Blogs from Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 13

Chasing that cloud. ...or a few more clouds than we bargain for... Finally on my flight to Christchurch, which is very unremarkable except for my exit row seat. I arrive and make it through customs quickly (as long as you don't have fresh produce or soil on your hiking boots there are no snags). The plan is for me to get the rental car and drive to the hotel to meet Anjali who arrived earlier. I'm looking for the rental car company, and I hear a smart voice say, "So you're just going to walk right past me?" And there is my 5'0" gorgeous smart ass best friend there to greet me. She has her chic little furlined jacket on, and looks like an Aspen babe about to hit the slopes, and I look like a ... read more

Geo: -43.5316, 172.637It was great to be back at the international terminal of Melbourne airport. It was a bit surreal. It all felt so casual, laidback, effortless and easy compared to last time around. 10 nights in New Zealand pales in comparison to an open ended world flight, but still Nat and I were looking forward to the adventure ahead. I spent the afternoon packing, and not just for myself; two rabbits had to be prepared for a holiday of their own. With their holiday retreat organized, we set off for Tullamarine for a 6.35pm flight.Everything went amazingly smoothly. Check in efficient; customs a breeze; and for possibly the first time in history I wasn't randomly searched and screened by security. We settled in for a pre flight beer, reminiscing about last year and enthusing about ... read more

Om 6 uur opstaan om een Whale Watch toer te doen, en... - Geen walvis zien - Een echtgenoot hebben voor wie de heftige golven toch net iets te geweldig waren (zeeziek...) Alle chance dat we 80% van ons inschrijvingsgeld hebben teruggekregen. Anders was het wel een heel duur, ontgoochelend grapje geworden. Na een hartige lunch (om de ontgoocheling en andere dingen weg te spoelen) vertrekken we dan naar onze laatste stop: Christchurch. Christchurch centrum is in 2011 vernield geweest door een enorme aardbeving en overal in de stad zie je hier nog ravage van. Ze zijn alles aan het herbouwen of gewoon nieuwe gebouwen aan het bouwen. In plaats van te rouwen om wat verloren is, gebruiken ze deze ‘kans’ duidelijk om een nieuwe identiteit te maken. De eerste resultaten beloven veel goeds. Tussen afgebroken ... read more

Grace & Mag, As you know, Dad flew to NZ for a holiday for two and a half weeks. It was so good to see him again...laughing at stupid stuff and being slow idiots together :) We met and started our trip in Christchurch, got a camper and toured around the South Island the whole time. For the first two days we were very well looked after by Mel's parents, Mary and Pat. They were so nice and funny and we got on really well. We stayed at their house with the camper parked on the driveway for a couple of nights and they showed us around the City. We saw Wayne a few times at the pub, he is such a good man. One of Mary and Pat's friends that I had previously met when ... read more

royals in town so only hotels with rooms out by airport, but actually that was ok given the condition of downtown Christchurch, but rebuilding occurring. Went to container city, which is the. revitalized city center. Took the city bus there left the car here ? will need to drop off at airport tomorrow. Might go to the Antarctica exhibit dI'd u know flights leave Christchurch to Antarctica? ✈️❄️⛄️Don't worry kids I am not headed there!!... read more