3 day update

Touchdown 2-12

After hanging out in the Auckland airport for 2 hrs, we finally boarded our last airplane for a while. Miraculously, Briana and Marc greeted us at the Christchurch airport. Our kind B&B hosts also offered to put them up for the night so I guess the stars aligned afterall. This house we are in now is truly amazing.  As you can see from the photo on the left, it is up high overlooking the harbor. Our hosts have also been very kind and generous with their time and knowledge. If we can get our stars lined up again, Rod is going to try to hook Geoff up with a fishing buddy for the day between the end of our bike trek and our fjord cruise. Hope it works out.

Marc drove the four of us into Sumner which is down the coast a bit for dinner. We had a great chat and it was wonderful having the chance to meet Marc. A bit odd having to come all the way to New Zealand to meet him. They will be leaving early morning for their journey back to Alaska.

I think it is going to be more difficult trying to post to the blog than I expected. I will just keep writing and post when I can. Haven't even tried uploading pix yet.

Christchurch 2-13

After breakfast, Geoff and I decided to sign up for a bike tour of Christchurch. It didn't start until 2pm, so we tried to go to the Gondola ride since it is so close to where we are staying. Of course, we get up there, buy the tickets, wait in line and then the wind comes. They stopped the ride several times and we were getting worried that if we did get up there, we would get stuck up there. Then the cruise ship bus pulled up filled to capacity and we said UNCLE! They were kind enough to refund our money and we took the first bus into town. It being Saturday, there was a lot of activity in Cathedral Square before long it was time to saddle up. Our bikes were one speed clunkers but very comfortable and Christchurch is very flat. There were 7 of us which made for a very manageable group. It was really a great way to get around and see the highlights and our guide was very informative. The weather was great - sunny and just enough breeze to keep cool. It was getting close to dinner time when we got back to the square. Christchurch proper is very nice but it is a busseling city - not quite our speed. We grabbed a bus going out to Lyttleton, a place Briana and Marc talked about. It is a working waterfront and the port where the cruise ship comes into. We had dinner in an Irish pub overlooking the harbor. I have to say that the bus system is not only efficient but they are extremely helpful. We had to make a transfer in order to get home from Lyttleton and our driver called the other driver and asked him to wait for us. We were impressed.

Tomorrow morning Rod has offered to take us to the railway station to meet our train. We have had a great visit with our first ATC connection in NZ. If we are lucky, they will all go as well.

TranzAlpine Railway - Valentine's Day

WOW! I am writing this as we travel through the southern alps of the South Island, NZ. We just passed through one of the Lord of the Rings locations and are now approaching Arthur's Pass. I do hope I can get this blog posted soon. We are collecting some nice pix and I would love to share. Although, I am afraid our camera will not do this view justice. We just do not have a big enough lens. The weather has decided to cooperate again and we are lucky for that. We will pick up the car in Greymouth and head south this afternoon.

Made it to Fox Glacier tonight and had dinner amongst the mountains. Actually got to see the top of Mt. Cook which is a rarity we hear. We are finally able to post all of this. Pictures will be forthcoming.

next up... Wanaka