Picton through Christchurch to Arthur's Pass

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Off to an early start this morning. Eric was up and showering just after 6am. It took me until 630 am to get up, but we ate breakfast by 7:15 and were ready to go. Breakfast is free at "The Villa" - several types of breads and jams, cold cereal and milk.

On the road we headed south on highway #1, through Blenheim, stopping for coffee and a snack at 8:30 at a place called "The Store". With high ceilings and exposed rafters, "The Store" was very classy. Nice wood floors, long tables and country themed decorations made it look like a magazine cover.

Several small sections of the highway had been washed out by the rainstorms of the last few days, and we took the short detours around them. The Kiwis are very smart, and detours are built in as a design feature of the highways in the low areas likely to flood, so the detours were easy.

A little south of Kaikoura, I think I spotted some penguins. Eric and I pulled over into a rest stop a few hundred metres up the road. There were no penguins, but I spotted a huge brown rock that was moving! It was a huge seal! He let us get within three metres of him, all the while calmly scratching himself with a hind flipper. Eric and I snapped a few photos and carried on South.

We stopped in Christchurch for lunch, because I had coupons from the tourist kiosk on the Interislander ferry. The resteraunt ("O'Carrols") turned out to be at a mall called Northlands, and we had a walk around. We picked up supplies at the Wharehouse (like a Cosco) and food at the "Pack 'n' Save". We then visited some shoe and clothing shops before sitting down to lunch around 1 pm. I had a thick soup and Eric was brave and tried the fish stew. Our coupons got us a free drink, and Eric had a "handle" (slang for a mug) of Guinness, and I had a glass of house red. John and Debbie, we weren't staying in Christchurch, so I didn't call up your friend - we wanted to get off the highway by dark so we were rushing a bit.

We went into the downtown area, so that Eric could pick up a pair of rugby cleats - not easy to find his size!!! Then we filled up on gas while heading out of town towards Arthur's pass.

Arthur's Pass was used by the Maoris, but the Europeans didn't discover it until 1864. There is a small twon there and the scenery enroute is very pretty - a lot like BC's Okanagan area. Unfortunately for us the weather was poor - low cloud and rain obscured the mountain's peaks.

We arrived in the town around 5pm and fond or hostel. Our room was in a cabin - one of four set back from the highway. Ours had three rooms with beds, a large wood floored great room and two toilets and showers. AS we were the only occupants, it was a great steal at NZ$54 for the night. We unloaded our bags and then drove back into the little town to pick up some take-away food. We had coupons for drinks at the local cafe and then took our dinner of pizza and fish and chips back to our cabin. We ate in front of a roaring fire!

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