Christchurch

Christchurch. One of the many ways to enter NZ besides through Auckland. Some do fly through Wellington though.

Anyway, this would be my 2nd visit to CHC, the last being a 40mins stop at the airport. This time... Yours truly plus wife will be doing a little sight seeing... hopefully.

It's nicely squared out don't you think? :)

CHC's airport.... nicely framed between the 2 airbus's ... :)
It was cold... windy... and rainy. So one didn't get to travel around much.

Did I mention that it was cold... windy... and rainy???
The iconic Tram. On a Sunday, it's deserted... more so that it's cold... windy... and rainy...

Oh, and it was around 5C when we were walking around. The wind made things worse...
The next day, we took a coach to Dunedin, my best buddy's house is there. I wanted to drive, but as the earthquake had caused quite a substantial damage (mainly to CHC's houses) I figured letting someone do the driving would be better! I guess my main concern were roads being closed and the coach driver would know the routes better than a SatNav.

ANYway, there is one positive thing out of this: I can sit back, relax and enjoy the view! Like below... Snow cap mountains in the distance with acre's of farmland from road to ... wherever!
A zoomed up shot. I would had prefered to travel by rail, but this service was discontinued more than 5 years ago, back in 2005...

The coach pass through some local small towns. Oamaru and Timaru are some of them, and these are what the houses look like.


What the coach looks like...
I relaxed right? Yup... a field of gold? :)
While one would spot snow cap mountains as there are very prevalent around CHC, but as you head down towards Otago (where Dunedin is), the scenery changes. James Herriot's books of life in England and it's beautiful valleys, hills, etc would best describe Otago's farmland scenery.

So notice the mountain change in the background.
Next stop. Dunedin...

Chiling Waterfalls

It's located near KKB town. Actually closer towards the dam. And it'll take ya 1 hour or so to get to the main thing. Plus one has to go through 5 rivers before getting to the main thing.

Fortunately, the 1st river crossing's been done up with a bridge. But after that...

So here's crossing #2.
And #3.
Crossing #4
And in between you do know there is quite a lot of trekking to be done, right?
Here is #5.
And finally, #6.
And as I was crossing #6, there is this nice 'fall. But no, this isn't the one... altho I think you can decide to lepak here if the main one is too crowded.
And so here is the main one. The pool's big. And so's the area surrouding it. But it can get crowded so, if one is there early, it shouldn't be a problem. We arrive around noon. And it was just nice. But if earlier, it wouldn't had been better...
The drive to this location is about 1 hour from KL. There are basically 2 ways:
a) via Ulu Yam and KKB; and
b) via NKVE > Rawang and towards KKB.

As usual, Googling Sungai Chiling will get you loads of details.

The End.

Mabul

Sipadan, Mabul and Kapalai are all located about 10mins boat ride from each other. Of course, if you can't afford to shell out RM400 for a 5 star resort at Kapalai, there is the cheaper option in Mabul. Something like less that 100 will do.

The below was taken of a similiar resort like Kapalai's. Am not sure how much these cost, but the cheaper ones are located on the Island itself or on more ... affordable housing...


The End.

Kapalai

Now, this one is more interesting to me. Reason? I can't swim but at least I can splash around in the water more... and it's more shallow AND the fishies are more abundant kind that swim around up here than having to dive...

Kapalai is basically a sand bank that is sticking out in the ocean. So, some smart people decided to turn it into a resort since there are tons of corals and teeming with sea life as well.

Like Dragon Inn, your waste are channel for proper disposal, so everything is well kept and preserved as how it should be. Or otherwise, it'll be dirty and nobody would come. Obviously!
A walkway to nowhere?
Or you can just sit down and admire the ocean's glory!
See... beautiful. Clean. Fishes. Sand at the far end.

Lots of small fishies...
And corals.
Puffer fish! And no, I don't have a under water proof camera. This is all taken by my K7 from above the sea level.
Picture of the day #1
Picture of the day #2
Barracuda!
More fishies...
For someone who can't really enjoy the ocean, because I can't swim, this place was heaven...

Oh yeah, it's a resort so it'll cost ya RM400 (as off 2010) for accommodation, food and boat ride from Semporna.

The End.

Sipadan

An island sticking out in the ocean that is shaped like a mushroom which is teeming with ocean wildlife under it. Most go there to dive.

Sadly, your's truly isn't much of a swimmer BUT at the very least I can say that I HAVE visited the island! :)

But before all that, let's just show you what's along the way... a vast ocean and these are seaweed cages. I don't know whether people actually stay here, but it's really far out into the ocean. Imagine facing the usual tropical thunderstorms... I certainly wouldn't want to be in that wooden house.

After almost 45(?) mins of a boat ride, you reach Sipadan. Crystal clear waters...

Those black balloons signify the end of the shallow depth of the seabed... before I steep drop into the beyond! You can actually wade out to those balloons; about thigh high. Just don't go beyond... unless you're crazy enough! :)

So, it's easy to spot the colour of the water difference...
Really clear right? :)
And the beach...
Now if you're expecting more, then no. It's just an island, deserted at night with no buildings of accomodation or food of any kind. There are changing rooms and washing facilities, but's about it. You basically go there go dive, wash up and buzz off! :)


The End.

Semporna - Dragon Inn

Dragon Inn is a floating hotel. Not really floating but one built on stilts. So you walk across the plank walk to the hotel and you stay above the sea. As such, it makes a wonderful environment for photographers at night...

Water and Lights equals Reflections equals Long Exposure shots... like below.



Is there another floor down there?

Now, if you're afraid that your human waste will just be flushed away down into the ocean, then you have nothing to worry about as the sewage pipes connect them all. But be warned. It's airy out here... literally! All that's between you and the ocean are the planks beneath your feet as you bathe with really tiny slits for the water to ....er.... drop down.
The view of the room. Simple but effective.
The End.

Sandakan... MORE Food!!!

Stop reading and scrolling if you don't want to feel hungry...

The below was eaten from the famous Sim Sim Seafood Village.
Black sauce Sotong... Very nice, but they could have cleaned the internals 1st, just to warned
Scallop. Prawns. Fish. Noodles.
The dry version.
Now, Sim Sim village is a village built on stilts, jutting out from beside a major road in Sandakan. And where you have village on stilts, you have nice long corridors like this one.
Moi near the entrance of the village.
Dinner was at Restaurant 1Malaysia Steamboat Buffet. It's situated on top pf Trig Hill and you have a nice view of the harbour below you. I've taken photo's from there before...