Hatfield House Christchurch

... great to get up so close. It would fly off ahead of us, wait until we got up close and then fly on to the next branch. We came to the conclusion that it must be an only child, as when it wasn’t getting enough attention it would attempt to dive bomb us, until we mollycoddled it with our words.



After Stewart Island, it was pretty much a case of getting back to Christchurch to start work on the orchard that Mark had been working on for the past 3 or 4 months. Yes ...

... it – not sure that the rest of us get the point but it is a very interesting project.

And if I was ever in any doubt that I was in sheep and woolly jumper country I read this great quote in the local museum -"Scenery is not Scenery it is Country – if it is good for sheep its beautiful, magnificent and all the rest of it; if not it is not worth looking at" and so said Samuel Butler, late of Mesopotamia Sheep Station – what can I say?

Had an overnight stop ...

... and misting and day, and we were totally exhausted at that point. But throughout the walk which took more than 2 hours, God was showing me a lot of things. A woman named Kathryn and her 2 kids Josie and Harry picked us up, and it was crazy because their family knew Kathryn's (my teammate) family from way back in the day, so they were able to reconnect. I had asked God earlier to get us ...

... kilometer out to sea, and this produces currents which makes it really rich in food, and sea life. The weather was amazing there, and the beaches looked brilliant. We took a deep sea fishing trip and were the only people on the boat. Our catch was huge, you were pulling up blue cod and perch every 5 minutes, although it took you about 5 minutes to get the line in as the bottom was so deep. We also pulled up a couple of 3ft long sharks, which were really hard to pull in, but we threw ...

... where the Salvation Army was giving away sausages. She had a mental illness and had been on medicine for more than 30 years. Also, she was going through a divorce with her husband. We were actually able to pray for her for financial provision, another husband who would love and cherish her, and healing from the mental illness. Then, we were drawn to 2 musicians ...

... off south to Dunedin to meet up with Joe. As sson as we left Christchurch all our expectations of New Zealand were met and more. It is truly a spectacular country and we found ourselves unconsciously gasping in awe around every corner because it is just so beautiful. Sometimes when you are driving to a destination you just want to get there...in New Zealand the journey is just as great if not even better than getting to your destination!

... be doing with ourselves. However, we stayed strong and went without! Got a shuttle bus to our hostel but not before he drove everyone else around looking for somewhere to stay. Like these people KNEW they were coming to Christchurch. they didn't just get on some random flight. ANd the expect to be "shuttled" around the city in an airport "shuttle"... oh... I get it. Anyway, myself and Fiona were a little bit peeved that we were the only 2 organised people on the bus with ...

... started scanning the waters for sharks too, but just saw crazy
surfers in the frigid water. We were up for about 10-15 min probably
when he turned back to where we took off, and climbed as high as he
could, about 1400 meters, or 4200 feet, and then shut off the engines!
Now we were in business, this is what we were paying for! The feeling
of ...

... is a beautiful modern glass building, with quite a lovely collection of contemporary New Zealand art.



Now that I've had a much needed shower and change of clothes, I'm headed out for some dinner and drink, and then it's off to bed early with me. The shuttle picks me up at 7am tomorrow to take me to the TranzAlpine train station. Sleep should be no problem, as I've been up since about 4am local time. Cheers!

... shrunk from almost fifty people to less than ten there were some at the table who had never spoken to each other, and no doubt felt it was probably a little late to start now. We seemed to form three separate splinter groups around the table and it felt like everyone had all met up more out of obligation than anything else. The other two groups left, leaving Saad, Peta and I to continue ...