Christchurch, Kaikoura and Dunedin and the Otago Peninsula

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So shortly after arriving in Christchurch, we picked up our tickets and headed to watch the rugby (crusaders v stormers). 25 dollars or 10 quid for tickets, transport and 2 beers - not bad eh?! If only sport was so cheap in the UK! Anyway the atmosphere was good and it was a good laugh but unfortunately the game wasn't the best quality. It was also the last time we were all together as a group because most of the guys left later that night and the next morning. So more goodbyes were said and then I spent a day wandering around and seeing the sights of Christchurch. They call it the garden city and it's very attractive and small and like England was a long time ago but there isn't too much to do. So I decided that the following day I would take the intercity bus to Kaikoura for the day. Kaikoura is another tiny place that specialises in whale watching and swimming with dolphins or seals but unfortunately none of these activities were available. I did go out on a boat though and saw lots of small dolphins and seals and after that I walked along the coast to a seal colony, stopping off on the way at a roadside seafood cafe (beats our greasy spoons!) to sample some of the most amazing seafood chowder! And then it was back on the bus to Christchurch, where I watched a film with Jess and Tia and said goodbye to them as they were off to Fiji the next morning (so jealous, I wanna go back!) and went to sleep ready to get up very early the next morning to make the five hour journey down south to Dunedin. In fact I got up an hour earlier than I needed because my phone cleverly thought that we were still in England and changed the clock automatically! Anyway Dunedin was a really nice place to spend a couple of days. I walked to the Otago Highlanders' Carisbrook rugby ground (or the House of pain!) and went to a sports museum and the Speights brewery, where we got to sample six different beers. I also went out to the Otago peninsula to see Albatross, seals, sea lions and best of all yellow eyed penguins. It was really cool to just walk around the coast and see sea lions lying on the beach and penguins waddling out of the sea and up the beach just before sunset. So I had quite a productive last few days in New Zealand and after making the five hour journey back up to Christchurch it was time to move on - next up USA!!!

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