Christchurch

We arrived in Christchurch late at night on the 1st and already are in love with New Zealand. The people are friendly (both locals and fellow backpackers), our hostel (The Old Countryhouse) is gorgeous and the staff lovely, the town is small and charming, and everything is half price since the USD is double the NZD! We already don't want to leave..

Our hostel is a bit outside of the city center, but the weather is mild here after the stifling heat/humidity of Oz, so we don't mind walking. There's a supermarket just around the corner, along with a wonderful cheap fresh fruit&veg store and a gluten free bakery. The hostel itself is exceptionally clean and comfortable, with fresh baked bread in the mornings, an herb garden, a bbq, courtyard, deck chairs, and comfy social rooms/areas. It's about a 20 minute walk into the city center which is bordered by the gorgeous Avon River that is lined with Weeping Willows.

We ventured out with a group of Irish from our hostel last night for my birthday and had great craic despite it being a Monday. We went to 3 different pubs - all with live bands - and spent the bulk of the night and early morning hours at Micky Finns, dancing away with the well-presented locals and each other to the cover band that played 3 sets while we were there. We crawled into bed after half5 this morning...

Tomorrow we're moving on - but to where we know not yet! Very excited though as we all are well pleased with our NZ experience thusfar!

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