BeachLife Apartments Christchurch

... in the center of town – good. It was very modern – fine. It was a small, cubical room – fine. It actually wasn’t until I woke up the next morning that I realized that it was in fact a box – with no windows!! Ha! It really felt like a room from the Jetsons. The room had a short (as in like four foot) where the bathroom was, which led into the bed – literally directly into it – there was no other space. The bed took up the ...

... finding tonight, so that I can be there for 6.45am. The Cathedral is round the corner from me, so it seems I'm in the centre, and across the road to open is a TSB Bank!!! Wow, Lloyds you didn't take over globally!! I'm so proud of TSB :) Found a 24-hour local shop for snacks, and a KFC restaurant.. that was perfect for dinner tonight, as can chill out back at hotel, get an early night & be bright & breezy for tomorrow..

Til tomorrow...

... machines. We had a ride in a Hugglung... an all terrain vechicle whch can go over steep hills, cracks in the ice over 1m wide and float in water. It was extremely bumpy. The best bit of the center was the blue penguins... they have 27 rescued penguins on display so we watched them being fed and then had a backstage tour. Luckily only me and Jon were on the tour, so we got excellent views of everything. The guide told us all about ...

... both Adrian Edmunds in Soho and The Archduke wine bar. They were also at the New Zealand tasting in Lords in January with some older vintages that were great. Unfortunately they have no Cellar Door. I dropped in anyway (seen as I was there) and was greeted by Rob, the wine maker and his assistant who were more than happy to show me round and gave me a very exclusive tour including samples of the 2009 vintages of their Riesling ...

... people in the group) and came 2nd!
3rd July - Checked out. Went on our half day hike at Fox Glacier! Started doing the hike up to the glacier - oh my god - it was tough! Lots of steps lol. Then got to the glacier and had to put crampons on our boots! I still managed fall over though! Was the only one lol. Went back to our hotel. Had lunch. Then made our way to Hokitika - stopped at a Jade Factory and a glass blowing factory. Then got the coach to Flock Hill - on the way ...

... came to me after two of the americans made it look easy. I was sat in the chair and final attachments were made - me not really being sure how they linked to a bungy chord and how they would save me from an otherwise certain death. Then immediately as I was shuffling over, legs tied together, to make the jump, my mind overcame me and my fear and I bottled. I stood on the platform - 134m (plus) in the air over a river which looked like a trickle of rain such was ...

... so I've been out the pub with them and we had most amazing joint meal. I know I moaned about communal meals but this one was: * Not compulsory * The kitchen is big enough for everyone to cook (even all at once) * The people involved could cook/shop * They also spent money on ingredients. * The was a amazing range of food including sushi (made not bought ...

... perfectionistic streak - I guess I should be pleased if I am able to correctly conjugate my verbs in a waking state! I have been struggling on and off with an eye infection for the past month that has just re-occured again. As this is not India I have already exhausted the range of what is available from the chemist over the counter. I don't want to let it linger plus I can't wear my contacts so I'm off the the doctors. Lovely surgery - in and out in 15 minutes with a ...

... on the dolphin tour. I left the bike at a local garage where Penny & Selwyn could pick it up, and we went back - stopping to pick up my large backpack on the way at their house (no way I could have cycled with that as well!). Was good to get some rest finally, as I felt pretty shattered. Next day was a time for exploring Christchurch: not a bad city but not really worthy of the "Garden City" name from what I saw. Then off to a rugby match with some people ...

Hi there, Since our time at the Truffle farm at Te Puke on the North Island of New Zealand, we travelled south to Lake Taupo to recover for a couple of days. We stayed at a motel there across from the lake and did a lot of reading. My skin has not seen this much sun since I was small, I'm sure. Apparently, there is a hole in the ozone over New Zealand and this makes the sun here much stronger and people get bad burns here easliy. Like Kris and I, for instance. Since our stay ...