Let's go shopping! Today, Rhys brought us to the largest mall in Christchurch, Westfield Mall, for some shopping. Rhys told us the mall is not as large compared to the ones in Asia but it's a pretty descent mall.
Sure enough, the largest mall here is almost half the size of Queensbay mall. Penang is so small but our mall is bigger than theirs. Hmm...what does it tell us? We are a bunch of shopaholics!
We stumbled upon these cute ceramic cup cakes and shakes. There were even Simpsons chocolate in those cute tins. I can't get my eyes off them, my hands grew itchy and I wanted to just grab them and own them. Luckily, Jess was around and reminded me I don't have bag space anymore. The only thing I can bring back, are pictures of them.
Now, it's Jess's turn to go gaga over these cute pastries and cup cakes.
where...Michelle & Jason got back a cute cupcake.
The other day, I saw an advert on McDonald's Kiwi Angus burger. It looked really yummy. Since I can probably only find it in NZ...
Indeed, it was mouth watering. The angus beef, egg, cheese topped with loads of juicy lettuce, tomatoes, onions and beetroot. I had a messy time eating it. When I mentioned messy while eating a burger, that means the burger has all the juices and stuff overflowing in every bite. Slurrrp!
After lunch, we headed over to the Antartic Center. Inside, kids were swamping the place. So I was wondering, will an adult find this place interesting?
The blue penguins. Erm...I thought there were far more penguins in Langkawi than here.
The best attraction here is the Antartic Storm room where we can experience a snow storm in the Antartic. Probably you won't be able to find this experience elsewhere unless you go to Antartic yourself! Before going in, we had to wear special jackets and rubber shoes as the temperature can drop down to -50C.
After the snow storm, I only had one thing in mind. I will never want to go to the Artic or Antartic. It's way too cold!
Next, we headed over to the 4D theatre. After waiting in line, it was our turn to watch the 4D show. We were happily moving up the line and when we came up to the staff who distributed the 3D glasses, she told us that the theater was full. We have to wait for the next show.
What? But we were arranged by the staff outside to come here at 1:30pm. If we come back at 2:00pm, we might miss the Hagglund ride at 3pm. What if we come back at 2:00pm and the theater is full again? She told us to come back earlier but we didn't get any guarantee of admission at 2:00pm. Sigh...
So we strolled around outside. I was bored and upset as there was nothing much to see after this.
I didn't know Mat Rempit has reached the shores of NZ
We also have Cik Rempit
At 1:45pm, we went back to the 4D theatre again. We were just in a nick of time before these bunch of kids came. Phew! Finally, we got in!
There were two movies playing - Happy Feet and Ice Voyage. The 4D was cool with great 3D, motion chairs and snow. Plus, I've never been splashed so many times in a 4D movie before. I got too much water on my face in Happy Feet. During Ice Voyage, I was busy anticipating all the possible water spraying moments to avoid. I think I avoided all except for one where a bird was flying over the ocean and suddenly it dropped a flying poo at us. Splash!
In fact, these 4D shows were even better than the one I saw in Disney World.
After the show, we hopped out of our chair and made a bee line to the Hagglund ride. Rhys was jumping with joy (again) seeing us. He went in and out and everywhere looking for us as he was extremely worried (again) we might miss our Hagglund schedule at 3pm.
If you don't know what a Hagglund ride is, it's an all terrain vehicle used in the Antartic explorations. The purpose of the ride was to experience how rugged it is. So we can expect some bumps coming up!
The party of 5 (us) got the front seat with the driver. Cool! We hurled ourselves up the Hagglund. I was seated next to the door and no matter how many times I slammed the door, it just won't seal shut. The driver got around the Hagglund, took out a screwdriver, made some adjustment on the door and slammed the door shut. Oh, so this is how it's done.
So we buckled up and off we go. The Hagglund maneuvered around a bumpy field. Not faraway, I saw a little hill. As it positioned itself to ascend the hill, suddenly that door (yes the door that won't shut) flew upon! I was shocked and without thinking, just pulled the door close again. Holding on to the string that was tied on the door to keep it shut as we ascended the hill. Eeeks!
Up and up we go. All the while thinking, I would probably going to be thrown outside of the Hagglund by the time it reaches the bottom. As it reached the top, we saw what was coming.
"Eeeaaaaahhhh!"
The Hagglund took a sharp dip and straight into the pool which I don't know how deep it was. I kept holding on the string for dear life until my knuckles turned white. The Hagglund went deeper into the pool until it covered half of the vehicle. I can see the murky water almost reaching my shoulder and to my surprise, no water seeped in. At that point, I had this thought of pushing the uncanny door open (just to see if water seeps in). Now, I know after watching Myth Busters you can't open the door while the vehicle is submerged halfway in water. After having a 5 seconds deliberation with my thoughts, it was too late to do anything as the vehicle emerged from the water :(
The Hagglund was the highlight of the Antartic center. Or should I say the Hagglund's door was the highlight of the Antartic center. Again, it rained and we ran towards Rhys's car. This time, we headed to our farmstay!
Pete's Farmstay is at Rangiora. A town nearby to Christchurch. After a short lost (Rhy's first time to Pete Farmstay), we found the farmstay's sign and headed to the farm. We passed through fields of sheeps and towards a nice home surrounded with the fields.
Pete & Gaye (our host) came out to greet us. Maybe, I should rephrase. Pete, Gaye, the dogs, the sheeps and all the farm animals came to greet us.
We unloaded our bags and Gaye showed us around the home. We were all awed with the home. It has 2 lounges, a big kitchen, 6 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1 toilet. All of those not inclusive of Pete & Gaye's own bedroom and their office.
Let us take a tour with Gaye...
The corridor leading towards all the rooms. The doors all looked the same and we had to trial and error making sure we don't end up opening someone else's bedroom. At one time, Jessica was searching for the toilet and she ended up in our room. Lol!
All the rooms had a large window that showcased the brilliant view of the farm. Oh, I must tell you the beds and pillows were extra comfy. Lying on the bed, was our bath essentials - soft bath towels and an exclusive Pete's Farmstay's soap that came with different fragrances. Opening up the closet revealed cuddly bathrobes, soft slippers and more pillows.
I like the open concept of the house with large glass windows and doors that gave away the view of the farm and the skies beyond. At one point, I was curled up on one of those comfy sofa and just sat there watching the clouds moving and changing its colors as the sun sets.
We'll be having a BBQ dinner at 6:30pm but my stomach is already growling.
I really like large kitchen and I kept telling everyone this is my dream kitchen.
I wondered around and saw this croissant dough and chocolate cake. Is it for us? The chocolate cake looked so tempting and I was this close to steal a bite. Control....control...
Jason and Michelle's cupcake that looked too pretty to be eaten.
The farm looked so inviting. Pete said it was too cold now, but we really cant wait until tomorrow. So, we the "Sua-Ku" disregarded all sound advice and in our so called sound mind went outside into the cold.
To see a big worm.
Nyeh...actually to see a the sheeps.
While we played with the sheeps, Pete and Gaye were preparing our dinner. The kitchen was filled with yummy aromas that made our stomach growled again.
Dinner is served!
The succulent BBQ lamb. I wonder if they are from Pete's farm. I rather not ask as I might not be able to face the sheeps tomorrow if I know I am eating one of their relatives. Or worse, their mummy.
We downed the yummy home-cooked food with beer and juices while leaving some room for dessert.
Those cakes are really for us. Gaye told us she made them herself. What luck!
My new found favourite - Hokey Pokey ice cream. There was also a bowl of whipped cream. Aye, do people here eat whipped cream for dessert?
We were flipping channels and suddenly, the TV lost all the channels. Pete & Gaye tried to fix it back but it wouldn't work. So, Gaye called up his son, Brent, who just lived down the street.
As he entered the house, Jason and TH suddenly behaved like a lost kid that had just found his dad. They were all excited and I soon found out why. Brent looked like Wayne Rooney - Manchester United's striker. While he was fixing the channels, all of us ogled at him like a specimen under a microscope from the couch. I was actually trying to figure out which part of him looked like Rooney.
Suddenly, TH & Jason disappeared. Just as quickly as they disappeared, they reappeared again wearing their respective football jersey. They were beaming like little kids and can't wait to take a picture with "Mr. Rooney". Duhh...
Finally, the channel was fixed. Jason & TH immediately swamped the unprepared "Mr. Rooney" and I took this picture. As you can see, "Mr. Rooney" was still in a maze in this picture. Flanked by some weird football fanatic Asians.
After dinner, Pete, Gaye and Brent disappeared. I had a warm relaxing bath in their jacuzzi (oops) and lay on the cozy bed soon after. It was still too early to sleep. So, I decided to hunt for a familiar sight in this house. Pigs!
From the moment I walked in, I noticed the house has lot of pigs in it. Tonight, I am hunting them down.
TH made me a cup of warm tea and I lay on the bed again. This time, I slept like a pig!
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