Off to Cambridge

This morning, CT and I woke up at about 7 plus am. Oh by the way, here's a picture of our comfy motel room, with a small kitchen area.






And the nice, clean toilet..



We were going to set off from Auckland this morning to a town call Cambridge, where my dad used to visit many many years ago. Its south of Auckland, near Hamilton City. Its about 1.5 hours drive from Auckland.

But having expected to leave quite late for everyone to be ready, CT and I decided to drive to the Cornwell Park to take a nice morning stroll and breathe in the fresh NZ air. We also wanted to revisit One Tree Hill, to see the view from upthere..

So, off we went to the park which was only about 5-7 mins drive from our motel.

And look what's in the park!


And this is One Tree Hill. There is supposed to be a tree on this hill, but it has been chopped off due to safety reasons. However, the government is intending to have another tree up there. By the way, the song, "One Tree Hill" by U2 refers to this place.



Many locals were jogging, cycling, walking their babies in the pram etc. I did feel inspired as well as guilty whenever I noticed that because I hardly exercise back home.



The view was spectacular


Can see the sky tower from here


Stunning view and nice blue sky with beautiful clouds.


Anyway, after a nice morning to the park, we went back to our motel. However, most of my family were not ready to leave yet. So CT went back to rest in bed while I was watching a bit of TV. Because today was Sunday, there were church service on TV.

So I was watching it and was quite inspired when one young gentleman shared his testimony about all the obstacles he went through- his struggles and all. He injured his arm due to an accident and that affected his nerves in his arm. He was affected by that because he is a musician and needed his arm to play guitar. So because of that, he was quite disappointed that he may not play anymore. However, God was good and he acually recovered after months and months of therapy. Then, after a short while, he lost his voice completely. He was again devastated especially when he thought of his inability to talk to his daughter or communicate with his wife. He also enjoyed singing. Anyway, he shared about how despite all these, he was very thankful to God for being with Him all these while and allowing him to see how much he needs God.
So, on TV, he sang and played a song which he composed. It was a lovely testimony that reminds me of what a wonderful and loving God I have, no matter what we face in life.

We finally set off from Auckland about 10 plus am. It was a nice journey as the weather as so good.

In front was my brother's car..where my dad and mum as well as their helper, Lin.



Upon reaching Cambridge, we went to look for food. Stopped by the town area for Fish and Chips. I also went across the road to get pies for everyone, especially my dad as I know he loves pies. I bought steak pie as well as mince and cheese pies. I also love pies and I really do wish Singapore had cheap and good pies with the gravy overflowing..



By the time we reached our barn, it was about 3 plus pm. Its like a bungalow all to ourselves. There was even a slide for Janine to play with. So that was what she did the first thing we reached!



Here's our barn which we stayed for 4 nights!



The living room..


The kitchen..


The rooms upstairs..

Here's my brother's family room.


And me and CT's room..


There were lots of nice flowers which Janine was excited to smell..








After settling down and unpacking a little, my brother, Pamela, CT and I went out in one car to check out the lake nearby to recce for tomorrow's programme.





We spent some time at the lake, admiring the view, dipping our feets into the ice cold water, as well as trying to skid the pebbles on the surface of the lake.

We also explored a dam nearby by driving across it.




After being out for quite a while, we went back to our barn. Next to our barn, we could see cows just by our fence. It was quite strange when I went up to them and all eyes were on me as their heads just turned towards my direction.



When we reached home, I started helping my mum to cook dinner.



Here's what we had for dinner.

Fried eggs with onions (one of my favourite dish- simple and nice)


Eggplant with sambal blachan, minced pork and dried mushrooms..


Corn, carrot, lettuce, potato soup..


It was a nice chinese meal that we longed for! Nothing beats home cooked food!