Blogs from Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 152

Our flight from Fiji to Auckland was delayed by an hour or so, but the rest of the trip went smoothly and we arrived in Christchurch and checked into our backpackers without any major hitches. Dan had to unpack her big backpack because she hadn’t declared her unused hiking boots and thre a bit of a strop about it but the guys working in security were nice enough to let it slide. NZ was a bit of a culture shock to the system. I have never seen such well kitted out backpackers and the whole place looked clean, green and friendly. Even the immigration guys were nice (and told us which bars to go to and places of interest)- that’s got to be a world first, surely? Christchurch reminded me so much of a little English ... read more

Okay, so I'm a little late on my New Year's saluation, but better late then never. Things in New Zealand are going well. I celebrated my New Year's Eve by . . . WORKING, yep, the fun never stops folks. After I got off work at 2am I went to some bars with some friends and ended up getting home around 5.30 in the morning. However impressive this may seem, to many Kiwis a night that lasts till 5.30am is weak, many people stay out that late or later almost every night. On other news, my aunt Janet is coming to New Zealand at the end of January. At this time I will be leaving Christchurch to travel with her. I am anticipating traveling once again and I have a feeling I won't be missing Base ... read more

Christchurch We took the shuttle to the door of Mark and Elaine's house in St Albans, a part of Christchurch and made very welcome again. Next morning it was blowing a real gale but very warm. We needed a new saddle and some bits so we set off for town to find it more or less closed. We got the saddle and then set off to do the Gardens' Tour of the city. A lovely place obviously trying to be a little bit of England but pleasant all the same with rivers and parks all over the place. Next morning we caught the 7.30 bus to Lake Tekapo and got the bike to take a whole (of three) compartment of the bus. Some cyclists wanted to get on at Fairlea but could not because of space. ... read more

Happy New Year everyone! I spent the last few minutes of 2005 in Cathedral Square in the heart of Christchurch. url=http://www.travelblog.org/Australasia/New-Zealand/South-Island/Canterbury/Christchurch/blog-33478.htmlCaitlin's girlfriend Melissa had flown in that morning to ring in the new year and tour around New Zealand for two weeks. I took the shuttle in from Akaroa to meet them and to celebrate a little time off. I toasted myself on the bus with sneaky sips from my spiked Nalgene. Indeed, desperate times call for desperate measures. The night started with confusion as Caitlin and my vague emails had left us without a plan. While Cait, Melissa and Chipppy cruised around the streets looking for a tall Asian, I walked to the hostel. While I was primping for our night out, I was startled by a familiar voice. "Buddy!!" I turned around and there ... read more

During our last day in Wellington there were big winds. Our tent was blown over (we were not in it) and the poles broken in half. We were able to return it and get a new tent so we are OK now. We took the ferry from Wellington to Picton on the South Island. We stayed overnight in Picton and then drove South. We stopped overnight in Kaikoura - we were able to see seals, swimming in the water and on the rocks. We also did a hike along the cliff top and back along the rocks - seeing lots of sea birds. We then came to Christchurch (arrived here yesterday) - we are staying here for Christmas - leaving on 27th. We are staying at a backpackers (hostel) not camping for the next few days. ... read more