Addington Stadium Motel Christchurch

... very touching moments. So many tears and goodbyes. You could feel the pain as they drew apart...sigh.

Khailana stayed awake the whole time, playing her ds and reading bratz magazines she had found in Brisbane but Escher crashed big time towards the end...he slept walked to the shuttle we organised at 6.30am! Bye Bye airport...its been nice getting to know you. Would we sleep here again...yep!

The shuttle took us to Steves house to grab ...

... own this morning as I HAVE to get some more clothers...all this tumbledrying has shrunk everything ...ok ok ok I suppose I have gained weight as well but thats not the only reason . so got a new pair of travelling trousers and new bra ...ugggh disgusting got changed in the loo in the shop and just left the festering old clothes in a bin ....ahhhhhh I am a new woman !

anyway thats it for now will write again when I get a bit more time . ta ta for now

... The captain told us we would be more than lucky to spot wild penguins, but for sure should be able to see dolphins or seals. Before getting too far out into sea, we turned around and headed back to the Sound. We approached a beach where penguins usually reside, but of course we didn’t see any; however, further along the sound on some rocks, we spotted a group of seals!

I knew by then I had gotten my money’s worth, but there was more to come. At the last ...

My hosts and their cats provided an excellent tea and toast to start the day and soon we were off on a grand tour of Christchurch and the surrounding area. First stop the cable car and a panoramic view of well, actually the inside of lots of clouds, as the top was shrouded in mist! There were photos of the view and a damn fine cappuccino.

Then it was a drive ...

... a sort of motorway but it soon goes into a 60km/hr area for, it seems like hours until you sort of drift into 'Grid City'. I could not really get my bearings on where the center of town was since its so flat and laid out like someones designed the roads with a leaf rake. I had to go to the Tint A Car outfit near the center of town to see when they could do the car, fortunately they got my emails and managed to fit it in tomorrow. From there I checked out the AA guide for motels ...

... a bridge (bungee attached!) Queenstown also offers an optional big (make that huge) night out with excellent restaurants, pubs and live music. Centrally located accommodation tonight.


Spend an extra day in Queenstown

Today is yours to explore. Options include: sleeping in and doing nothing, great local walks, skiing or snowboarding at one of the many local ski fields, and any adventure activity that we mad Kiwis can dream up. Obviously ...

... instead. Get over it shopkeepers. You get customers at your door.  Everyone has operating costs in business.  Next stop was Oamaru. A nice little harbour town with a sign announcing "Penguins". Everyone loves penguins, so we turned in to see the penguins. Guess what? No penguins. They're nocturnal. We look at the seawall where penguins might congregate later, and leave. I must admit, Oamaru has some quaint old buildings that look inviting for a peek, but we scarper off anyway.  We ...

I've been here for about two months, without sharing anything. It would be impossible to begin at the beginning, but now you'll get a pleasant categorized overview of my life here so far. (I'll try to get some pictures, too) first, a bit about today: The sky is full of clouds like shells. Maori call them "pipi" clouds which translates to a kind of shell fish. They mean that the weather is about to change. The sky here is a different color from that of New ...

... that because the whale watching cruise had to be cut short, that they would be giving us a 50% refund. I was discouraged that we had to return to port early, but I was excited that we had gotten to see a wild sperm whale. It was worth the rough seas to observe this amazing animal in its natural environment. The bus transported us back to the Whale Watch Center where we ate lunch. My lunch, and that of two others was included in the tour price ...

... We're both envious of their pad which sports incredible views of Lake Wakitipu. We're looked after incredibly well, thankyou guys! Final stop's Mount Cook. We're in Luck. Despite our fears the weather just holds and we battle through gale force winds to get some cool views of the immense craggy mountain - NZs highest. We can't believe we're on the last section of the trip, Southeast Asia. The route as planned is Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and then maybe we'll start it all again...