بسم الله الرØمن الرØيم
اسلام عليكم ورØمة الله وبركاته
'There is nothing new under the sun. It has all been done before.' - Sherlock Holmes.
Currently hooked on The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - the written version by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
When I first started blogging, it was more geared towards portraying some things I couldn't manage verbally. There was no intention of blogging about my globe-trotting experiences, at all. Travelling has been, and will always be my passion. I am just lucky to have a spouse who is equally passionate about it. I'm happy that I managed to inspire others to write but I couldn't help but feeling uneasy to those who I offended whenever I blogged about my travels. I do sincerely apologise.
April 30, 2016
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The most adjoining affair in this life,
is death.
The most extensive affair in this life,
is nafs.
The furthest affair in this life,
is the past.
The lightest affair in this life,
is to leave salah.
The heaviest affair in this life,
is amanah.
The nastiest affair in this life,
is human tongue.
April 03, 2016
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بسم الله الرØمن الرØيم
اسلام عليكم ورØمة الله وبركاته
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| On our first day, trying to figure out why the roads are so empty. |
So, we arrived Christchurch, New Zealand around 5am on that day. Our flight duration was about 4 to 5 hours.
Even though it was super early, but their coffee shops and restaurant has began serving breakfast so that was a plus point. We performed our salah in a closed area at the airport and waited for another 3 hours to pick up our motorhomes.
Tips :
- Currency : New Zealand Dollars (NZD) [ 1 NZD = MYR 2.77 = USD 0.7 ]
- New Zealand has quite a strict immigration regulations upon entering via their airports.
- You would have to label ALL of your foodstuffs and their detailed ingredients.
- Don't forget to declare your food items!
- You could read more on their immigration regulations HERE.
- You would have to spent one - two hours at immigration counters depending on the arrival traffic that particular time. We arrived quite early hence the queue was bearable.
We booked our 6-bed motorhome via Mighty Campers website. All you need was a credit card, and voila. All done. You could even arrange for a pick-up service from the airport to their office.
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| Our ride for our 5 days road-trip in New Zealand. Still trying to figure why we're the only ones on the road. |
Note: Their office opens at 8am. But the rental process will take forever, so it's best for you to arrange a pick-up around 7-7.30 am. Be the first in line! We did not know about it, so we end up waiting for 2 hours at their office's lounge. Good thing they provide free hot drinks and biscuits!
On our arrival day, it was raining throughout the day. After we received our motorhomes, we set out to find halaal groceries to bring during our roadtrip. The store we stopped by is named Maihan Supermarket and Halal
Meat located at 303
Colombo St, Sydenham, Christchurch 8023, New Zealand.
We bought some halaal takeaways as well and set off on our journey. No time to waste.
Tips :
- Please have a detailed itinerary as New Zealand is a very beautiful country. Arrange your time accordingly and follow it to every nooks and crannies. You wouldn't want to miss what this country is offering!
Our itinerary was a 6-page long, jam-packed with every must-visits, duration of each visits and between places, their distances, even addresses to everything - halaal restaurant, grocery stores, toilets, petrol stations etc. It even incorporated allocated time for daily salaah, toilet breaks, and tea time. All arranged and planned by me. Yes, I am a nightmare to travel with this time. I refuse to waste not even 1 minute on this journey.
In a nutshell, this is our first day itinerary :
- From Christchurch to campsite at Mount Cook - Duration : 327 km took approximately 4 hours
- Stop by at Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki along the way.
- Bought some drinking water and snacks at a small town called Twizzler.
- Rested our head at the campsite for the night.
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| Lake Tekapo. The water was turquoise it was magnificent MasyaAllah. |
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| Random spot off-main road at Lake Pukaki. |
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| Beautiful. |
Good thing about New Zealand is, you can stop by the roadside absolutely anywhere for how many hours you like.
March 18, 2016
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بسم الله الرØمن الرØيم
اسلام عليكم ورØمة الله وبركاته
Alas, the long awaited Down Under posts.
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| Colourful beach huts on our 3rd day in Melbourne before checking in our flight to Christchurch, New Zealand. |
It was rather a prompt decision. I was still in the UK when my husband told me that his father wanted to join our little adventure to Down Under. I was fine with it, but travelling with elderly means more rigid preparation and less cramp schedule. And we have limited time frame. But hey, here to adventures!
Total duration spent in Melbourne was only 3 days and 2 nights.
Tips :
- Prior to departure, everyone visiting Australia has to apply for the Australia Electronic Travel Authority System online HERE to ensure smooth arrival.
Day 1 - Arrival & Queen Victoria Market
Upon arrival, we went straight away for our rental car service. It was pre-booked online via VroomVroomVroom AU. The easy thing is, it allows you to choose any pick up/return location you like.
After settling some fees, we set off to our first destination. The Queen Victoria Market. As the name suggest, it is a market. Wet and dry market. You could find fruits, vegetables, meat & poultry as well as fish to clothes there. In my opinion, the price was a little bit overpriced. It might be due to it's becoming a tourist attraction. Unfortunately, because we were so beaten up, there were no photos taken at The Queen Victoria Market. We did not spent too long there as elderly tend to be a little bit cranky after an 8-hour overnight flight. We went straight away for our Airbnb apartment.
Our apartment was a very lovely 2-bedroom studio apartment. It was small but it was also large enough to fit 5 adult comfortably. However untimely, the apartment is no longer listed in Airbnb. I have no clue to as why it isn't anymore since the review received was superb.
We slept for a good few hours before deciding to head over the St. Kilda Pier for some sunset views.
Tips :
So, being in quite a few different developed countries for the past year has taught me one thing. Their tap water should be extra, triple, superbly clean. That night, I had a drink from their tap water. Because, hey, it's a developed country kan? Water supply should be squeaky clean.
I was wrong.
It was the first time in my life ever, to experience the worst of food (or water) poisoning. Ever. I was vomiting my stomach out. Each session lasted almost a minute before another wave came. On top of that, diarrhoea hits too. It was ugly. I know. Reminiscing it is making me want to cry.
I really did not have the heart to wake up my husband at the time. He was exhausted. But really, I thought I was dying. So I had to woke him up. I didn't know what to do anymore. He made me had some diarrhoea meds and paracetamol. Even then, I vomited it all out. After a good 4 hours of agony, the condition ceased by itself and I finally fell asleep.
NOTE : DON'T DRINK DIRECTLY FROM THEIR TAP. EVER.
Day 2 - The Great Ocean Road
My husband and I was beaten up. My whole body felt like jelly. Weak and vulnerable. I did not have anything for breakfast. But the adventure has to continue.
We went out along The Great Ocean Road. We stopped by the small towns along the coastal route. The view was unbelievable masyaAllah.
Tips :
Some of the tourists spots along The Great Ocean Road are ;
By lunchtime, we arrived at Apollo Bay. We ate some of our pre-packed meals. I ate some too. Little did I know, my vomiting episode haven't ended. I vomited it all out again. So, yes. I was miserable for the whole time along The Great Ocean Road. Haha.
However upon the end of the day, it all went away. I was too mesmerised by the beauty of nature that I forgot it all. My personal favourite during our trip that day was definitely The Twelve Apostles and Lord Ard Gorge.
Day 3 - Checking in for our flight to Christchurch
Our apartment was a very lovely 2-bedroom studio apartment. It was small but it was also large enough to fit 5 adult comfortably. However untimely, the apartment is no longer listed in Airbnb. I have no clue to as why it isn't anymore since the review received was superb.
We slept for a good few hours before deciding to head over the St. Kilda Pier for some sunset views.
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| That is 4 of them there. My brother in-law, my husband, mother & father-law. Looking for something in the water I don't know what. That sunset is beautiful though! |
Tips :
- Parking in Aussie is expensive and most of them requires payment by credit/debit card. No cash option available.
So, being in quite a few different developed countries for the past year has taught me one thing. Their tap water should be extra, triple, superbly clean. That night, I had a drink from their tap water. Because, hey, it's a developed country kan? Water supply should be squeaky clean.
I was wrong.
It was the first time in my life ever, to experience the worst of food (or water) poisoning. Ever. I was vomiting my stomach out. Each session lasted almost a minute before another wave came. On top of that, diarrhoea hits too. It was ugly. I know. Reminiscing it is making me want to cry.
I really did not have the heart to wake up my husband at the time. He was exhausted. But really, I thought I was dying. So I had to woke him up. I didn't know what to do anymore. He made me had some diarrhoea meds and paracetamol. Even then, I vomited it all out. After a good 4 hours of agony, the condition ceased by itself and I finally fell asleep.
NOTE : DON'T DRINK DIRECTLY FROM THEIR TAP. EVER.
Day 2 - The Great Ocean Road
My husband and I was beaten up. My whole body felt like jelly. Weak and vulnerable. I did not have anything for breakfast. But the adventure has to continue.
We went out along The Great Ocean Road. We stopped by the small towns along the coastal route. The view was unbelievable masyaAllah.
Tips :
Some of the tourists spots along The Great Ocean Road are ;
- Anglesea
- Memorial Arch
- Kennet River (Home of wild Koalas) - you could actually pet one here. And there are wild but pet-able weird looking birds too!
- Apollo Bay
- Otway Rainforest (Home to the largest tree species in the world)
- The Twelve Apostles
- Lord Ard Gorge
- The Gibson Steps
By lunchtime, we arrived at Apollo Bay. We ate some of our pre-packed meals. I ate some too. Little did I know, my vomiting episode haven't ended. I vomited it all out again. So, yes. I was miserable for the whole time along The Great Ocean Road. Haha.
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| Panoramic view of Gibson steps, the shipwreck and Lord Ard Gorge. |
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| The Twelve Apostles. So pretty masyaAllah. I love this too much! |
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| What is here not to love? |
We had nothing much to do on our third day except having lunch by the beach near our apartment, and head to the airport. We had a flight to catch that night to Christchurch, New Zealand.
Till next time.
March 17, 2016
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