My 1st trip to NZ was in July 2013 (for 3 months) .

It was unplanned, actually. I was vacationing in Vienna (Austria) for a month that time, and the weather was getting hotter & hotter there, as it was mid-summer. I couldn’t stand the heat anymore, so, after googling, I found that NZ was in winter, so I said,”Voila! NZ, here I come! “.  I bought the flight ticket to fly just the next day! And because of that, I was detained & interrogated by the Immigration officers at Christchurch Airport for 4 hours’!! Hahahaaa..but the officers were extremely professional though, and apologised for all inconveniences caused. “We are just doing our job, sir. Welcome to NZ! And happy holiday! “, they said.

When I arrived, little did I know that it was once hit by massive earthquake in 2011!

The atmosphere was quiet. The road was not that busy. I loved to walk around the city, because everything was just walking distant, and the weather was cold.

Christchurch was my base for 3 months, so, I had all the time in the world to explore this city.

Some interesting memories here are :

• Kebab store : my only halal makan place..huhuuhu..
• Hagley Park : strolling around the crystal-clear river flowing thru the park & watching rugby tournament (i guess, inter-school)
• CBD : visiting the earthquake ruins all around the city. So heart-breaking!
• Spring : flowers started to bloom all around the city 🙂

Hari Raya fell on August, and that was my 2nd raya away from family.  During the raya morning, I made a video call (Skype) to my family from Tekapo Lake.

My 2nd trip was in June 2014 (for 1 month).

I went to North & South Island, just to find out what North Island had got to offer. And it was worth it. I loved it! This time, I decided to go for paid local excursion (apart from just sight-seeing), such as : cycling in Redwood, watching Haka Dance performance by the Maori, riding helicopter to Mt Remarkable, taking 2-day ski lesson at Snow Farm Ski Resort, boat cruising at Te Anau fjord, etc..

My 3rd trip was in May 2015 (for 1 month).

This time, I focused on South Island only, because I loved the scenic landscape & colder weather more. I just couldn’t get enough of it!

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My last/recent trip was last July 2017 (for 1 month also) :

I still focused on South Island, but this time, I felt like, normal camera wouldn’t do justice to NZ’s beauty, so I brought a drone (Mavic Pro) with me to capture the sceneries from eagle’s eye. It was the right decision ever!