Life through my eyes...

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Terrace Downs

As promised in my previous post, this is an overdue post about my trip to Terrace Downs - a remarkable golf resort situated just 1 hour West of Christchurch that happened way back in February (9th - 10th to be exact).

So after arriving back from Malaysia/Perth just a fortnight beforehand and having suffered through the first week of work which was absolute torture (as expected after having a year off), I was ready to get away from Christchurch. So when there was talk about a trip to Terrace Downs, I was definitely up for it!

Early Saturday morning, we were off!


The weather was beautiful - gentle warm breeze and a slightly cloudy sky... a great day to be out in the open. I didn't play because i'd probably end up making it a 36-hole golf course more than anything (haha!) but I did follow the guys out to drive the golf cart around. Hehe! It was entertaining.


By the time we finished the first 9 holes, we were all so hungry because it took longer than expected... I wonder why! So we took a lunch break to meet Angela and Ethan up at the Clubhouse and then returned to the golf course after. Golf finished at around 4:00pm if I remember correctly when they started at 11:00am. No comments. Haha! Good value for money though...

It was definitely fun - had an awesome time! The weather was perfect, the view was spectacular and the company was great. What more could you ask for?

Pictures, pictures? Of course! :รพ~ Most of them were taken on the golf course itself. More will be uploaded later as usual (although it's been ages since I last updated the photo section of my blog).

Terrace Houses that overlook the magnificient golf course:



The breath-taking view...







Introducing the golfers:

Freddie...



Clark...



Jin...



... and their driver... ME!!



Random snapshots...







Posers...




Finally, me!!


After golf, we were so exhausted that we headed back to the house and took a nap. We finally woke up in time for a late dinner in the clubhouse, coupled with coffee and dessert. *YuM*!

Clubhouse main entrance at night...


Was expecting to have a midnight spa but was told on our way out that we had been misinformed about the opening hours of the spa. Stupid!! Such a waste! What's worse, they had sold the last pack of cards the previous night. I think the only other form of entertainment on offer was for us to drive to the next town and visit a couple of the pubs there. Seriously? Hmmm!

The decision was obvious - have a night in at the house. By the time we had arrived back, Clark and his family were either asleep or about to sleep. Freddie and Jin wanted to watch a chinese movie. I decided to sit outside on the verandah with a cup of coffee in absolute darkness. It was such an amazing feeling to be completely alone in the dark - a sense of isolation, complete freedom, a feeling of peace. I don't know how long I sat out there for but it was great. I think of all things, that was the best part of the trip.

The next morning, we woke up... absorbed the freshness of the air and the spectacular views again and then went to the clubhouse for breakfast. Took some photos of the golf course and the clubhouse from the house. Had to take a picture of my special verandah too! Hehe...



After breakfast, took photos of the whole group (which I don't have copies of because it was taken on another camera), checked-out and then headed home. Sounds boring but it was definitely one of the most relaxing holidays i've had so far and I think it'll be quite hard to beat. I'm just too tired to elaborate. So yeah, that was our trip to Terrace Downs. Not sure when i'll be back there again but it's a place i'll never forget. :)


Sunday, March 23, 2008

Easter Holidays!

First and foremost...

Happy Easter!

The Easter holidays couldn't have come at a better time. After working for 1 1/2 months, I took my first sick leave on Friday, suffered through work on Monday, made it to work on Tuesday but was sent home because I was too sick and haven't been in since. So I will be having a super long weekend - 7 1/2 days straight to be exact thanks to "Accountants Day" that falls on Tuesday! :) Feels like last year all over again... Except probably not as nice since I keep sleeping and coughing like crazy~

After much planning, the day of the Kaikoura trip finally arrived on Friday! It started at 7:00am when we all gathered at McDonald's, Riccarton for nothing else but McD breakie! *YuM*! Then at 8:00am, we started our journey up north. Made a number of toilet and ciggie breaks along the way then finally arrived in Kaikoura at around 11:00am.

Happy Justin & sleepy Ellen...



Tired driver - Jin



Smiley me!



The landmarks of Kaikoura...


Not knowing what to do since we couldn't check-in to our accommodation until 2:00pm and our fishing trip was scheduled for 1:00pm, we dropped in at the Information Centre only to find out that there wasn't too much else to do in Kaikoura except to visit the Seal colony. So off we went. It was exciting to see them up close and personal, almost camouflaged among the rocks.

New Zealand Fur Seals...


After that rather smelly experience, we returned to town for a caffeine boost at Craypot Cafe & Bar and then took a peak in some of the shops. Couldn't resist but to take a picture of the fries. Left us rather dumbstricken as we weren't sure whether we were suppose to pour them out or not. Hmmm!


The morning passed pretty quickly and soon after, we headed over to South Bay to board the fishing boat - Top Catch Fishing Charters with our skipper, Justin. What a coincidence... By this time, the weather had improved and was warming up.


The 15 minute ride out to sea was absolutely amazing. Having the sea breeze brush against my face and being out on the open water was refreshing. It gave me the sense of freedom, the ability to be able to breathe again - an unforgettable feeling. For that, the trip was worth it...

The fishermen/women...




From left to right: Liz, Tzin Wei, Ellen, Justin, Jin, Seng & Me

The view...



An albatross who kept hanging around our boat


Once we anchored, it was time for some fishing!!




The first catch was made by Jin who caught a blue cod and a sea perch soon after dropping the line. It gave all of us plenty of hope which we soon realised would be crushed as it would be the only blue cod for dinner that night. Seng caught the biggest sea perch that day...


Despite our conscious efforts to prevent feeling sea sick by taking sea sick pills since breakfast, our stomachs couldn't sustain the rocky ride once the boat had been anchored. It all started with Jin who suddenly stopped fishing and hung onto the rail at the top of the boat. Then it was my turn. I will admit that I almost vomitted but refused to be the first to cop out so I was concentrating really hard not to. At that point in time, I couldn't care less what everyone else was saying or doing to me. I just felt flushed and apparently my lips went pale too. Worst feeling ever... and a very costly one too!

Tzin Wei, having reminded us multiple times (probably his way of reminding himself as well) to look afar, ended up being the first and last to vomit. Good thing, we have evidence! Wahahaha!!


Liz fell sea sick after trying to get some tissue from my handbag for Tzin Wei. Haha! 4 down... 3 to go... At that point, we all decided to give in and head back to land after being out on the water for 2 hours although we had paid for 3. As for crayfish, we didn't get any as the tide was too rough that the skipper couldn't find the buoy where he had placed the pods. He did say that he would head out early the next morning to bring us back some and then contact us but the next morning's tide was even worse than the previous day. So he said that we should call in on him the next time we're in Kaikoura. Yeah right... So yeah, we were out of luck.

Feeling sick and tired, we went to check-in to our accommodation - The Fairways. For 7 of us, we occupied 1 apartment and 1 studio. The location was pretty good because we were around 5 - 10 minutes out of Kaikoura town itself. The place was nice and new, equipped with the necessities. Of course if I was to compare it to Terrace Downs then it wouldn't be nearly as nice but I guess that's where the price difference comes into play. Which reminds me, I have yet to blog about that holiday... Next post, next post... Hehe!!

Anyway, this is where we stayed...

The Fairways...



By day...



By night...




Inside...




One of the bedrooms...



I think most of us were exhausted by the time we unloaded our luggage from the car. I definitely was. So after showering, I crawled into bed and aimed for a short nap. What I didn't expect was that I would only finally wake up at 7:30pm - a 4 hour nap was it? Oops~

Everyone woke up and preparation for our BBQ was in place. Menu for that night: our precious blue cod and sea perch, lamb and chicken all on the barbecue, and of course, stir-fry vegetables! Had fruit salad and lychees for dessert and then drowned all that with a couple of drinks.


By the end of the night, I think most of us were tired from such an early start earlier in the morning. We ended up sleeping around midnight? Well, I was probably one of the first ones to call it a night. A lesson to be learned: No panadol and not enough alcohol when you're sick makes you feel really crap! Haha...

Woke up the next morning at around 9:00am to check out by 10:00am. It would have been ideal if we could have stayed an extra night, having rested most of the previous day but Seng had to work. Bleh! Trying to make the most of it, we headed into town for brunch. Had fish & chips at Continental Seafoods. Bloody expensive place... If I can recall, they were charging $70.00 for a whole crayfish. The closest we got to ordering that, was a crayfish sammie which Tzin Wei ordered for $15.00? Rip off! We would later find out on our hunt for crayfish from Cods & Crayfish that it would only cost between $35.00 - $45.00 for one depending on the weight and the size - cooked or alive. *fAiNt*!

Following Tzin Wei's recommendation, we went over to the Kaikoura Winery to take in the beautiful views from the deck. Indeed, the view was amazing... The winery was simple, definitely nothing compared to the Voyager Estate that I visited whilst in Western Australia (which I hope to get around to blogging about someday. Hehe...) The coffee there was bearable... Definitely better than Craypot Cafe & Bar but you can't expect too much right? It's a winery. Duh~




So after taking in the breath-taking views while sipping coffee and talking a whole load of rubbish, we headed back into town to walk the shops (again), buy lotto (very important) and for Tzin Wei to eat his much craved for... crayfish. Hehe...


Not wanting the trip to end, some of us decided to go back to the Seal Colony to collect some rocks. To see Tzin Wei manoeuvring his way around the rocky surface was just painful but seeing both Tzin Wei and Seng jump when they realised that they were walking straight towards the seals... Now that's what made the trip back to the rocks worth it. MuaHaHaHaHa~!!



It was finally time to leave Kaikoura... to head back to reality.

On our way home, we decided to turn off into Hanmer Springs - a place I haven't visited for a couple of years now. What we expected to take 30 - 45 minutes ended up taking over an hour? It was just such a long and windy route. The place hasn't changed too much. Robbie's has been bought over. The Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools & Spa Resort have had at least 2 new heated pools added to it. We didn't go in because it was so packed being a long weekend. Instead, we went to have coffee and eat some fried chicken.




I have to mention Smurfie because he was our front row passenger the whole way to Kaikoura and back. Hehe... Do you see him?? Look closely!!


No? He's on the dashboard!! Well if you can't see him, this is smurfie up close. Isn't he cute? Keke... I should really name him... But I do wonder how long Jin's going to allow him to live on the dashboard. Hehe!!


... And that concludes our trip to Kaikoura...