55 days left in NZ

The date back home have been set. I'll just enjoy my last few weeks here in safari. Planning to go travel again during the last two week here in NZ before flying back. This time to Northland. And with my new slr camera. Heheheh~ have been playing quite a lot with it, trying to get use to the funtions.
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There will be long holidays during christmas and new year here. Gonna go to Tongariro hikes, one of the great walks in NZ. And to the east to watch one of the earliest sunrise in the world during new year~
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Been dreaming of suddenly appearing back at home. That sudden feel, makes me feel empty, dont know whether is it that i miss here too much, or whether i'm just too scare to face reality once again. I should have prepared for this already. Or maybe this is just a dream....

Travelling around South Island NZ

I don't have any solid plan for the trip actually before I start. I decided to go free and easy. Worrying too much bout budget and time limit just give me more headache. Haha. I'm not sure how much I've spend at the moment, but I estimate it should be within my budget as of now. I'll just calculate it after I go back to Opotiki :)

Well, so far so good for my trip. From Queenstown to Wanaka, then to Franz Josef and now to Hokitika. It's the 12th day since I left Opotiki. My further journey had just been decided. After Hokitika will be Christchurch by catching the Transalpine train in Greymouth. Then go up north to Kaikoura and to Picton.  Have to give up Lake Tekapo, all accomodations are full till mid October. Kinda disappointing. From Picton, catch a ferry to Wellington, then through Northern Explorer train to Hamilton and finally, back to Opotiki. Hopefully I'm able to take some unique photos using my xperia Z3C. Hoho~

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Some people had been asking me why travelling alone. I guess, it depends on the person him/herself. I do meet quite alot of solo travellers (although I didn't actually speak with them). For me, solo travelling gives me more time to recall my past, and think of my future. I wont get stressed by a travel partner, and best thing is, I can do whatever and go to wherever I want. Of course, there's pros and cons to it. 

Travelling around by bus can be tiring. Long hours of travel, but it's one of the best way to observe the changing landscape in South Island. 

The moment when everyone wanting to capture the perfect picture....

Change of plan

Alright. I need to revamp my whole plan. After some calculation and budget setting, the original plan will take more than a month and cost around NZD3k. Looks like i need to let go some of the places... argh.
For sure i will go to Milford Sound, which means i will need to go to Queenstown. Hmm....first will reach there by plane.. then bus to wanaka, and then Lake Tekapo? Then to Christchurch, travel to Greymouth by kiwirail then back to Christchurch.. then through kiwirail again to Picton, ferry to Wellington, and lastly kiwirail to either Auckland or Hamilton... travel by train all the way~
Might as well leave some regrets here so i'll come back again to nz in the future. Haha.

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Submitted for my working holiday visa extension. Now waiting for response and get my passport back before going for my solo travel...

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Somehow, i'm looking forward to go back home... i already have my future plan set... i must get the cert within 2yrs... job wise, i will try to get into investment line. Will still accept accounting job, but only in large companies with potential job advancement.

Dayoff. Relaxing by the riverside in Opotiki

Planning

As expected... i might be travelling alone at a later date. I decided to stay in safari until January, but will be travelling to south island in September after pruning season ends, and back to Opotiki for a new kiwi season. This way i need not worry about job search anymore.

Have a rough plan for my travel for now:
i) travel back to Auckland by bus from Opotiki (stay overnight)
ii) fly to Queenstown by plane (stay for a night? Still unsure)
iii) travel to Te Anau (stay for a night or two, restock and prepare for treking)
iv) take the Milford Track to Milford Sound (4 days treking) - but..how do i get back to Te Anau?
v) travel to Christchurch through Invercargill, Dunedin and Timaru.
vi) travel to Greymouth from Christchurch using TranzAlpine train.
vii) travel to Nelson, then to Picton and Wellington
viii) travel to Palmerston North
ix) two options here: 1) go to Hastings or 2) go to New Plymouth
x) lastly to Taupo/Gisborne before back to Opotiki

Estimate the whole trip will take around 3 weeks. Might still have changes in my plan, but at least i have a rough one for now. Have to forgone my earlier planning before coming to NZ.

 May God guide me in my solo journey to south island.

Journal (2) - New Zealand Working Holiday

Opotiki. Day xx.

Lost count of the days ^_^".

Anyways, lots of things happened. Managed to settle my bank account and IRD number. Working in Seeka Transpack kiwi pack house for almost one and a half month. My microSD card got corrupted, seems like cant be fixed at the moment. Need to upload my photos to google drive if my phone memory full. Dang it. Most probably gonna buy a new one. But i need to save money.....

Moved from Te Puke to Opotiki after kiwi packing job ended. Feel heavy to leave the town, but life moves on. Just around 3 hours drive from Te Puke, Opotiki, also have kiwi pack house there. Compare to Te Puke, Opotiki is much smaller. Got a job in kiwi pruning with Riverlock. For me, pruning is much more fun than packing. Outdoor job, the challenge is the weather. It's cold, but with suitable clothing it doesn't really matter. From hourly pay to contract, the job become more challenging now. Payment is based on how many completed kiwi bays. Currently just the third day of contract. I'm too slow currently, need to improve my skills and speed to earn more. Hopefully i will be able to manage it. Good chance of earning big bucks.

Found out that i need to renew my passport in order to extend my working holiday visa. Went through a lot of difficulties. !@#$%. Actually, not much to worry about if you have all the required items.
What i go through: 1) Finding Justice of Peace throughout whole Opotiki town. Calling each of them one by one till i found 1 who managed to help me to certified my photocopied documents. If you are in Opotiki, there's a JP workshop nearby the sushi shop every Thursday. Can look for a JP there to certified your documents. 2) Sending all my documents to High Commission of Malaysia in Wellington, but having replied that i need to sent my working visa copy and resent my passport sized photo (passport photo got smeared with ink certified by JP behind. Actually, the photo don't need to be certified. your certified passport copies already have your photo) wadafak... the working holiday visa copy is not stated inside the required items. That's okay. The problem here is passport sized photo. Background of the photo need to be PURE WHITE. I manage to obtain the softcopy of my passport photo, which i thought it will be fine. But when printed out, the background color is a bit yellowish white. Seems like there's a different in the paper quality for the passport photo. Anyway, i sent it to the high commission yesterday. I wonder if they will accept it. Hopefully everything will go smoothly. Kinda tired of trying to settle all these stuffs. Should have renewed my passport back in Malaysia. Argh.

Received email from ACCA Malaysia. Seems like my member as ACCA student will be cancelled. Not planning to continue ACCA anymore. My backup plan? Gonna pursue CFA. For that, i need money. Will try earning more here. Seriously, i don't know what to do after i got back. Blurred future. Will try to get into investment banking. to get a more stable job.

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Journal written in phone:

Te Puke. Day 9 - 9/5/15
Change of plan. We went to Rotorua, Thermal lake and Red Wood. Took around 1hr+ at Thermal Lake just to take photos. And when we reached red wood, the sun already set. Oh well, maybe next time.

Te Puke. Day 10 - 10/5/15
Went to Mt. Maunganui early in the morning. A 30mins walk to the top of the hill. Manage to see sunrise rising from the sea. Spectacular view. Back home, sleep, and go to work again. *yawn*

Te Puke. Day 18 - 18/05/15
Nth much on everyday life for past few days. Work for 11hrs, back home, eat sleep, wake up and plan what to eat, cook and go work again. Boring. 
Summary on notable activities:-
16/5/15 - BBQ with Vietnam friends at Maketu Beach. There is a space for people to bbq their food. Some sort like a burger stand. The hotting plate runs on electricity, and it's free. Just make sure to clean the bbq stand after you use it.
17/5/15 - Went to Waiotapu hotspring. It's located under a bridge, FREE OF CHARGE. The pool is not as hot as I expected. There's mud for skin beauty, which you have to go dig yourself. It;s at the hot side of the pool, right side of the staircase going down into the pool. The mud is inside the pool itself. Can't be seen, just use your hand to feel the mud. It's gray in color. 

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Currently staying in Safari Orchard. A warm place with happy malaysian nzwh-ers here. A really nice warm place. Planning to stay till around September. Not planning much at the moment. Just work and earn more money for future used.

Somewhere in Opotiki

Journal (1) - New Zealand Working Holiday

Scenery before sunrise at KiwiCorral.

Te Puke. Day 1
After long hours ride from Auckland to Te Puke using nakedbus, and a 6.8km walk (which takes almost 2hrs) we finally reach KiwiCorral. There's a saying, "high expectation leads to high disappointment". We are truly disappointed with the facilities here. The hostel have connections to the farm and factory nearby, so backpackers can easily find job, but that depends whether there's vacancy or not. However, everything here needs money. Some items are stated in its websites, such as renting of bed covers, blankets, kitchen utensils; but not ALL are stated. It's misleading. There are computers provided for guests, but u need to buy some credits to use the pc. There's no free wifi too. Bath, is 5mins per token. Yes, we use token for bath. And it's 1 token per day. For additional tokens, you need to pay NZD1 per token. And, u cant adjust the temperature. It will turn on automatically from cold water to hot water. Few secs wasted while waiting. Since this place is far from the town, it seems like the management is taking advantage of the guests, especially those without own transport. 
Still no job at the moment. Waiting for good news on job vacancy, waiting for IRD, and waiting for letter from bank. We still have not open our bank accounts. I've contacted a backpacker who wanted to sell his subaru. Might need to wait till monday or tuesday before I get it. Hopefully he decide early. Everything should be smooth after we get a car. Wanted to leave this hostel earlier and search for a room. 
Im looking around Tauranga area, through own phone and data. Worried that my quota will finished fast. 
Sucks. It seems lady luck isn't on my side after I reach NZ. The only lucky thing for us is that there's a friend working nearby. He bring us out to Te Puke town after his work hours, buying some groceries for us to last for few days while trapped at Kiwicorral. We are very much grateful. Thank you very much.
So much worries, so much changes, different from what I've read from people's blog. Or they just wrote about the good side during their working holiday. I'm gonna write both, keeping a daily journal, at least people will notice about the hardships here. 

Te Puke. Day 2.
Nothing to do. Walking around the hostel area. Weather is not too cold during daytime. Around 18℃. Wanted to go out, but there's no transport. Not really sure if hitch hike work at this time of the season. Been trying to do that on the way here, but no one stopped by.
At night, a backpacker from china moved in. Seem like he's staying in tent outside of the hostel. Too cold at night, so he moved in. He's been hitch hiking whenever he wanted to go out. Dafuq. Is our luck that bad?

Hopefully there's good news tomorrow. We need a job badly. And hopefully that guy will sell his car to me immediately. Argh. There are things needed to be done but now we can only wait. Tomorrow will be another waiting day. 

Te Puke. Day 3
Thanks God. My prayers answered. Had confirmed with the car seller, we can get the car tomorrow. The seller, Gregor, actually drove to Kiwicorral to meet us. After confirmed the car in good condition, we agree to buy over the car (Subaru Legacy) for NZD1,450. All documentation to be done tomorrow morning.
At night, our friend actually found us a job. Extremely glad about it. We are doing night shift, kiwi fruit packaging. And we are starting right away!! Oh my, need to readjust my time again. Wont be sleeping today. 24hrs staying up. Cant remember when's the last time I've done that. Thanks God once again!! 

Te Puke. Day 4
Feeling tired. Actually feeling numb. Cant feel anything now. I know my body need rest and proper food. Anyway, gonna sleep 1st. Car documentation had been done. Now the car is ours at last. Our next plan, we need to look for a better place to stay with a cheaper rent. Need to settle our bank accounts too as soon as possible. Good thing that we are doing night shift. We can go to the bank during the day. 
Hopefully our current job can last for more than a month. At least we have income to cover our expenses, and future expenses as well. heheheh..

Te Puke. Day 5
Slept immediately after work. Too tired. 

Was moved to another room later, no reason given. Mayb too less ppl in the room im staying. Met some new guys from Malaysia.

Te Puke. Day 6

Just realised its almost a week staying in kiwicorral. Need to find a place to stay immediately. Only 1 day left. Mayb do it later. Gonna sleep 1st...

Te Puke. Day 7
We found a room at Te Puke town. Around 10mins drive to our working place. 93 Boucher Avenue. Homestay. Quite a nice place. Include power and wifi. Finally, FREE WIFI!!! Only NZD95 per week. A bit cheaper than current place. Moving in tomorrow morning. Gonna open bank account too at ANZ Bank. Now waiting only for IRD number. 

Now can do some planning for future.

Te Puke. Day 8

Argh..now im confused with day and night. Lemme jot down the date. Day 8 - 8/5/15 Friday. 

Had moved to new place and done with bank accounts. Left IRD number now. 

A 3hrs sleep,then went to work again. Rest day tomorrow. -

Gonna go blue spring. 

生日

今年在nz祝你生日快樂....一直還在想你...

Auckland. Day 2

Settled my friend's IRD, after get his translated driving license script, which cost NZD68. That's roughly around RM190. Really shocked. In malaysia, it only cost RM10. So please guys, remember to translate your driving license to english in your own country. Now, only left bank account... hmm...

Actually, not much to do in auckland. Walking around the city, sight seeing, take a free bus ride to onehunga to go to DressSmart outlet. Lots of discount here.

Booked ticket with nakedbus to Te Puke, leaving Auckland tomorrow at 7.30am.

Met new guy at YHA Auckland City, hi David. A great guy. =D

Hopefully tomorrow will be a good day. And with a better luck

Some random pic at Queen Street, Auckland

Auckland. Day 1

Reached Auckland airport at 5.15am from Melbourne. Going through the immigration took 1hr. Security was tight. Lucky I got the YHA Auckland City address to fill in for the arrival card. If not we might get into trouble =="

Actually not much preparation was done. Only a brief plan in my mind. Find YHA Auckland, get a local mobile number, create bank account and deposit our cash in, and find a job. I was expecting all this to be done within a week.

BUT, I forgot the most importing stuff. New Zealand IRD number. This number is needed when working in NZ. According to its website, they will need 8 to 10 working days to sent us our IRD number, which means my plan is definitely delayed, which means, we need to spend our own money for 2 weeks at least, which is, roughly half of the money we bring.

OMFGLOLBBQSAUCE!!!

Currently thinking of a way to reduce our spending. The only idea I hav now is to join WWOOF NZ, with registration fee of NZD40. Free food and free accomodation provided in return for working with the host. At least we get used to the locals, and have better understanding of how things work around here. hmmm....

EDIT: now opening bank account in NZ is not easy. They require ur passport and another document which shows ur permanent address in NZ. The problem is, they dont accept documents from backpackers hostel to prove that you are staying there. What we do at the moment, we get the bank to sent letter to our friend's place in NZ and use that as a prove for the 2nd document. The whole process sound stupid, seriously. And too much hassle for backpackers. Takes too much time to just open a bank account. I found out the other way, which is to set up your account with kiwi bank before you actually go to NZ. Further info can be obtain from kiwi bank webpage.

10 more days before depart

i still left some packing and documents to settle. maybe i will come out with a checklist just in case if i miss out anything. hmm...

Counting down...

..2 more months to nzwh.

2015

Ending of an old story

The beginning of a new book

With twelve chapters of it

Make every pages of the chapters worthy of reading

And a better story to tell