New Zealand (South Island)
Trip Start
Feb 04, 2008
1
5
10
Trip End
Feb 04, 2009
Where I stayed
Christchurch,
New Zealand
Saturday, February 16, 2008
When we landed up at the 'Jailhouse' hostel we were pleasently suprised! It was actually a real converted Jailhouse! Our rooms were a cell, with original cell doors! It had last been used as a prison in 1999. They had kept a cell in its original form so the public could view what they used to look like! Apparently they get some of the old inmates coming back in to reminise!
On the 1st night, Laura started to freak out thinking about ghosts in the cells. But, funilly enough, the cell next door to us is ment to be haunted as an inmate had killed himself! Apart from that, the accommodation was spot on, really clean
Christchurch
!The hostel was about a 20min walk into town, along a really nice park! Christchurch itself reminded us of England, with it's stone churches etc.
On the 3rd day we decided to go Whitewater rafting just outside Christchurch, on the Rangitata river as it has the only Grade 5 rapids in NZ! (Grade 6 being the highest, which you cannot go on!). It was a red hot day also! After a brief intruction on how to paddle etc we got on the water! The grade 5 rapids were awesome, we were lucky not to get flipped out of the raft! After the rapids we were aloud to swim down some little rapids which felt like a good idea at the time, until the ice cold water, even with a wetsuit, hit us! We also got to jump off some high ledges, around 10m high! This was nicely finished off with a BBQ & a beer back at the rafting lodge! What an awesome day!
Back at the hostel we decided to book on a tour bus around the south island! The bus company we booked with was called 'Stray'. Basically, you pay X amount for the trip, but, you have 12 months to use your travel pass up so you can go as fast or as slow as you wish around the island!
We stayed 4 nights in Christchurch.
