Thursday 21st September 2006 to Sunday 22nd September 2006 I was going to be settled in Christchurch for the next 3 months and I wasted no time in starting my paraglider flight training. I met with my instructor - Dave (www.parapro.co.nz). My first experience was 'ground handling' of the wing in a rugby field in Lyttleton. This involved 'reverse launching' the wing from the ground in front of me, up above my head, controlling wing while walking backwards and then turning and running with the wing above me. This is the launch procedure for most launch situations and a very important skill to master. I thought that all my kiting experience would make it easy... Hmmmmm When reverse launching the controls are reversed to kiting! After various failed attempts and lots of walking backwards (once falling ... read more

Saturday 16th September 2006 We left Te Anau and headed down to Invercargill. We stopped off at Bluff, and had some sea food (Bluff is famous for it) in the Drunken Sailor restaurant over looking the sea. We had Oysters, Scallops and Blue Cod - all really nice. Sure my Dad would have loved it! We were hoping to make it over to Stewart Island, but it was too rough and wouldn’t have been very nice when we got there. So Stewart Island eluded me for a second time. Instead we left Invercargill (not a very nice place) to drive along the coast of the Catlins. Well we tried to leave, we managed getting lost and ending back where we started - it took over two hours to leave Invercargill! Can imagine my Dad’s knowing nods ... read more

Thursday 14th September 2006 We left Wanaka and arrived in Queenstown, and being adventure capital of the world, Mum went paragliding off Coronet Peak, see the video here. Again I was the one left on the ground with the camera! After that we went up the Gondola and had a bit to eat. We then had a go on the Luge, which was great fun. See the video of Mum here. Also see the panoramic view here. Back in town went to the minus five degrees ice bar for a quick drink. Nice sculptures and very good cocktails in ice glasses (good to eat and smash after drinking). It was ok, but the novelty soon wore off for me. Mind you, might have been different if not for the fact that I could only have one ... read more

Monday 11th September 2006 We explored Nelson and found the Bead Shop - dazzling selection of beads! Mum found a few pre-made pieces for presents. Nelson is supposed to be known for two things - 1 Being very arty and 2 Having the most sunshine of all of NZ. My sister has decided she wants to move there already and it’s not a bad choice! Supposed to be really good for paragliding and kiting, too. It was my second choice of cities to settle in, after Christchurch. But Nelson is significantly smaller so work prospects for me as an IT worker are considerably less. We had lunch on a small beach before heading south out of Nelson. We stopped at the small hamlet of Pukekara. It is famous for it’s Possum Pies. We arrived after dark ... read more

Wednesday 6th September 2006 My Mum arrived in Christchurch - I met her off the tranz-coastal train from Picton. It was great to see her. It had been her birthday a few days earlier (she had been in the North Island for nearly a week) so I had arranged to take her on the Christchurch tram meal experience. It is a five course meal on a 100 year old tram, driving slowly through Christchurch at night. Unfortunately Mum’s train arrived late and it seemed we wouldn’t make it back to the city centre in time to catch the evening meal tram. When we finally got back to the city centre I gave Le Bon Bolli a call and booked us a table, 5 minutes later the tram people called my mobile and said they were still ... read more