Orari Apartments Christchurch

... me from the airport and took me into the centre of Christchurch. The first thing that struck me about Christchurch was the architecture, which is quintessentially English (mainly Victorian although there is quite a variety on offer). Taking the tram (a full loop takes no longer than 20 minutes) I quickly got my bearings and decided to have a wander around Hagley Park and then back to Cathedral Square to catch a bus towards Lyttelton where a cable car is situated on the side ...

... say "Designed in New Zealand, Made in China". No wonder China's economy can still grow at 8%!

The next day on the way to the airport, it was a bit more shopping. We went to a local mall near the airport where we started our trip to last pick up groceries etc... This time, we did a few more shopping for NZ made products such as facial cream etc... We had the Kiwi ...

... out. Unfortunately, when I left home I just threw in the first pair of togs I found and didn’t realise that the elastic in them was somewhat stretched. Nothing for it but to pull them on and wrap myself in a towel and quickly slip out of it into the pool. Oh bliss! I sunk into the steaming water and revelled in it, chatting with a lady from Christchurch who runs a B&B and an Indonesian couple from Jakarta with their young daughter,who were as surprised to find someone here ...

... was about Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks break up, that very song came on the radio - uncanny. Moment two happened in Winnies - I was reading a book - Turning Thirty by Mike Gayle (OK I'm a bit passed the turning of 30 but it is still and great easy read and extremely witty). I'd just started reading about how the main character was baby sitting and playing a vinyl version of Jimi Hendrix's cover of Along The Watch Tower to the 4 year old child he was ...

... the wee hours entering the wagon, giggling like a schoolgirl and telling of rocking Washerwoman's wagon until they yelled complaint. We setlled down and ther was a loud BANG from CalamityBarb's wagon. When asked I assured SquawJenny they'd probably dropped the empty bottle on the floor, so we went back off to sleep. Day 8 - The following morning, CalamityBarb emerged from her wagon to reaffirm her nickname choice. She was sporting a giant red bump on her forehead above her eye ...

... journey we left the Southern Alps behind and travelled down long flat straight aways surrounded by dairy farms. Apparently dairy farms are the new sheep farms in New Zealand, so to speak. We arrived in Christchurch around 5:00...just in time for all of the sporting goods stores to be closed...so no cool shopping (Kristen still needs bike shorts for China, and I'm considering getting a pair of "trainers" [I've started ...

... They are known to attack rubber tire on vehicles and all kinds of plastic and shred it to bits. They don't eat it, but they do shred it with their substantial beak. I have included a photo for you viewing pleasure. I looked at a few other birds and then I heard the bird show starting up, so I wandered in there to see what they were doing. A fellow came out with a Tuatara and talked about them. Then he brought out a stuffed Kiwi and told us about Kiwis ...

Christchurch was cool. It's surprisingly big. I was picturing a European-style town, but in actuality, its a massive city. It kinda has a reputation for being unsafe at night, so things were pretty mellow. But I did manage to score some goods at a local street festival and enjoyed strolling around. Flying to Oz early in the morning....pumped but sad to leave NZ.

... their participation and they are not tracked electronically. This gives a very natrual and eco-friendly experience, but it obviously comes with risks. The following day was Christmas and we were determined not to sit in a campsite all day and get bored. Therefore we decided to go on a walk and headed off on a four hour route up into the mountains. Again, the weather was a little below par and the mountains had a partial covering of cloud, but ...

... From there we head north to the Bay of Islands, for a couple of relaxing days by/on the water before we fly to Chile in South America! Can't wait!

I hope that you're all having a wonderfully relaxing Xmas so far and thank you very much again to everyone that's sent us holiday greetings so far, it's always so good to hear from our friends and family back home!

Lots of love,


Al & Katie xx