Kaikoura

Kaikoura - Very early in the morning, gotta be up before the clouds!

New Zealand is a pretty awesome place and I am really glad to be able spend some time here. I have been before and am really looking forward to seeing the mountains and the beaches and maybe a Kiwi?

After a whole day in Auckland I jumped aboard the Naked Bus (don't worry it isn't as it sounds!) and headed south to Wellington...a mere 10 hours or so!

Wellington is quite a cool place to visit, but as I have plans to visit my cousin in the South Island I stayed just one night before taking the Interislander Ferry accross the Cook Striat, a fairly good crossing which reminded me a lot of taking the Calmac ferry over to the Hebrides...but without the teenagers!

From here I dashed (a slight exageration of speed) to the bus and crusied (another slight exageration.. not the newest bus!) down the east coast to the little seaside realm of Kaikoura.

Here is where the mountains wander their way out towards the sea, its a pretty spectacular place on a clear day, sadly when I arrived it was pouring with rain and I could see nothing and arrived at my hostel wearing the drowned rat look! However, I woke early the following morning and headed down to the sea and managed to see a little more of the view! This included a walk along the Peninsula Walkway and a visit to the seal colony where I was able to meet a few of the locals!



Snoozin'!



I spent several days in Kaikoura in the end, staying in a funky little hostel which owned a number of guitars and a piano...which led to some very musical evenings! I met some great people, enjoyed wandering along the beach in the sunshine and even managed to get a haircut by a lady from Market Harborough! - Small world?!

One of many reasons I love Kaikoura!



3... 2... 1... ?!?



From Kaikoura I travelled southwards to Christchurch. This proved to be a bit more complicated than I had imagined. The earthquake which devastated much of the city had left few accomodation options, this might have been ok had it not been for the fact that I had managed to time my visit there with the World Buskers Festival! After a few emails and a slight change of plans everything was sorted out briliantly and I was able to stay with a friend's sister and family who actually live there.

I enjoyed spending time with them, catching a little bit of busking and drinking coffee in the Container City!

The very colourful Container City - Christchurch

I also had a very small taste of what it might be like in an earthquake when there was a tremor on Saturday night. It registered a 4.7 on the Richter scale and was a deffinite jolt and roll... I can't imagine what it would have been like to be in something so much bigger, and having seen the destruction caused by the last one I hope I never am. It was terrible to see just how much of the city had been destroyed by the earthquake, I remember walking through the city centre, past the Cathedral last time I was in the city.. now it looks like a building site, most buildings in ruins. However, it was brilliant to see the way the people of Christchurch have responded so positively, the colourful creation that is the container city is just one example of that.

Although my visit here was brief, I was really glad I was able to visit and maybe I will be able to visit again one day and see a city rebuilt.