Easter's Short Getaway-Matakana's Farmer Market and Omaha

This blog has been long overdue, sitting in my draft folder for a few months. As there were quite alot of photos in this post and I was worried that I might max my capacity as result I procastinating in completing this post. Actually, I have more than a few posts that were still in my draft folder-My Fiji's Holiday (2years back) and My Perth's Holiday (last Dec), as these holidays posts can be very lengthy involving a lot of photos and time to recall and put in together, hopefully I will complete it one of these days...first of all, I better completed this post first-My Easter's Short Getaway.

With Good Friday and Easter Monday were Public Holidays, there were 4 days which I got a break off  from work. The feeling was great, 2 short working week. Tony decided to bring me up to Omaha for a night getaway. Why only a night ? He has a golf tournament on Friday and Monday, so we can only stay a night on Sat. In fact, I do not like the idea of going away just for a night, he insisted...even though it was just a night. He felt that we should do something different rather than staying in the house again.  

We left for our trip early that morning, as I knew that there was a  Farmer's Market going on at Matakana Village on every saturday and shared with Tony that it might be a good idea for us to pop by before going to Omaha since it was on our way.  By the time we got, the crowd was already building up. It was a lovely market with a lot of local produce. I enjoyed the atmosphere with lot of people, it was due to whre I was come Singapore-a city bustling with activities and people. This village and market just brought me closer to home, feeling extremely comfortable and warm.  Check out here for  Matakana Village and their Farmer's Market details. Beside the farmer's market, the village itself is a big attraction too as it has a rustic feel. Took some photos to share. This is a market worth visiting if you have the time.

This was a Macademia Coffee Slice which I had, it was nice but somehow I found it way too sweet for my palate.

Environmental Friendly Market with interesting recyle bins' labels

There were quite a lot to explore in this market just like this shop below:  The Cream of Matakana. It is a gift shop that specialize  retro cool groovy gifts that are made in NZ. The moment I stepped into the shop, I love it and the feeling of nostalgia set in. It just felt so warmth at heart we spent about half an hour in the shop browsing through the wide selection of gifts. I just feel like bringing everything home.

Just before we left the market and proceed to Omaha, I grabbed the chance bought myself a Thai Spicy Sauage at one of the stall.  We went to a nearby cafe to have breakfast, those that we had at the market were just starters for breakfast. Heehee...

In less than half an hour drive from Matakana's farmer market, we arrived at at Bed & Breakfast. This was where we stayed. The units on the right are for Bed and Breakfast, the owner-Shirley and family stayed on the unit on the left. She is very friendly and made us feel at home. We had the 2nd floor unit for our one night stay.

It was an ensuite with a living space, bathroom and a balcony. The enviroment was very cosy.

After we got settled, we went to the Omaha's Beach for a stroll. Omaha is indeed a nice and relaxing place for a short weekend getaway! We will definitely come back again during Summer!

Lake Taupo to Auckland (Part 3)

Chicken Schnitzel Sandwich @ Replete Cafe

We checked out the motel the following morning, after last night terrible dinner experience Tony and I decided to give ourselves a good breakfast. We went to Replete Cafe (this is a cafe and kitchenware store), it was the only cafe that was packed with people. The food here must be good. We decided to go in to this cafe, usually Tony does not like to wait at packed restaurant or cafe, that morning was exceptional maybe after last night bad experience. We got a table shortly after we placed an order. I had a pre-prepared Chicken Schnitzel Sandwich, as usual Tony had his favourite Egg Benedict. It was a really good breakfast treat for us. Good quality of food and service. After our breakfast, we even shop at their kitchenware store, which we bought their Rocket Fuel sauce and 6 mini pie pan.

My New Baking Toys

After breakfast, we did shop around Taupo for awhile, but nothing caught my attention and we continue our journey back to Auckland. Tony asked if we should stop by one of the attraction-Huka Falls.  The Huka Falls are the largest falls on the Waikato River, near Taupo on New Zealand's North Island which Tony think that I should see as I have not travelled/visited many places in New Zealand since I was relocated here. It is the most visited natural attraction in New Zealand. The Huka Falls are a set of waterfalls on the Waikato River that drains Lake Taupo in New Zealand. And Lake Taupo is  the largest freshwater lake in all of Australasia. Because of the cloudy weather, I did not have a photo of Lake Taupo to show. Luckily, the photos which I took at Huka Falls were better though not fantastic as I would like it to be. The water is so crystal clear that you feel like dipping in. It is definitely worth a visit if you are in New Zealand!

There are some activities you can do around Huka Falls, and one of them is Huka Falls Jet.  Tony asked me to go for it but I do not want to get wet and was not mentally prepared to do that that morning so I declined it.

We continued our journey back to Auckland, the weather got better and better as we headed North. Managed to snap some photos inside the car of the scenic drive back home. Actually, seeing that the weather was good Tony wanted to make a detour to bring me to Rotorua but I again declined as I was just not in a mood to be a tourist doing sight seeing at that point. Sorry, Tony to deline your good intention. Our journey continued for another 2hours or so, and we were in Auckland and back to our home sweet home! Though it was a really short trip and it was definitely worth it!

Journey from Wellington to Lake Taupo (Part 2)

From Wellington, we had to go on State Highway One where we will have to travel through Waiouru  to Turangi (vice versa). From Waioura, we will have the chance to wind through a unique alpine semi-desert, called the Rangipo Desert. It is the most striking near-desert experience you can have on the road. It was cold on this desert road, which was about 13degree. As you could see from the photo below, it is really looked like a desert. And the mountain from far is Mt Raupehu. During winter, this mountain will be covered with snow, Tony said that he will bring me to Mt Ruapehu for skiing this winter if we have a chance to. I was so happy, the last I went skiing was back in 1997..that was 15years ago..keeping our fingers cross..hoping we can materialize this skiing plan...

Majectic Mt Ruapehu from far

 

As a storm was brewing we definitely need to get out of desert road fast as well as we hope to get to Lake Taupo before it got dark. After driving for 4hours, we finally arrived at Lake Taupo.  We settled at Boulevard Water Motel for the night, it is a lovely motel that has breathtaking Lake Taupo and  mountain views but too bad we were always down on luck with weather as it was raining and it was also starting to get dark and we can't really see the beautiful lake and mountain. Just hope we got better luck with the weather the next day to admire before we leave this place. 

The motel is situated right on the lake edge where the views, the water and the mountains do not get any better. Taupo is famous for many things and one of them is the 'Hot Water Beach', the motel is just right next it.

Their suite is lovely and is equipped with in-room spas, king size bed and full kitchen facilities. 

One word of caution if you are TALL: Beware of the ceiling fan, since the ceiling is pretty low. While putting on his shirt, Tony had one of his hand  hit by the moving fan. Luckily, he just got some bad bruises though it really hurts. God blessed him as none of his fingers were fractured. I was the one to be blamed, I turned on the fan feeling hot after the spa. 

That night, we had so called dinner at "Milano Italian Restaurant", why did I say so-called "Dinner". We ordered 2 appetizers, 2 main and a glass of white wine. Shortly, our appetizers-Garlic Bread and Calamari Cristo arrived. After we finished, Tony was not served with the glass of white wine. We called the waitress and asked for it, not apologetic at all she came back with the long waited white wine. We waited for 40mins, there was a group of 4 persons came in and seat at a table beside us. Their orders were taken, and about 15mins later they were served with their meals. I can't believe it, they came in later and they were served first. I called out to the waitress and asked where were our dinner? Again, did not apologised at all she said she will check. And they realised they did not put through our orders. How could this happened ? It was really ridiculous... If our order was not put through, why did we received our garlic bread and calamari cristo in the first place..Below were what we were served..but NOT the main dishes. We left at once...feeling disappointed and gutted with the kind of  service.

  

We left the restaurant and returned back to the motel as this dinning experience has really ruined our evening.

To continue reading my journey on this, Click her for  Part 3.

Short stop-over @ Wellington (Part 1)

Tony has packed me off to Wellington to meet him on 24th Mar 2012 (Sat), he was away for selling in New Zealand...driving  from Auckland in North Island to Nelson in South Island

and back to Wellington to meet me. He has been on the road for a week and it was definitely a good idea to join him in Wellington and return to Auckland together than him driving alone.
 

Departing Auckland, view from the Sky

Sea of Cloud

Our arrangement was I will be arriving in Wellington 2hours ahead of Tony, then I will explore  Wellington's City Centre on my own before Tony pick me up. I took a Airport Shuttle to Lambton Quay (Wellington's City Centre), this was the first time hopping on a bus in New Zealand after 2years. I was really impressed that the Airport Shuttle has  WIFI facility on board, something I would never expect to see it in New Zealand. Thumb Up!

I arrived at Lambton  in less than 45mins from the airport. I was able to complete the stretch of Lambton Quay in less than 2hours. The shops found there can also be found in Auckland City, except the departmental store Kirkcaldie and Stains ( I am not a great fan of department store shopping). The street was pretty quiet and I realised that it wasn't easy to drive around in the city, the streets are mostly "One-Way" only. If you are not familiar with the area, it is better to take a public transportation. The public transportation system is more comprehensive than  Auckland according to Tony. 

It was not easy to find food in Lambton Quay, maybe  I have a high expectation. I was not after those normal cafes which are everywhere in Auckland, in fact that aren't many in that area at all. In the end, I located a food court at Willis St in BNZ Building. OMG...it was the most pitiful and run down food court I have seen. There were a few empty food stalls, and those that were still business..you can feel that they were struggling to survive. Got myself a Chicken Bento from  Maki Mono Sushi stall, the food looked most appetizing among the stalls.

   

Met Tony at Kirkcaldie & Stains and we went to shop around for awhile before we decided to leave Wellington(not staying a night) and  head straight to Lake Taupo for a night before continuing our journey home to Auckland. 

We stopped at  NZ's Parliament House in Wellington for a photo before we headed to the State Highway.

Good Bye, Wellington! Our journey home from Wellinngton to Auckland will be continued in Part 2.

Trip to Hamilton

Last Sunday, we drove to Hamilton. Tony wanted to look at the location for setting up a temporary shop in Hamilton. There were a few shops for lease however before we made any decision we need to go there personally to human traffic at that mall to assess. It was about 1.5-2hours drive from Auckland.

I captured some scenaries shoots to and from Hamilton and made it into a Video to share...

Again my first time- ALOHA, Hawai'i

After knowing Tony, I have so many "first times"..back in Singapore I have been wanting and dreaming of going to places like Fiji and Hawaii. Fiji is well-known for being an expensive beach resort, airfare alone costs more than S$2,000 and not to mention about accommodation....Fiji is famous for her beautiful beaches....Because of Tony, I got to go to Fiji in May for a week after arriving in Auckland in April...it was indeed a dream came true.<**>

In August, he was going for half a day business trip in Sydney and knowing that I have never been to Sydney he took me along and even acceded to my request of extending the stay to 3 days 2 nights so that I can explore Sydney. It was my 1st time too.

After Sydney in late August, he decided to take me to Hawai'i too.

On 9th Sept 2010, we left Auckland for 6 days and 5 nights trip. After a 8hours and 45minutes flight. We finally arrived at O'ahu. O'ahu is the name of the island, most people are more familiar with Honolulu. Honolulu is Hawai'i's largest city.Honolulu is also the capital of Hawai'i.

The hotel that we stayed in was Hyatt Regency Waikiki Resort and Spa at 2424 Kalakaua Ave. It was a hotel in the heart of Waikiki. Waikiki Beach is just across the street. Everything was within walking distance.



There are 2 ABC stores (Convenience Stores) within the hotel and 1 across the street. Lots of shopping, restaurants and fast food places within walking distance along the entire Kalakaua Ave. I would not recommend this hotel and would definitely recommend you to get a hotel that is located in KAKAKAUA AVE.

Our room was spacious with a nice dressing area, however the bathroom was small as compared to some of the hotels which I have stayed. The room and furnishing looked old. The bed and pillows were comfortable.





Dressing area and the bathroom



Rooms get a lot of noise from neighbours opening /closing their room doors as well as noise from room above.





The Room







We were on the 15th floor and stayed a deluxe ocean view king. The view was partially blocked so it was definitely not worth it as we paid for this ocean view room. Instead of full ocean view, we had half ocean view and half city view. If you are luckily, you might get upgraded without having to pay for it.

On the left was the view of the Waikiki Beach and the one on the bottom was the view of the city.

This was the street of Kalakaua Ave where you can find lot of shopping (most of the brands-Hermes, L.V, Prada, Gucci, Polo Ralph Lauren, Salvatore Ferragamo,  Kate Spade, Apple Store, Coach, Armani, etc...along this street. Kalakaua Ave is the main street through Waikiki which runs parallel to the beach. This is always lively street. There were a number of hotels located on this street have their own shopping mall within the hotel. one of the them was Royal Hawaiian and the hotel which I stayed.

Hilton Hawaiian Village was another lovely hotel which has a lovely open concept shopping in the hotel, it is further down the street which was about 30minutes walk from our hotel.

These photos  were all taken in the Hilton Hawaiian Village.

  

They can find this ABC  Stores literally everywhere you go, these were convenience stores.

If you like to shop just like me, this is the shopping complex in Hawaii you must go. It is called Ala  Moana Center.It is the world's largest open-air shopping center.It has 5 departments stores in the center. They are Macy's, Neiman Marcus, Nordstorm (You can get alot of good bargains on branded stuffs   in Nordstorm), Sears and Shirokiya. There are also numerous of famous brands in this center . Find out more on this mega center, click here. 

It cost about US$10 each way by taxi from our hotel or you can hop on to Pink Line trolleys throughout Waikiki. Cost is US$2.00 each way.  

Inside the center, I would like to recommend one restaurant to you if you are a shrimp lover. This restaurant is called Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. The restaurant specialty is shrimp. The restaurant has a causal and yet comfortable ambient with friendly service staff.

The Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. is  a chain of seafood restaurants inspired by the 1994 film Forrest Gump. The Bubba Gump restaurant is named after the movie's main characters Benjamin Buford "Bubba" Blue and Forrest Gump. Bubba suggested the shrimping business and ultimately Forrest pursued the idea after Bubba's death when they served in the Vietnam War. Check it out here.

Below were the dishes we had...
 


Lt Dan's Drunken Shrimp

  

Burbon Street Mahi Mahi

 

   


If you are looking for a bargain, the Waikele Factory Outlet Mall is a place you cannot miss. This outlet is 40 minutes away from Waikiki offering brands like Coach, Polo Ralph, Armani,True Religion, Nine West, Levis etc...at great prices with great saving. The cost by taxi is about US$80 each way. However, the hotel which I stayed provides shuttle to Waikele Factory Outlet at US$5 each way per person. Check out here for their schedule/stops. I went there twice during my stay as the bargains were to attempting and I have to make sure that I got everything I wanted so that I leave Hawai'i with no regret. Check it out here. The tax rate 4% in Hawai'i was one of the lowest among all the states.

Lastly, if you are a Cheesecake lover you must definitely visit this restaurant/bakery/bar-The Cheesecake Factory. Check it out here.



Freshly Baked Bread to start off the meal



The daily dinner queue was super long. So if you want to eat at this restaurant, go early else be prepared to wait. There are alot of varieties in their menu to choose from, you are just spoilt for choices.The factory is famous for their cheesecakes as well as their generous serving of their meals. Most importantly, the price was very reasonable. We were surprised by it, it was cheaper than the breakfast we had. As a result, we went there twice for our meals. 1st time was for dinner and 2nd time was for lunch.

Because of their generous serving after the dinner meal which included freshly baked bread, we were so bloated after the dinner but yet we wanted to try their cheesecake so we had the cheesecake packed and had it as dessert in our hotel room.


This is the dinner dish I had on our 1st visit:   

Bang Bang Chicken and Shrimp







These below were our lunch dishes on our 2nd visit to the restaurant.

 


Orange Chicken

  

Can't recall the name of this pork burger, nonethless this wasn't a nice burger as the patty was made of shredded pork!

                                                   



One of the Best Mashed Potatoes we have ever ate!! MUST TRY if you are there!



The ceiling decoration of the Cheesecake Factory