Yet Another Day in Christchurch

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Joe and I had a really nice dinner last night with my friends Kris and Alex out in Lyttleton. We took the 28 from the city center up past the CHC gondola, through the green hills and into the tunnel. When we emerged we were at Lyttleton harbor, a small port with the feel of a quaint old fishing town. Lyttleton has the last working timeball which was used until the 1930s so that ships could synchronize their time pieces. It is where the ball drop in New York City on New Years eve originates from. ( http://www.historic.org.nz/Timeball/indexTimeball.html )

We met Kris at her house and walked to the Volcano. I knew Kris from my first season on the ice and have seen her in NZ each trip since. The Volcano is a Mexican restaurant in New Zealand that actually serves good Mexican food. Alex met up with us after a skate and we drank margheritas and talked for a bit. Alex makes handmade skis (http://www.kingswoodskis.com) and he showed us around his shop after dinner.

Between weather and mechanical problems, it is not uncommon to be *stuck* in Christchurch for a few days. Last year I was *stuck* for 2 weeks because of weather and spent most of my time drinking coffee at various cafes and sampling the food and drink Christchurch had to offer. This morning we were outside the Devon Hotel at 5:30 waiting for a lift to the CDC. 75 of us were heading south on this flight and we all were waiting in our ECWs which make New Zealand at the end of winter feel like India in the middle of summer. About 30 minutes before boarding time one of the National Guard Airmen told us the flight was delayed due to weather and to report back at 6:45 the following morning. At this point all of our checked luggage would remain on the aircraft and we were all living out of a single orange bag. I had remembered to pack and extra pair of clothing in my carry on so I had stuff to wear.

Joe and I went to the Coffee House across from the Dux de Lux for breakfast and then met up with Charlie and his friend Rae who took us on a little road trip to the mount Hut Ski area. Even though it was overcast and cold, it was absolutely beautiful. We spent some time at the Rakaia Gorge hunting for rocks, skipping stones and reverting back to our 5 year old selves.

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Photos

Rakaia Gorge Walkway
This is the river that runs through Rakaia Gorge

Rakaia Gorge
Sorry Im so self absorbed but I never have good photos of my self - had to throw this one in

Comments

[Kai]

WOW!
What a good looking guy!