Middlepark Motel Christchurch

... our way across the city and found the art studio of the bone dude. We got there early and he didn't so we waited outside for a while until he opened up and let us all in. The first thing you notice is he was a big Maori bloke but then we realized he only had one arm. So fingers crossed it wasn't an occupational hazard and we don't have any injuries when we leave. We firstly had to decide on a design to do for each other, then John (Bone dude) gave us a slab of bone with our ...

... up with dave from our previous tour in Thailand.
We managed to do most of the sight in the south island from Christchurch

to Mount Cook



to Queenstown,




Milford Sound











All of the North Coast and most of the west Coast Glaciers and all!

... br>I'm going to be honest, but i really didn't do too much in Christchurch as i only had a day and a bit there before i got on my bus tour of NZ on the Wednesday morning.. That is when the real fun started.

I was booked onto the Stray bus tour of the south and north island for the next 3ish weeks. You can basically hop on and off the bus when you find somewhere you like. They can organise all yoyur activities and hostels for you. everyone ...

... fenced off area we even came across deer being raised like any other cattle. Apparently New zealand is a major world exporter of venison. But once we crossed the Manapouri/ Te anau area the landscape again changed to stark snow clad mountains!. We reach Milford Sound a bit too late for the cruises. The last cruises sails off around noon time. The accomodation in Milford Sound is limited and bit expensive so we drive back some 10-15 kms to a Department of Conservation (DOC ...

We didn't spend too much time in Wanaka as the weather was a little ****. Wanaka was beautiful though and we thought the camp site was the best we stayed in for the whole trip. Pretty awesome facilities - including spa pools that overlooked the lake! We also went to the movies - Wanaka's theatre is a classic... if you're in the area definitely take some time out to see for yourself. We decided to head to Queenstown and ended up just chilling for a few days waiting for the rain to go ...

... that God gave a lot of the leaders of YWAM Oxford as they were starting this base and the Discipleship Training Schools here. Ray also shared some about his experiences going into the Amazon Jungle to a tribal people group, and that was really cool to hear about. As a school, we also watched the movie "The End of the Spear" for World Awareness and Mission's Night which is a movie I have already ...

... There is nothing other-worldly about Christchurch for many obvious reasons, but still I had my little reservations inside. Thankfully my wanderlust was the more powerful of the two. As Cathedral Square came into view, so did a salesperson. Now, what is the first thing you want to do when you first get out to explore somewhere you have never been before? It's not this. They were trying to sign me up to a cause as I tried to explain to them that I had only ...

ah another "base" hostel in another city. got to christchurch a few hours ago, seems alright but am only passing through. south island has been equally as whirlwind and brilliant as the north. crossed over on the ferry, im ashamed to say we didnt go and look at the view at all and instead slept the whole way but apparently it was very pretty. stopped off for the worst wine tasting trip ever on the way through to nelson.cramming one hundred people ...

... to Christchurch (where we fly out from on Wednesday). As it was late when we arrived it was too dark to cook tea so we opted for a MacDonalds and regretted it! Today we somehow slept until 11am ... must have needed it. Drove out to the coast not far from here; Governors Bay and Cass Bay are pretty but would look better if it wasn't so overcast. We sat in Hagley Park this afternoon, lots of people jogging past ... makes us feel we need to get on it too. The ...

... was great to see them, they both looked really well & very happy.

We had a few drinks up on the balcony, including the lovely white wine they kindly brought with them and a bottle of the NZ champagne we'd had at our wedding, and chatted away for ages...



...before realising that we were pushing our luck if we wanted some dinner on Xmas Eve because it was nearly 9pm!

Christchurch, New Zealand al_fey