NZ 2023 Day 13 & 14: Christchurch and Sydney
DAY 13: 6 DEC 2023
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| Sydney Opera House |
Instead of waking up in Sydney, we woke up in Christchurch haha.
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| Eggs benedict with bacon |
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| Pancakes |
We had 50 NZD to spend for breakfast so we ordered room service again.
The food was good.
As we explored Christchurch CBD already, we decided to visit Northlands shopping centre and Willowbank wildlife weserve today.
To get to the wildlife reserve, we took bus 125 from the airport and transfer to bus 107 at Northlands Shopping Centre.
Without a transport card, we paid 4 NZD per person per ride and it includes a free transfer within 2 hours of your first ride.
Thanks to ongoing road works at our intended transfer bus stop, we missed our bus 107 and had to wait an hour before the next bus arrives.
Instead of mindlessly waiting for the bus, we spent our time at the Northlands shopping centre.
The shopping centre had a diverse range of stores, catering to a broad and varied audience.
After some delay, we finally arrived at Willowbank wildlife reserve!
An adult ticket costs 34.50 NZD and visitors can purchase feed for the animals at 4 NZD.
The first exhibit was the giant eels.
We were lucky because we arrived 5 minutes before the allocated feeding time.
In addition, kindergarten kids were there and they bought food for the eels.
So we were able to see the giant eels up close as they tried to reach for the food.
The staff shared that there are currently 60 giant eels in the reserve.
The wildlife reserve had free roaming ducks which we encountered frequently during our time there.
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| Capybaras |
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| Sheeps |
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| Rabbits |
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| Kea |
The wildlife reserve houses various New Zealand native species, including kiwi!
I have been wanting to see a kiwi and we were lucky to spot two at the reserve.
As they are nocturnal animals, the enclosure was in darkness with dim lights available to ensure visitors' safety.
The both of us saw movement in certain parts of the enclosure and that was how we spotted the kiwis!
Overall, I enjoyed my visit to the reserve as I got to see native species and pet animals!
Although I would have enjoyed basking in the sun at Bondi beach too haha.
We took a bus back to Northlands shopping centre for some shopping and to get lunch.
We had a simple lunch at a Japanese shop which sells sushi and hot food.
We also had our last double ice cream scoop in New Zealand here.
After walking around the mall, we took bus 125 back to the airport.
This time, the flight was not cancelled and we were able to fly to Sydney!
Thank goodness as we had a flight home the next day.
We arrived in Sydney at around 7.30pm.
We declared our honey and farm visits to the customs officer and he decided to let us go without further checks, woohoo!
To get to Sydney CBD, you can either take the train or book a rideshare.
The train costs about S$16 each while an uber ride costs S$40.
We obviously booked an uber ride!
Prior to arriving in Sydney, I downloaded the uber app and keyed in my card details.
This made my experience booking an uber when we arrived much easier!
We were staying at YEHS Hotel Sydney QVB which was next to the Queen Victoria Building.
It is convenient to get around the CBD from the hotel.
We paid S$185 per night for a compact queen room.
However, when I explained that we couldn't check in the night before due to flight cancellations, the receptionist upgraded us to a bigger room for free.
To make up for lost time in Sydney, we decided to walk to circular quay to visit the Sydney opera house.
The streets and restaurants were bustling with people which made us feel safe.
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| Sydney Opera House |
An outdoor concert was ongoing next to the Opera house and we could hear the live music from a distance away.
The opera house was brightly lit against the dark sky, still as stunning as before.
The harbour bridge was just across river, opposite of the opera house.
After hanging around for some time, we made our way to Woolworths just diagonally opposite to our hotel.
We stocked up on our gifts for family and friends.
We also bought a box of raspberries for breakfast at 2.80 AUD!
So cheap!
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| Town hall |
Before leaving for the airport at 11am the next day, we spent some time exploring the CBD.
I managed to get a pair of Lululemon 25" Align pants!
The original price was 129 AUD but the staff wrongly tagged the price of the new piece as 119 AUD.
The staff kindly agreed to honour the 119 AUD price!
After utilising a S$80 gift card received from a Yoga Movement package, my bill was only S$25.
Super awesome!
And that marks the end of our trip to New Zealand and Sydney!
New Zealand was wonderful and we will definite book a trip back in future (:
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