Just a quick update with some photos of our weekends out and about in Canterbury. [View Full Entry]

---

---

On Saturday, we had our first snow in Christchurch and on Sunday, we took the Gondola up into the Port Hills for some views South over Lyttelton harbour and North over the Canterbury Plains to the mountains...here's a few pictures of where we live...Christchurch is the big flat thing in the middle [View Full Entry]

---

---

This is just a quick update to let you know we haven't disappeared off the face of the planet! We're now living in Christchurch, in an apartment just north of the city centre, near Hagley Park. Tim's working in IT and Emma's doing some temp work whilst waiting for one of several job applications to pay off (fingers crossed). We're off to see the Canterbury Crusaders v the Warratahs (from New South Wales) in the final of the Rugby Super 14's tonight at the AMI stadium, having become new fans at the semi-final last week at the same venue. It's really [View Full Entry]

---

---

After a week in Christchurch, which resulted in scoring one job and one apartment, we took advantage of our last weekend with the hire car and drove over to the Banks Peninsula to stay at 'Double Dutch' backpackers in the remote Okains Bay. We walked along the estuary to the beach on friday and then went climbing in the mountains above the harbour on saturday morning. That afternoon we went to the Francophile town of Akaroa (the site of the failed French bid to colonise New Zealand in the 1840s). On Sunday we drove back to Christchurch via some very remote [View Full Entry]

---

---

We left Kaikoura on Sunday morning to drive down to Christchurch in the Canterbury Region of South Island. We stopped on the way at the country town of Cheviot, took a side trip to Gore Bay with it's spectacular "Cathedrals" (mud formations in the cliffs), and then continued through the Waipara Vallery passing many wineries along the way. We had a look at some of the 'commutable-to-Christchruch' towns such as Rangiora and Kaiapoi and took lunch to the local beach. Next we drove through New Brighton and down the spit to Southshore before going [View Full Entry]

---

---

We had a great day in Kaikoura - this is one of our favourite places on earth - pacific ocean, snow-capped mountains, beaches, cliffs, rockpools, abundant seafood, resident seal colony etc. We spent the morning walking on the cliffs and then had fresh seafood cooked by the side of the road. Then, late afternoon, we drove 133kms inland into the mountains, stopping on the way at Mount Lyford (a mountain resort town we're definitely going back to for a weekend in the near future!), to Hanmer Springs to swim in the geo-thermal waters. A perfect day out! [View Full Entry]

---

---

Today we left Paekakariki very early (in the dark!) and drove to Wellington to catch the early ferry across to Picton on the South Island. Our voyage took us through the awesome Malborough Sounds where we saw several groups of dolphins and some spectacular scenery. This was a pivotal moment for us as we are getting nearer and nearer to our new home. The journey from Auckland to Christchurch is nearly over... We stopped in Blenheim for lunch and then continued on to Kaikoura where we are staying for the weekend before driving down into Christchurch. [View Full Entry]

---

---

On Sunday, we left Wanganui and drove to Palmerston North where we bought some extreme weather Gore-tex jackets in the Kathmandu sale (which are cool as), enjoyed the quirkiness of the town and then headed southwards to the Kapiti Coast. We stopped at Otaki Beach for some stunning views of Kapiti Island and looking back from the beach, the snow-capped mountains of the Tararua Range (which was sweet as). That evening Tim received a call from his old IT team (plus Kelly who is fast becoming an honorary IT team member) back in Liverpool, who had spent the whole night [View Full Entry]

---

---

On Friday, we headed off on SH45 - the Surf Coast Highway which runs all the way around the western edge of Taranaki, is a highway, on the coast, and has surf. We again hoped that we could see the top of Mount Taranaki, but again there was cloud. We stopped for brunch in pub on way and made it into Wanganui by late afternoon. The rain that evening was terrific and after a 30 second (aborted) attempt to go for an evening stroll, we were glad to stay indoors. We watched the NZ film "River Queen" which is set during [View Full Entry]

---

---

On Wednesday, we left Raglan (in bright sunshine) and drove south to Taumarunui, stopping briefly for coffee in Pirongia. We picked up some pies for lunch (yes, there are still pies here in NZ, Tim hasn't eaten them ALL yet!) and then embarked on the 150km drive to Stratford on Highway 43 - the evocatively named Forgotten World Highway. At the start of this road there are signs warning that there is no gasoline for the full 150km. The road gets it's name due to fact that it passes through many historically significant sites, some abandoned settlements, coal mines [View Full Entry]

---

---