Coast to coast in 6 hours in a broad bean

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There's not a lot to tell you about today - other than I'm insane...

Oh and DEAR GOD - these sandfly bites are HUGE! And itchy beyond belief, to the point of waking me up in the middle of the night. Nothing touches them - anthisan, antihistamines, nothing. The only thing that comes close to taking the edge off them is Deep Freeze, and I'm not sure that it's doing the best for them. There must be a hundred in total, all over my right foot and half over my left, with the odd calf bite thrown in for good measure. I need a pharmacy pronto - either that or amputation...


The drive today took me from the West Coast, and Franz Josef, to Christchurch, on the East Coast. 6 hours of driving - a real battering for the broad bean as it took us up hill and down dale more times than Postman Pat's managed in a lifetime.

The route took me via Arthur's Pass, along a road that Clarkson would class as Top Gear worthy, winding along the side of a cliff, before heading down into the valley. A beautiful drive, with lots of hold your breath bends and turns, and stunning scenery all around.

The drive went remarkably quickly all things considered. It wasn't long before I was heading through the Christchurch suburbs. It was at this point that I remembered I'd left my favourite, Hillyard-purchased tankini attached to the balcony at the hostel in Franz Josef. It's a long way back to collect it so I kept on driving, kicking myself about my stupidity. I phoned the hostel when I found a place to park and they told me they had it and would re-post it on to me if I sent a prepaid envelope. How on earth do I know how much postage to add to an envelope for a tankini and a towel? Never been any good at guessing weights!!!

Turns out I didn't need to guess, because NZ's postal system is clearly smarter than the UK's. You buy a prepaid envelope of a certain size and it doesn't matter how much the items weight, the price is the same, so long as it fits in the envelope. Feathers or lead, it costs the same - genius!

Through Christchurch and the earthquake devastation is heartbreaking. You can't see a building above a couple of storeys high, it feels. Churches have their spires rebuilt on the ground, and that's if they were lucky. Many didn't survive the earthquake at all. Dad had asked me to go to Lyttleton for him but the place was a wreck - shopfronts supported by timbers, banks operating in tin huts outside the buildings which used to house their operations. There's nothing left.

I went down to New Brighton to see the beach and the same scene was there. All so upsetting, and a bit ghost town like at times. The city council still hasn't approved the new development plans so these places are in limbo - can't rebuild until the council gives the say so.

And so I headed to Ed and Mimi's. I haven't seen them in 10 years and they have just relocated to Christchurch from Wellington. They've got two boys now as well so I'm going to meet them for the first time at their electricity substation house.

Do you know what? It was like I'd been taken back 10 years. I was made to feel so welcome, and it was just lovely to see them both again and meet their gorgeous boys. Mimi's mum was in town too so it was a real family occasion. Mimi explained that the earthquakes are still happening daily so I may well feel a couple while I'm here (although the substation house is so robust, I won't if I'm in the house).

Tomorrow we're going to venture out into Christchurch on the bikes to see the damage the earthquake did in more detail. For now, I'm crashing out - exhausted by the drive - and making the most of having a room all to myself with no irritating roomies to content with for the next 48 hours!

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