Road Tripping Across New Zealand Chapter 30: Thank you to my NZ family <3

9 December 2015

We finally reached Christchurch at about 8pm last night. We were supposed to arrive earlier but we stopped by Timaru for a while, thus the delay.

Here in Timaru aka Corrine’s dad’s place. He actually lives in a farm. I have always wanted to visit the farm! #deprivedcityperson

The one who welcomed us and my attempt of taking a selfie with it.

Actually when it arrived, I felt that there were so many eyes on us. Oh well, it is true. They WERE staring at us.

A part of me felt that they were communicating with each other lol. It was a really short visit (her dad was not home) but I still enjoyed it. Said goodbye to the goat who greeted us and he actually peed right in front of us. Yes, that is exactly what I came here for lol. Thanks for the experience.

Our apartment in Christchurch was this pretty house I found on AirBnB. The owner is from Taiwan and she is fluent in English so communication was not a problem.

Her house is so pretty, I kinda wish we were staying a little longer! Unfortunately we are only staying over for night before flying off tomorrow.

She also has a garden in the backyard and it looks so well taken care of! In fact the whole house was extremely neat and clean. How does she clean the entire house herself? Wow.

In fact, she made breakfast for us in the morning before we flew off. Usually most house owners of AirBnB apartments do provide free breakfast in their kitchens but we usually have to go cook and prepare them ourselves. This kind owner actually cooked eggs for us and ensure we had milk and yogurt. She was truly enjoying mummying us. Lol.

I love how environmentally friendly her place is. If you are looking for a place to stay in Christchurch, do look at hers at AirBnB.

Anyway, I would like to say a big thank you to my family in NZ for being so hospitable. From waiting for us in the cold at the airport at midnight, to driving us to our apartment, picking us up from our apartment, spending time with us, I feel so loved.

Dinner with the family on our final night in NZ. This is my first time meeting Sam’s and Sheree’s kids! Ah, Brooklyn, if he did not have school, he should have come with us! I truly adore his close knitted relationship with Corrine. Nephews and nieces usually have that special bond with their aunts.

Not forgetting the handsome twins who have grown so much. Shayla was shy with us lol.

It was too bad Sheree could not make it because her kids were just so delightful to be with! Perhaps next time!

A group photo with the family.

Hope to see you guys in Singapore and I also hope to be back here! ❤

This was my first time in NZ and I have been wanting to come to NZ for the longest time! Not just to visit this beautiful country, but also to meet the family here whom we have not met in years. Corrine and me planned this trip about a year ago but honestly, a few months before December, a lot of things like flights, lodgings and itinerary were not confirmed so I did not really tell anyone I was intending to visit NZ. Furthermore, about 1.5 months before December, I was diagnosed with bacteria infection and had to shuffle between home and the hospital a few times. Initially I thought it was kidney stones and the entire process of going for check ups took so long to confirm. I was sceptical about making it to NZ if I was really found to have kidney stones because that would mean a surgery is needed. Thankfully, it was not.

When I was given a green light, I immediately sat down, planned our routes and places to visit and sent it to Corrine and the bestie. Booked all lodgings and planned within our budget. It is so amazing how we managed to coordinate and settle everything via the internet lol. It shows that we have good teamwork! All our lodgings were at budgeted places, our rooms are usually small but surprisingly most were clean and cosy, I had no complains at all.

This trip truly would have not happened if not for Corrine. She took care of us, did not even allowed us to drive (of course they were scared stiff when I drove for a short while in Wanaka lol), ensured we visit all the secret cool places, accommodated to our nonsense in the car and our constant need to take 1000 photos all the time!

She looks amazing and even though we are miles and miles apart, with the internet, we feel much closer. All these years of being on twitter and instagram do help us communicate better lol. So inspired to see her so fit, I should aim to be just as healthy but I am getting old lol. I am sorry for taking so many stalker photos of you but I think you look great in all of them! You should definitely show your face more in photos!

I wanted us to check in earlier at the airport because I think we have bothered her enough. She had to go to work in the morning and then sent us to the airport. I don’t understand why she always refuses to take our money especially for the car and the fuel but I kinda force her to accept it lol.

Also, I feel that the longer we take to say goodbye, the more I would wanna cry so I had to cut it short. I know myself too well.

Thank you dear for everything! It has been an amazing experience and adventure, I love every bit of it. This has truly been the best trip of my life (and I have been to a lot of different places prior to this lol) and definitely hope to come back and continue where we left off.

Big thank you for EVERYTHING, take care dear, love you and miss you everyday. ❤