It's almost Christmas. It's been a year since my last plane travel and because of covid, looks like I won't be cruising the skies for another year. I've also applied for Australian citizenship and I heard it takes about a year or two to process so I guess I'll be in Sydney for a while.
Anyway this post will be mainly our Queenstown trip with my mom, Tita N, Tita A and Uncle J who visited me here last November 2019! But before going to Queenstown, off course I showed them around here in Sydney too so here are some highlights. Some days I wasn't able to come with them, good thing Tita N is tech savvy and is able to be their tour guide haha.. Apologies aunties as I have limited leaves! Tita N survived just by google maps and their Opal card. :) It's also Tita N's second time here as her family went here last Dec 2018 (with my cuzkins!) so I was also able to hang out with them! They went whale watching, Sydney Sealife, Zoo, Blue Mountains, Bondi, Sydney CBD, Eye Tower, Manly beach and watched Cirque du Soleil.
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Good to have my aunties who always prepare the food for us!
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Off course, no trip to NSW is complete without visiting Blue Mountains - Three Sisters :)
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| Perfect timing too they were able to see 2019 sculptures by the sea near Bondi |
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| Treated them with Kurios show - Cirque du Soleil latest attraction |
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| Had high tea party, thanks for the treat! |
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| Uncle is 70++ but still able to walk and stroll with us younger folks! |
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| Feeling the wind at Bondi beach! |
After a week in Sydney, they wanted to go to New Zealand so took them to Queenstown which is in Southern part of New Zealand. This is my third time in NZ but first time in the South side. My first trip was always on the Northern Islands. Again I rented Toyota Rav 4 so we can freely drive around. I love driving!
We stayed at Breakfree the Point, we had such a good stay as the views were breath taking and we got a free upgrade from a 2BR to a 3BR! You wake up near Queenstown lake and see mountainous views with ice caps. Just beautiful.
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| Arrived late, hungry we drove to Queenstown town proper and found KFC open! Thank goodness. |
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| Will you look at these love birds? Love birds or the view? |
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| Tita N enjoying her morning coffee |
Actually it was gloomy when we first arrived but we stayed for 5 days and 4 nights so some days we were able to see the gorgeous views.
The next day we went strolling around Queenstown then rode the Skyline Gondola, had a delish buffet at the top, then headed to Botanical Garden and Frankton beach.
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| Gondola ride with mom and Tita N |
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| Unfortunately it's all fog, BUT it did clear up after our lunch so all is well! |
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| Love the buffet here, I especially enjoyed Monk fish dish. Love it! |
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| Auntie at Frankton beach :) |
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| Me and mom at Queenstown Botanical Garden |
The next day we had our Milford Sound cruise tour. I highly recommend going if it's your first time, it's quite a road trip though. Most of the time you'll be in the bus but the bus has a restroom plus glass ceiling so you'd be able to see the glaciers and snow capped mountains as you pass them by. Milford Sound is located at Fiordland National park and has been judged as world's top travel destination also previously called 8th wonder of the world. We saw wild seals, waterfalls and had a taste of glacier water!
This is the tour I got btw if you want to avail :) - https://www.jucycruise.co.nz/premium-milford-sound-cruise/classic-milford-sound-cruise/
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| Want a taste of glacier water? |
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| Ready to cruise after 4 hours trip! |
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| Glacier lake and waterfalls |
After that 7 hour road trip, we were too tired so just went to sleep. It felt like a drive from Manila to Bulusan, my mom's home town. Lol.
The next day, I took them to Wanaka to see a Lavender farm, Wanaka tree, Wanaka Lake then drove to the mining town called Arrowtown for some sight seeing.
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| Me and mom overlooking Queenstown, this was so high it felt like you can almost touch the clouds. |
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| Aunties at lavender farm who also bought lavender products haha.. |
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| Tita N and her lavender field |
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| This was at Wanaka Lake, we were having our lunch sandwiches! |
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| Mom enjoying the view |
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| Me at 'that Wanaka tree' |
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| I wish had a photo of Arrowtown! It has it's own charm. It's a historic mining town and you can buy gold products. Highly recommend strolling as the cute shops and town is worth it. |
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| Went back to Queenstown and had dinner at the famous Fergburger. In my opinion, tastes like regular burgers here in AU haha, queued and just ticked off from our bucket list. |
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| They say it's a must try but for me nothing special just your regular burger and fries. |
After Wanaka and Arrowtown, I wanted to see Isengard Lookout where some of the fighting scenes in the Lord of the Rings were shot. Unfortunately it was raining and foggy so we didn't see anything. We were just able to stop by at Glenorchy and that's about our last day in Queenstown.
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| Iconic Glenorchy hut with Tita N |
Glenorchy was our last stop and the next day we headed back to Sydney wherein we only had a night's rest and when we woke up, back again at the airport! Me, mom and Tita N flying to Manila. ( My company sent me to PH to provide training to our new Manila members of our team. Free trip home yes! I also asked them if I could schedule my flight same as my mom's so we all went together.) then Uncle J and Auntie flying back to Florida.
I normally fly to PH once a year but since this pandemic hit us, I'm guessing my next PH trip will be on 2022. If all goes well. I told my parents that if the vaccine is available next year, they can visit me here and spend Christmas with me on December 2021. I won't be able to leave yet until my AU citizenship has been assessed and processed so, I think they should come to me instead. :p I want them to see my own home too. :)
Anyway that's it! I guess I'm almost up to date with my travel blogs, next one is our Gold Coast trip with M last December 2019.
Me and my friends are driving to Coffs Harbour after Christmas. (That's almost a 6 hour drive from Sydney.) NSW is almost covid free hope we can continue with this low numbers and no community transmission as we are planning a trip to Tasmania on Feb. Finger's crossed.
