161 Hereford Suites Christchurch

... is not compulsory in NZ but does seem to come under the heading of a Good Idea.

The odyssey begins on Friday with the first stop Akaroa on the Banks Peninsula, two twisty hours from Christchurch. We relinquish the palatial accommodation at Foley Towers with some regret but we can't take it with us, and we know that even six month is going to disappear with so much to see.

Here's to smooth roads and good weather!

lots of love
Helen and Andy

... Sound (fiord) was known for its sand flies, which were tiny, blackflies that were annoying as possible, for they were everywhere and would literally swarm you. Thankfully they were too slow to catch you if you just kept moving. And they BITE!

According to Maori belief, the goddess of death created them to keep humans away from inhabiting something so beautiful as the Milford Sound. Fortunately, they go away at night—as soon as it gets dark the sandflies disappear ...

... br>Had a walk down town at rush hour (9AM) and had a look at the beach. Had to get a rego card holder for the car since the one in it was pretty tired looking. Walked down the main street, and back up again all in about 10 mins, very small town, seems like it would be very seasonal but Im not sure how busy it might get in Summer.
Anyhow I left wonderful Kaikoura behind me at 9:45AM this morning, bound for Christchurch. Drove out of town, took a while to 'get in the saddle ...

... the hostel so we take a detour back into the internet room to upload pictures and do more research on SE Asia.

Back at the hostel, a short rest before joining Nik and Ben in the kitchen for our last meal all together, cooking up both our leftovers with a few extra bits we bought. Hugs goodbye after washing up as they've got to get a shuttle much earlier than us, then we're off to pack and sleep.

... was half the fun. Our climb down was a lot easier than the climb up and by the time we got off the glacier 4 hours from the start we were knackered and ready to head home. Yet we still had a 40 minute walk back, Fun!

Back at the hostel finally we sat down for a breather, they boys were in bed nursing their hangovers and other than making tuna pasta none of us moved that night.

Day Five:

The boys got up at 6 for their 7am glacier climb (part of this ...

... NZ greeting of a raised finger and fist, It worked - they departed. We waled over to the fence to check the view and what a view it was. A huge raised roadbrige to span a watercourse, along with landslippage & boulders strewn through the ravine. Very impressive. Not so impressive was the young mother using a small gap at the bottom of a giant boulder above the carpark to stuff a nice ripe disposable nappy in. A loud "Hey, what in the hell are YOU doing?" changed her mind and she ...

... about to consider helping us, when he delivers the wonderful news that he's just come from the next roadhouse and that our tow will be along shortly! hallelujah! and within ten minutes, here they are! two guys, lovely guys, racist guys! oh yes, my guy towing wasn't all that bad! we talked about the WCK and my travels and how everyone back home would just love this story and the weather and maybe there was talk about how the 'black boys' - aboriginals - like to race around in their ...

... gorgeous, there are flowers everywhere and everything is so well maintained. They were originally privately owned, then the land was bought to be developed into houses. The people did not want to loose the Gardens so they raised enough money to buy back the land and now the Gardens belong to the city. They have a beautiful Rose Garden, all different colors of roses, reds, pinks, yellows... I picked up some of the fallen petals to press ...

... of Christchurch, the Canterbury Plains, northern beaches and picture-perfect Lyttelton Harbour. Having sated ourselves on the views, we crisscrossed the Port Hills visiting Castle Rock, the Sign of the Kiwi, the Sign of the Takahe and Scarborough Beach. At Willowbank we experienced an introduction into Maori culture. As a group we made our way through a forest, only to be intercepted by highly agitated Maori warriors ...

... boulders eroded by the elements which looked a lot like the Peak District. 50km later we came to Sheffield! Lucy stopped to take a photo and realised she had left he camera on the roof of the car at Castle Rocks as she waited for me to open it. So we drove all the way back as a family were parked on the road and loads of other tourists were about. We have seen notes everywhere for lost and found stuff and items put in places for people to come back and get them ...