Then we check out the Top 10 Holiday Park @ 10am

Places that we went at Day 2: 
Here's the list in summary
#1 - Christchurch town - DF souvenirs
#2 - Timaru (wallaby park)
#3 - Omaru - Penguin Colony

 #1: Christchurch City Centre
We straightaway head to DF Souvenirs. It's the cheapest yet full of varieties, good quality souvenirs, tshirts, even the All Blacks merchandise. We bought a lot of souvenirs here & All Blacks rugby shirt (eventhough the All Blacks shop is just a few shops away but a little more expensive, same quality, same 'made in'). Cost of the All Blacks rugby shirt was NZD 131..! And the total that we spent was.... NZD 375. Errk.. Mmg abis-abisan beli. hehe

Oh and one more thing.. The town of Christchurch was badly damaged by a massive earthquake back in Year 2011,  which is just about 4 years earlier. There's one place called Quake City which is like a museum, showcasing the events of the 2011 earthquake. While walking around Christchurch, you could see that they are still in the phase of building back the town. There were very few actual concrete, permanent buildings. The shops are made up from cabins tho they are nicely placed & decorated like a normal shop. Looking chic & cool too. You could also see a two-storey shop for example, made up from 2 cabins stacked up on top of one another. There were also new concrete walled shops though, alongside those which were still being restored/repaired. Oh and there's also one new shopping mall..

Ok. done with Christchurch. Next is Timaru-Oamaru, Waimate
Before heading out, we stopped by BP for fuel..

They are building back their cities

Memorial on the 2011 earthquake

Shops made up of cabins, colorful ones, nicely stacked

Christmas is coming 

Haris & his rugby - he just started rugby in this very form 1

#2: Ashburton
The plan is to head to Waimate & Wallaby Park. On the way, we had our grab & go lunch at Ashburton's park & playground. Such a nice place with some taman cabaran like play area. Here's some photos - kids will surely enjoy it..!

our quick lunch - NZ style

Cebisan2 kayu as the flooring

this thing can move round and round

Pine 'fruit'? 

#3: Timaru
We just passed thru Timaru. Big town though.

#4: Waimate
Okay, finally we were at Waimate looking for the Wallaby Park @ 71, Bathgates Road. 
We arrived at 4.50pm but the opening time is from 10am - 5pm..! We took a peak inside, selak2 through the small gates. Oh yes, could see some wallabies. Oh well, got to come back tomorrow la then.

Here's some pic from whatever we could see:

Nice wooden scrupture kan? Someone's Postbox..!

Signboard pose on our way to the motel

Lots & lots of sheeps here.. Ppl say the population of sheeps is more than human in South Island..! 

Ok, here's our Avenue Motel which is about 30 min away from the Wallaby Park. 

Tips:

Make sure you declare the exact number of occupancy - ie: how many adult, children in NZ's hotel. We had our share here. We didn't declare Deena & ditegur by the hotel manager (can be the owner tho, hmm). Even if the beds are enough, they STILL want to know the exact number of ppl, kids included. And they will charge more - ppl say for the additional electricity etc? 

The living room

Bedroom 1 - our master bedroom

Bedroom 2 - with 2 single beds

My comfy kitchen - overlooking a big soccer field (looks like it). There's a school at the end of it. 

 Tips:
I washed the plan-to-use dishes with Sabun Taharah  which you can buy at Az-Zain shops back in Malaysia. It's sabun tanah liat, utk samak the pinggan, mangkuk, pans, fork & spoons etc.

Sabun Taharah - source: Google

Our dinner for the nite - Butter fried rice with sweet sour fish nuggets

our staple food during this NZ trip - sedap sangattt

The trip didn't end yet.

We are looking for PENGUINS tonite..!

From the blogs, it said the penguin watching starts from 6.30pm till midnite. 

So we arrived at Blue Penguin Colony @ 2, Waterfront Road, Oamaru around 9pm. 

We didn't buy any tickets coz we thought of having this unique experience LIVE at the roadside. Beside, the tix are expensive.. Yes, you have the option of watching these penguins coming back from the sea inside the Blue Penguin's sanctuary. But definitely can't beat this once-in-a-lifetime experience of watching it crossing the road just infront of us right? They were just few feets away from where we stand..! 

Tips:

Be very silent with the 1st sight of penguins. Even before that. There was this auntie which we called the Penguin Advocate that kept all us visitors 'securely' at our place along the road. She told us that penguins can go back to the sea if they feel 'threatened'. 

The cute little penguins crossing just infront of us #love

One lost penguin next to our SUV..!

The sanctuary