New Zealand Trip-Day 8

Day 8-today is our last day in New Zealand.Yeah...we are going home!At least I am looking forward to go back to Malaysia as I have some many things waiting for me at home while my wife and children are more keen to stay on.

We had about 6 hours before our afternoon flight back to Kuala Lumpur and we planned to have a good breakfast before leaving New Zealand.

I read about a place which claimed to have the best coffee in town – and maybe in all of Canterbury region in the lonely planet book and the place is in Lyttelton outskirt of Christchurch which was about 25 minutes drive from Christchurch city.

We drove all the way in the early morning to look for the best coffee in town but couldn't find the place despite using my GPS.Finally,I asked a local and she pointed to me a destroyed building (the picture above).That's where the famous Lyttelton Roasting Company once operated before the earthquake.It was total destroyed and has since been abandoned.The local suggested we try another coffee shop nearby operated by two youngsters.The coffee was just so so,nothing great but expensive.

After breakfast we drove around Lyttelton and took some pictures of the port and ships.Lyttelton is a port village that proudly proclaims itself as the gateway to Christchurch, has been devastated by the 6.3 magnitude earthquake that struck New Zealand's second largest city.Every second building on the town's main street has been severely damaged.

Then we made our way back to our motel,packed and check out before heading to the airport.

The last place we visited before flying home was the Antarctic Centre which is very near to the Christchurch Airport:http://www.iceberg.co.nz/ . The building looks very big from the outside but there are not many attractions in there.One only needs about 2 hours to complete the whole attractions.The Hagglund Ride (a rough ride in an amphibious vehicle which took us through some rough terrain and water) ,the Antarctic Storm Room (below) and the 4D Show (on penguins and Antarctic exploration) are recommended.

Freezing cold.....In the ice room where one can feel the real temperatures and winds of Antarctica, -30 degrees Celsius.We were the first to exit from the room.Just can't stand the cold,my fingers were numb and I decided not to wait until the end.(supposed to be a 10 minutes experience of Antarctica storm).

Finally...it was the end of our trip.We drove for about 1600km during our trip.I have never drive for such a distance in my life but driving in New Zealand wasn't stressful at all.Almost everyone followed the speed limit and I found most the the drivers are very courteous.They don't honked at you,they gave way to other motorists and they obeyed the laws.The speed limit in town/city areas is 50km/hour while the highways is 100km/h.I found it was difficult to drive at 50km/h and many times,I exceeded the speed limit.Luckily my GPS warned me to slow down.

We returned the car to Apex Car Rental:http://www.apexrentals.co.nz/default.aspx .They provided a shuttle service to send us back to the airport.Their service is good,the car is almost brand new and their rate is reasonable compared to others.I will definitely use them again if I will to visit New Zealand again.

This was a very enjoyable trip for the whole family.We have lots of fun in such a short period.I wished we have more time to spend.New Zealand is a very big country and one needs to take a much longer holidays to slowly explore it.

With this trip,we finally concluded our "holiday marathons" for the year 2011.We have visited Shanghai,Seoul,Mulu National Park and New Zealand during each school breaks in 2011.

Last but not least....Thank God for everything that went smoothly throughout our trip.I have no complaints except for the unfavourable currency exchange which makes visiting New Zealand an expensive affair.

We shall return in the future....maybe in 3 years?