After many months of waiting, finally we boarded a plane at Heathrow bound for New Zealand! It was MC's first time home since we left in May 2007 so she was pretty excited about seeing Daisy. (I MEAN! Her family...) As we were headed back mainly for Chris and Erin's winter wedding and leaving behind the British summer (which has been pretty good so far this year), we decided we needed a tropical stopover to alleviate the effects of a chilly NZ. So we spent one night in Kuala Lumpur before four nights of bliss in Langkawi.
The beach in Langkawi outside our hotel.
MC on the balcony of our hotel room in Langkawi. If anyone is needing a nice hotel in Langkawi we really recommend Casa Del Mar, right on the beach with a great pool and yummy food.
We spent one day in Langkawi on a kayaking tour through the mangroves. We saw quite a bit of wildlife (including vipers curled around the tree branches, monkeys, bats, eagles, lizards and various other birds).
Bats on the roof of a cave in the mangroves.
We stopped at this floating restaurant to have lunch on our kayaking trip. We were just in time to shelter from the torrential rain that started as we approached and stopped as we were leaving!
The photo doesn't really do the strength of the rain justice - it was so heavy!
A break from the hard work! We hopped on a boat which towed our empty kayaks.
In the mangroves.
John in the kayak - don't be fooled by this photo - as MC was sitting in the front of the boat he had plenty of time to STOP PADDLING while his poor unsuspecting partner did all the paddling for both of them!
Ooh look, an eagle!
We visited a fish farm where you could feed the fish, including the sting rays! The fish farm dude in the photo actually has his fingers in the sting ray's mouth. Not so many of the group were keen for this, there were a few Steve Irwin murmurs...
So tranquil on the water.
The best roti canai ever! And also quite possibly the cheapest. Yum.
The bridge to nowhere. Unfortunately the day we chose to try out Langkawi's gondola was pretty foggy. This is a bridge at the top of the mountain.
The view from the top of the gondola, before the fog rolled in.
John up to his usual 'funny' tricks.
At the Seven Wells waterfall on Langkawi.
Seven Wells waterfall.
Monkey.
Oriental Village (a complex at the foot of the gondola).
No durians in the rental car!
View from our hotel room by night.
Sunset on Langkawi.
View of the beach from the hotel pool.
MC having a dip.
Massive jellyfish!
Posing on the beach
The Petronas Twin Towers in KL. This was the tallest building in the world until 2004 when it was surpassed by Taipei 101.
MC and the Petronas Towers by night.
View of the towers from our hotel room!
As we only had a day in KL we didn't have time to see too much, but did snap up a few bargains at the Petaling St markets in Chinatown before our flight to Langkawi.
A tui on the deck at John's Dad's place in Queenstown.
On the drive from Ashburton to Queenstown.
Lots of snow in Tekapo!
Snowy South Island.
The beautiful Southern Alps.
Matt having a good time at the wedding reception.
Just Married!
Cutting the cake.
The bridal table: Matt, John, John, Chris,Erin, Casey and Janelle.
At the church.
The boys (and Lit) all ready to go.
Figuring out the buttonholes.
John looking spiffy.
Chinese tea ceremony before the wedding: Erin, Chris and Poh Poh.
Furry daisy.
