Tioman Island

Tioman Island, Malaysia

There was always this feeling of maybe we shouldn't go somewhere over Chinese New Year's (CNY) after it was booked.   Getting to Tioman Island was going to be a pain the bum (had to leave in the middle of the night to beat the boarder traffic, issues with the driver we had hired, and the ferry).   In hindsight, we should have cancelled the whole trip and relaxed at home.  However, I didn't want to flake out on friends and not seem reliable.

One of the boats to get to out resort.  Poor Amelia took a facer to the floor to start the weekend with a shiner. 

It all started with a crazy driver.  Living in Singapore, I had forgotten it was the "Wild, Wild West" once you left the island.  Things aren't as organized and orderly as there are here.  I was soon reminded of the feeling of dread and car sickness some drivers can cause.  

We were dropped off at the ferry 3 hours before the departure....not cool.  Tired and stuck at an outside ferry terminal with nothing to do.   We soon realized why we needed to be there early, as the place started to fill.   It took over an hour to go through the ticket process (even though I had pre-bought the tickets) and we were finally funneled on the ferry with hundreds of others.

A weather break.  

View from our beach villas. 

The ferry ride was HELL.   For 2.5 hours, I would say 75% of the people on the boat were puking.  This included about half of our party (I won't name names).   Another reason to not travel over CNY is it is still monsoon season and the surf was crazy scary looking out the window.

We finally landed at Tioman to find out all transportation on and off the island had been cancelled until further notice due to weather.  All I can say, adventure.

It wasn't all bad. 

The resort was very nice and we had some weather breaks that allowed us to enjoy the beach and take some hikes.  However, the looming thoughts of when and how we would get home made it not so stress free.

Crazy kid loves his jeans....even in the sand. 

Bearing down with essentials for the nightly storm.

Surf coming up to the villas. 

Finally, the resort managed to arrange some private boats to get us off.  We arrived home safe and sound. 

Let's just say, next CNY, I am staying home.  

The resort offered classes for kids during the day/ 

Amelia is 7!

Birthday photo. 

I am still is shock that Amelia is now 7.  Where did the time go?  How did I get this old?  I find myself, once again, being nostalgic about my life.  It also doesn't help that stupid Facebook keeps flooding me with memories of years past as reminders.   

I now definitely have a kid on my hands.  

Amelia celebrated her birthday over a the course of a couple weeks.  This is because Chinese New Years was on her birthday and that is kind of a big deal around here.  People were traveling, we were traveling.  It also allowed her to turn 7 on a tropical island.  Now who could be upset about that!

Cake at the resort on her birthday. 

Amelia started planning and talking about her birthday party months before.  There came a point that I had to ban the subject because it became way too much.   Within the months of planning, she decided on the theme "American Girl Tea Party".   It was actually a pretty simple party to throw.  It also helped that I limited the guests to condo friends and only two school friends (ask me sometime about the parties we have been to from kids in her class.  WAY over the top).

They decorated their own "petit fours". 

She planned the games, menu and decorations.  Cecile and I got to do the cooking/decorating and Wade was the server.   The kids sat nicely during the tea portion and used their best manners.  One mom stopped by and stated it was the calmest party she has ever seen.  Just my style.

The crew and the server. 

Tea food. 

Amelia has grown to be a beautiful young lady.  She is loud and has an opinion at home,  but in the community/school she is reserved and caring.   She loves to help the little neighbors, her friends at school and family at home.   Amelia is also very artistic and loves anything with art and crafts (she is already saying next year's party is an art party).   The girl is also an avid gamer, who I now refuse to play most games with because I will lose.   Wade and her keep each other challenged.  She still loves gymnastics and just made SAS's U8 soccer team.  We will see where that leads.

Happiest of Birthdays Miss Amelia.  We love you and are very proud of who you are becoming.

New Zealand: Queenstown

Our final stop on our New Zealand trip was Queenstown.  It was also where we stayed the longest after many recommendations to do so.   We were glad we did.  

Queenstown is an amazing place for many reason.  It is flooded with extreme sport possibilities, easy to navigate with tons to do, great food, and within the three days were we there, we met 3 Cougs!   Yes folks, wearing Coug gear has done it again.   Another reason to love WSU and the community it has.  

View looking over Queenstown. 

We stayed at a very trendy hostel and our kids were the only ones in it.  The rest was filled with 20something "kids" there to work during the peak season, or traveling.   The location was great and allowed us to walk everywhere we wanted and needed to go.   Within the first day, we had found our watering hole and the kids a rope swing.  We spent the next three afternoons and nights there after the days adventures drinking and eating.  

Heading to the top of the luge.  Awesome view. 

During the days, we filled it was parks and hikes.  Amelia was dying to do some extreme sports, but due to size and age, we were limited.  We opted for the luge.  This resulted in awesome views on top of a mountain with more drinking and eating.   We truly lucked out with the weather and Queenstown is definitely a place I could see myself living (Don't worry family, there is no plans for this to transpire).  

Going up the tram. 

There seemed to be a plethora of rope swings around NZ.  The kids found them everywhere.  It equaled hours of fun.

The famous Fergburger.  I waited in line for over an hour. Wade said his wasn't worth it, mine was pretty good. 

Amelia's first shot.  Don't worry, it was water.   The waitress brought it for her.  

Going luging. 

The progression of the sunset from our room window. 

New Zealand: Milford Sound

We drove 8 hours roundtrip to take a three hour cruise.  I was not sure it was going to be worth it, but it was.   Even Wade said so.    Milford Sound is know for the fiords that dive into the sea below with tumbling waterfalls and mountain peaks.  It definitely is one of the most beautiful places in the 

world.

 

The cruise took us through a long passage to the sea.  At one point we were welcomed by a group of dolphins.   It was a smooth ride and a beautiful day.  

New Zealand: Lake Wanaka

Our next stop was Lake Wanaka.  It reminded Wade and I a LOT of Lake Chelan.   It was beautiful, but the rain limited what were wanted to do and as you can see in the pictures, we were cold.   We spent most of the time at a brewery drinking local beers and kids having fluffies (steamed milk with flavoring). 

Family time on the lake.

That night, the hostel we stayed in had a personal dining area and kitchen.   For dinner we cooked lamb chops with salad and NZ wine.  We all said it was our best dinner.   

Fluffies.

On the way to the lake we stopped at the ocean for a driving break.  It was a beautiful beach, but the sandflies were HORRIBLE.   Made it NOT enjoyable. 

New Zealand: Hot and Cold

Our next two stops in NZ were hot springs in Hanmer Springs and glaciers in Frans Josephs.  I didn't get any pictures at the springs because technology and water don't mix, but I made up for that with tons of pics on our hike to see the glacier.   

Day spent in Hanmer before swimming.  We played at a park in a creek.  Reminded me of my brother and me playing in the woods growing up.  This is childhood.  

The weather wasn't awesome while at the Frans Joseph, but it was perfect for the hiking.  It was around 6 miles round trip.  There was a lot of complaining going up and nothing coming down.   The water from the glacier was freezing and a milky white due to sediments in the water.

What is so amazing to me was where we were hiking was once where (about a decade ago) the glacier was.  This was do to the glacier moving and world temps raising and the glacier melting.  Sad fact.  However, seeing what the glacier carved out was cool.   Brought back some of the knowledge learned from "Rocks for Jocks" at WSU.  Wade could even recite the different types of rock.  Just don't ask him to physically show you them. 

View from our hostel

One of many waterfalls.

Love them!

Hiking up. 

The glacier. 

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Making rock towers. 

Hiking down. 

The kiwi habitat.  Was saw real kiwis.  Liam loved it.  

New Zealand: Blenheim and Kaikoura

The goal of our trip was to drive around the south island of New Zealand.  After some drama at the airport in Sydney (ticket issues and got stuck there for 12 hours), we made it to Christchurch.  After a short night, we headed north to meet our friends Darcy and Orestis for wine tasting.  Malborough county is wine country specializing in whites.   We had a van tour to about 4 wineries and one brewery...where we ended up staying a while.

Needless to say, not many pictures because we were too busy drinking good wine.

Moa Brewery.  

The next day we headed back south, following the coast to Kaikoura.  I loved Kaikoura.  It was a small beach town with great views.  We spent the day hiking, looking at seals, and drinking more beer.   We also stopped for some awesome roadside crawfish (like a lobster) and steamed blue mussels that I had read about on a blog while researching the trip.   That night we rang in the New Year playing games with new friends and drinking sparkling wine from the day before.   I couldn't picture a better way to welcome 2016!

Nin's Bin.  Right on the coast.

Wade :). 

Our lunch. 

Panaramic view from our hike. 

On top of a hill looking over the ocean. 

Seals everywhere.  We almost stepped on a couple they were so well hidden. 

One of the beaches. 

View from our hostel room. 

Touring the seabeds.