New Zealand – Our Latest Adventure

Way back in 2007, when we were on the Isle of Man, Mick announced that he wished to return for his 50th birthday in 2009, which we did.  At that same time, I declared that I would like to go to New Zealand for my 50th. I was so confident that I even included it in my Some Kind of Wonderful suitcase label in 2012.

Well, we are now sitting in Christchurch! 

We arrived yesterday afternoon.

We had a good flight and saw Mt Cook peeking through the clouds.

So as not to miss anything we went for a walk to the Botanic Gardens yesterday afternoon. They are huge, and just beautiful.

We spent over an hour wandering around.

A thorn between the roses?

Christchurch is just starting to really get into the rebuilding stage after the earthquakes four years ago……yes, that is right….it is four years.  However, there is still a long, long way to go and there is still a heck of a lot of vacant land.

In the meantime, they are being creative with containers, caravans and busses to provide cafes etc.  We stumble upon “Smash Palace”, a rather cool bar, so settled in for a cool ale and cider and burger. 

A great, relaxed way to start our stay.