While waiting

Day 15 Whale Watching

Dusky Dolphins in the sunlight
Dusky dolphins frolicking near our catamaran

Excellent Day for whale watching
Little Nick coming up for a breather
Little Nick going down for food
Tiaki surfacing for a breather
Tiaki going down for food

Day 12 and 13 Abel Tasman

Getting onboard the Aquataxi when the tide is low
Abel Tasman Nature Reserve
In the middle of our trek
Success in completing a 6 hour trek
Going for another trek the next morning

Day 10 and 11 Wellington to Picton

Departing Wellington(North Island) for Picton(South Island), there was a pod of 50 to 100 dolphins accompanying us across.
Sister Interislander ferry heading from Picton to Wellington
Nice signboard onboard the ferry
Exceptionally beautiful Marlborough Sounds which produces fine wine

Day 7 in Taupo

Might of the Huka Falls
No tethered rides due to inclement weather
Barbeque dinner in Taupo
"Cold faced Killer"(Hongkai), "Sonic the hedgehog"(Binjuan) and "eskimo"(Veron)
Cold faced killer morphs into Prince Charming (bai2 ma3 wang2 zi3)

Day 6 in Rotorua

Sheep grazing at Agrodrome
Aerial view of Rotorua
2 fast 2 furious stunt drivers
Our favourite eatery in Rotorua...even the manager is smiling
Hongkai not wanting his photo taken by the paparazzi

Day 5 in Waitomo

Out of phase swing sequence
Still practicing
Almost there
Finally on the 50th attempt
Success is sweet

Day 4 in Coromandel

Hot Water Beach
Hot Water Beach
Guess which foot belongs to who
Charlie's Angels
Delicious Homecooked Dinner

Day 3 in Auckland

5 people's toiletries in Binjuan's bathroom (couldn't fit all on this ledge)

Me at Mission's Bay

Hongkai taking pictures for the 3 girls

The wind was pretty strong and I needed to go to the toilet

Left to Right : Binjuan, Hongkai, Liling and Veron walking up Granny's Bay

Easter Sunday. Woke up at 9am and prepared for a day of fun in the sun. We were going to Mission's Bay located in Northshore, about 25 km north of Auckland city centre. It was a pleasant drive and we reached there soon enough. We walked on the beach and some of the girls picked sea shells. We stopped for lots of photos along the way. Altogether we spent about 3 hours at the area. After that, we went to Victoria Park Market. To say the market was disappointing is an understatement. Amazingly, the girls still bought things. Next, we proceeded to a "Japanese" cafe for dinner. It was ok. We bought dunkin' donuts for supper and possibly tomorrow's breakfast. It has been an exhausting day, but the view of the sea and scenery was more than worth it.

2nd Day in Auckland

Hongkai, BinJuan, Veron and Liling on our way from Aotea Market
Me at Sylvia Park Mall (the biggest in Auckland)
Me, Liling and Veron in Binjuan's room

This morning we woke up at 10.30 am and left Binjuan's place at about noon. First to fetch Veron to see the doctor, and then to visit Aotea Market, located just 10 minutes walk from Binjuan's place. There was nothing much for me; I think it is like an Ang Moh Pasar Malam. After lunch, where we finally got our taste of Auckland's Kiwi Egg Burger Meal, we drove to Sylvia Park Mall which just had it's 3rd phase opening a few weeks back. Sylvia Park Mall is arguably the biggest mall in Auckland and maybe New Zealand (think of it as a cross between Vivocity, Suntec City, Marina Square and Singapore Expo). We spent about 3 hours walking around, separately from the girls of course. Managed to buy a jacket. Spent about half an hour watching some kids playing Formula 1 on a Playstation 3 which costs about NZ$1150. After that, we drove back to find dinner. It was a toss-up between Pizza and Japanese food. In the end, we had to settle for the pizza which was take-away because parking cost $5 for 1st half hour, $8 for 1 full hour and maximum of $15 which was extremely expensive. It is both stressful and unfriendly driving in the city.

First Day of Easter Holidays in Auckland

Liling and I with our 4 backpacks
Nice pier which we walked on (Binjuan's back view)

Hongkai and Veron fooling around

Binjuan at the Viewing deck of Auckland Skytower

View from Auckland Skytower

If there was one unifying theme for our first day in Auckland for our Easter holidays, it has to be the word late. First I was late by 5 minutes at the pickup point, then the plane arrived and left Christchurch Airport late. Then we had a late lunch and we were late in trying to go to Rangitoto Island which resulted in us having to try again tomorrow or Sunday.