Yippee! My Stereo Has Arrived!

Finally, after many months at sea our belongings arrived in Christchurch. Pete had done his own research and tracked the container (number PONU7615677) across the oceans, etc. Our boxes were collected (by SevenSeas) from Redbridge, Southampton on 26th January to a depot in Swindon, driven to Folkestone (by the shipping company Maersk), transfered back to Southampton and finally departed the UK on 10th of March. That is what centralisation of companies can do for you!!! However, it did not stop there. Once our container arrived in Singapore it was loaded onto another boat, went to Tauranga, NZ and from there was loaded onto a truck, driven to Wellington, where it boarded a ferry and finally arrived in Christchurch on 26th of April. All 450kgs of it.

It was so exciting to receive our belongings back. That night and many following we had the task of unpacking everything, to check it was not damaged. As our living arrangements are a little cramped at the moment, we then had to repack our belongings back in thier boxes and stack them in the corner of our room. Only 1 box was opened by Customs, and we were happy to find that our African table was not impounded. Patrick was set free, at last and is happy to be near his native country.

Luckily, only 1 item was damaged. Pete was absolutely distraught to find that his Harry Potter mug was in many pieces, beyond glue repair. On the other hand, he was elated to find that his stereo is working. Just as well, considering we carried the remote control in our hand luggage after finding it under a cushion of the settee, moments after the boxes had been collected.

Pete was also so happy to see our photos back. So much so, that he 'decided' to break the glass of a very nice picture frame. Just typical, it survives all sorts of modes of transport, being handled quite roughly, only to be broken by its owner!

Our 'life' still in boxes in the corner of the room

We are now just waiting to move into a place of our own so that we can unpack everything properly and find 'homes' for our possesions.

Our First Easter in New Zealand

Even though this is our third time in New Zealand, it is the first time we have been here for Easter. 'So what shall we do?' we thought. 'How about about going somewhere we have not been before?' So after some serious 'bible' studying (those of you who have been travelling will know that I mean the 'Lonely Planet') we decided on driving to Arthur's Pass. This small settlement is high up in the Southern Alps, slap bang in the middle of the South Island.

View from Avalanche Track

We booked ourselves into a shared self-contained cottage and settled in very quickly on arrival. We claimed 'our' sofa in front of the wood fire, got the beers in the fridge and let the red wine get to room temperature. We shared the cottage with a Canadian couple, Blair and Laura, who are also living and working in Christchurch. We got very drunk that night, not such good preparation for the Avalanche Peak track the following day!

Our Home for the Night

The main attraction of Arthur's Pass is tramping (Kiwi English for walking/hiking). So, that is what we did. We decided to walk the Avalanche Peak track and, but as we were not wearing correct shoes (Pete was on his Vans) and we both did not have gaiters nor any waterproofs, the ground lying snow beat us. Yes, there was lots of snow on the top so we did not make it completely to the summit. We were only 15 minutes or so away from the peak, such a shame. Such a shame as it means that once we have all the correct gear I, who does not do mountains, have to climb that d*mn thing again!

Above : This is the point at which we decided we were not equipped properly so turned round and started our descent.

After our climb we had a very quiet and peaceful night in, and the following day we drove back to Christchurch, still exploring and stopping for those ever occuring 'Kodak moments'. We are so fortunate to be living in such a beautiful country!

These 'Kodak moments' were actually taken on the way to Arthur's Pass not on the return journey!

http://www.doc.govt.nz/Explore/001~National-Parks/Arthurs-Pass-National-Park/index.asp

Our First Visitor

We welcomed Sophie to Christchurch, as our first visitor, from England. She had already travelled through New Zealand for three weeks, with the Stray Bus, but stayed with us, for six days in Christchurch, before flying on to Australia.

We gathered information and brochures from the visitor's centre before Sophie's arrival so that she would have busy and fun packed days, whilst we were at work. One of our recommended activities was a day trip to Kaikoura, to go whale watching. She had a fantastic day as she saw whales close up, as well as dozens of dolphins. I guess one day we will do the whale watching trip but like most people when you live close to something good you take it for granted and don't visit it as much as one should.

During the weekend we drove around Christchurch and showed Sophie the highlights. We even visited an open home (Visiting open homes is a free and enjoyable weekend activity. Particularly, for the inquisitive!). It was a lovely house with a beautiful garden and even had a swimming pool. However we were not in a position to purchase! The next day was a sunny, autumn day so we drove around the Port Hills, and stopped at The Sign of the Kiwi. Not only do you get a great view of Christchurch over to the Southern Alps; you can also buy a very nice ice-cream there! We then drove on to Lyttleton, stopping for a while to admire the paragliders before returning to Christchurch, via Sumner.

View of Lyttleton Harbour from the Port Hills

Soon, we will be moving into a rented house just for ourselves. We will have more room then so that we can be more accommodating to visitors. You are all welcome!