Rydges Christchurch

... the opposing island is as clear to see as the slightly less friendly comments made at the expense of the Aussies.

Above all, there is a relaxed and friendly attitude wherever you go in NZ and coupled with the unrivaled natural beauty makes for a wonderful place to visit and one that surely can't come with anything less than a very strong recommendation to get here and see it for yourself whenever you can!

So - to Australia...

... perfect day (not that particular day) you can see Mt. Cook behind the lake. We drove on to the next of the great lakes, Lake Tekapo. This was an equally impressive lake with a historic church just by the water edge which made quite a good photo. The last few days of NZ were spent back in Christchurch organising for our flight to Melbourne and packing, which was pretty tricky considering what we've bought over the last 8 ...

... an apartment than an office, and they use it as a place for the women to hang out on top of the services provided. On Tuesday night, they are also showing the "Passion of the Christ" film by the request of some of the women, so be praying for that. While in the city square after, I met a group of Korean college students and was able to talk to them for a while which was fun. I actually did ...

Today, for small group, our leader Lindsey drove us to a nearby town called Rangiora where we first stopped at the Warehouse which is like the American equivalent of Wal-Mart, and then we ate at Pizza Hut. We had all been craving real pizza. It was so good, and it is a lot cheaper than in America. We all pitched in about US $3 and got 3 large pizzas.

... with Bron. Our last day in New Zealand was spent sorting out laundry, packing and heading into the centre of Christchurch. We mainly spent our time around Cathedral Square, before heading to the arts centre on our way back. After supper and brownies with Bron, we set off to the AMI Stadium (used to be Jade) to watch the Crusaders take on the Wellington Hurricanes. Unfortunately the game was less than inspiring, with the Crusaders missing many of the ...

... are a privilege,realize my feet won't ever be clean here,ate too much, laughed often, believed in myself and others, felt, hoped, loved, created, learned about other cultures..about other people..about myself, dreamed, trusted, grew, understood, relaxed, let loose, shared experienced, made new friends....new memories. ....and there's still more of my journey!! Tomorrow moring we are waking up bright and early to fly to Sydney, Australia. As PC ...

... and then she reappeared as a dot swinging over the river below. Her screams sounded like her thrill seeking mission had been successful. If you want to watch the DVD of Lois throwing herself into a canyon go to: http://nz.youtube.com/watch?v=ILKZB4qP1 R4 but just incase this link doesn't work go to www.Youtube.com and search for Lois Thwaites Canyon Swing - Queenstown (New Zealand). We are new to youtube so please can someone try it and let us know if you can ...

Another beautiful day and a visit to Shantytown, a Gold Mine Town reconstruction complete with steam train. Probably the best reconstructed historical town I have ever seen. Photos will follow, we are tight on time today (Saturday). Then across Arthurs Pass and wonderful scenery. Our cameras are running out of blue! Into Christchurch and our last night in NZ! Boo!