Russley 302 Christchurch

... hot and we all had to change into Bali things from the suitcases!
The funny thing..... I guess I had decided that 2 changes were not nearly enough...so the last stop before Christchurch had us wearing every layer we could find..it was ICY cold!
The arrival time into CHCH of 7pm was pretty good, considering I had worked until midday ,I was very proud of myself for leaving before 3pm...LOL.
We had not accounted ...

... water, the works. The driver is an older NZ guy and he is great- really friendly and welcoming. We pick up a full car full then set off in the downpour.
I needn't have worried- as we drive out of Christchurch the skies clear and it looks like we are in for an amazing day- little do i know how amazing!! The roads in NZ are so easy, its the one place ive been abroad and thought i would love to hire a car- they are long, and straight as far as the eye can see ...

Arrived in Christchurch and Edna's luggage is damaged so new suitcase to be bought.  Frances arrived about half an hour after us so everything worked out well there. 

Christchurch is lovely as well, big place but has a very village feel about it.  (I felt like I was back in the 70's).  Didn't thing the shopkeepers were as friendly here as they were in Oz but still spent lots of money. Did the tram then Morag and Edna met up with Isobel and Linda (distant ...

... was going to change for the worse and if we wanted to do it, we should do it then and there. 40 mins later we were at the aircraft hanger, after having filled out about 5 consent forms and watching the briefing dvd in the van, I was terrified, i think Andy was too, but he was just trying to act all macho!!!! We got all suited up, then at the last minute, Soph decided she was going to do it, rather than just watch. I couldn't believe it. She had ...

... from home. After 2 full days in Christchurch, I hopped on my first Kiwi Experience bus. http://www.kiwiexperience.com/ It's basically a hop on-hop off backpacker bus that goes around New Zealand. You can get on one virtually every day and it's a good way to get around and meet a whole bunch of people. I bumped into Stella and Nancy from Fraser Island on my bus, which was wicked. It was good to see friendly faces. We headed north on the bus towards ...

... The next morning, Julia, the family dog Otter, and I went for a great walk along the hillsides of their home in Sumner. Their house overlooks Pegasus Bay on one side and the other side has a walk that leads down to Taylor's Mistake Bay. It was much warmer in Christchurch than the other parts of South Island I visited, and it was a great morning for  a walk (although with the steep grades up and down the ...

... impressive by the quality of the house, and our room was all made up (its sort of an annex-cum-garage) for us...with a big and very comfy bed which was just what we needed! Instead of going straight to bed at 2 in the afternoon, we thought that after 3days of travelling we deserved some PINTS of beer and a very long awaited scolding hot (for me) CURRY! Two of the things we both missed greatly from Central America.

We spent the weekend exploring the beautiful city (and it ...

... Not a huge surprise of course but quite funny that he said it. Was very relaxing, and had to be done although it is a complete cliche. We then did quite a bit of shopping and got everything we needed for a decent price so were very pleased. We now have a driving map, wildlife and tree books of New Zealand, waterproofs, an essential LOTR location guide - and some lovely jewellry - yay!

... from, turning on the windshield wiper when you mean to hit the turn-signal, learning to look up and left to use your rear -view mirror. Then there is all the careful driving in a city because you never know when you are going to have to detour because of abruptly ending or one-way streets.  And of course, there is scaring your passenger because you are adjusting to judging distances from the other side of the car. 

... a week long Busking Festival going on in Christchurch, with street theatre and musicians all over the city, so you don't have to look far for entertainment. It's a good idea to have plenty of loose change however as the hats are passed round very vigorously at the end of each performance! After breakfast, in the main square, dominated by the Cathedral, which helpfully can be seen all over the city, aiding navigation, we did a bit of shopping at the market before ...