New Zealand Trip 2009/2010 Part 2

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Nelson Town


The shop that designed/made the jewelery used in Lord of the Rings movies


The whole stretch of beer available...


Visit to raspberry/boysenberry farm. You can pick yourself and eat on the spot. Fresh.


Our YHA accommodation in Motueka, A backpacker hostel. No 5-star hotel treatment, but cozy enough. First place I get connected to the world in days.


Split Apple Rock beach and the rock itself. We went thru a downhill trail to get there where tourists came by kayaks. We saved that transportation fee ;)


The other end of the beach. Where Liam picked some fresh mussels at Mum's request for our dinner.



Farewell spit. So windy that we have walk with body slanted at an angle. And it stinks with swan poo all over the place.


Waikoropupu Springs, where the world's clearest springwater is. Water tasted sweet and cold (shh, we're not supposed to do so though)


Annie's Lodge at Golden Bay. And our self-prepared dinner (well Liam and Bee did most of the cooking though)



Punakaiki Rocks. We came at wrong timing when it is at low tide. We also witnessed an accident nearby where a biker got killed. May his soul rest in peace.


YHA Franz Josef. One of the best YHA hostel we've stayed in. Had a long good and enlightening conversation with Liam in the backyard



Franz Josef Glacier Creek. It's a 2-hour return trip just to admire the glacier, but it's worth it.



Fox Glacier. Another magnificent glacier landscape. Oh, did I mention that we have picnic near the glacier?


Passing by the Cardona Mountain Range


Supporting a falling tower with one finger? No problem at Wanaka Puzzle World. Interesting place.


One of the puzzle rooms in Puzzle World


My pre-New Year dinner treat: 350gm of Angus Prime Beef steak from Lonestar, Queenstown. Took me days to fully digest that piece of meat.


Fireworks at Queenstown celebrating New Year. My second new year celebration outside my country

To be continued in Part 3

New Zealand Trip 2009/2010 Part 1

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After 6 years, I finally have the chance to go back to New Zealand to see its beautiful scenery and great people there.

The last trip was only me and my sister, Phoebe, when she went there to further her education. Now she is living the way of the Kiwis and pretty much settled there.

This trip is to pay her a visit and also to meet our prospective brother in law, Liam, and his family. So the entire family went over and they decided to plan a road trip round the south island for sightseeing and experience the life of the Kiwis.

Usually I will write a load of compositions to describe my trips. This time I decide to try a new approach, I let the pictures do the narrating. :)


Christmas decoration @ Changi Airport Terminal 3


1 more hour to touchdown. Took the sunrise from the window.


On the way to Liam/Phoebe's home. Even the suitcase needs to belt up keke


Playing with Phoebe's pet dog, Rumba. Think he's the only known Cocker Spaniel to shake his bum instead of his tail lol


Liam fixing a pot filter to Phoebe's Mazda after I drove around and told her about the engine sluggishness


Taking a walk in the forest park (the forest is actually barricaded to protect the kiwi birds)


The first Dean's cottage in Christchurch


The beach of Kaikoura


The town of Kaikoura


One of the seals lazing on the rocky beach of Kaikoura


Liam trying to touch one of the resting seals, with no success lol


Sunset @ Cullen Point



Smith Farm Lodge @ Queen Charlotte Lane



Wharf @ Mahau / Beach @ Cowshed bay


Mussel Pot @ Havelock, Marlborough


Waterfall @ Forest trail behind Smith Farm. Water is cold and drinkable :)


Naturally chilled beer anyone?


Pork ribs and Lobsters (locals called them Crayfish, don't ask me why) cooked by Liam and siblings. Seriously, they tasted awesome!

To be continued in Part 2

Debian Applications on Maemo

Currently there's no proper document editor available for Maemo 5, only viewers from Dataviz.

And for one who uses editor on his phone to update his expense records, bike fuel consumption, I have to find a way to get similar applications running. Fortunately, I read on the internet about Easy Debian application which enables Maemo5 devices to install debian-based applications and even a debian Linux OS on a virtualbox. Thru this method I'm able to get Open Office, Weasel Browser, Gimp and Debian LXDE, and even the Sypnatic Package Manager to install other debian applications! Of coz not all debian apps are able to run on N900 though.

I tried both Openoffice and Gimp. Both are able to run flawlessly but since they are running on virtualbox, coupled with phone's low hardware requirements, I get slowdowns from time to time but overall, they are still usable.

Until a native document and photo editor are released for Maemo, I will stick to this method during this period.

Awesome mobile OS.