Kia Ora NZ!!!

Here I am in Christchurch, as far south and as far east as I have ever been so far! I think so anyway, I'm not sure if Fiji is slightly more east, but who cares, I'm on the other side of the world! The flight over here was smooth, I got through customs with no problems as I declared my teabags, coconut bracelet and shell necklace... well, I'd heard stories of $200 on the spot fines, so I wasn't taking any risks! I wasn't able to book a hostel online in Fiji as there was a power cut at my hostel and all the Internet connection went down as well, but a simple freephone call from the airport secured a bed for 3 nights at Frienz Backpackers. See, Emma using a telephone again with no problems!

Christchurch is a really pretty city, and it's evident why it's known as the most "English" of all New Zealand towns. I had a little wander around after checking in on Sunday afternoon, and collected a new ream of travel brochures and pamphlets, just like being in Oz all over again! It took weeks before I threw them away, just in case! Anyway, I decided to head out that evening to the cinema as I'd not seen a film for a while and it was slightly cheaper here than in the UK, so I was sold! I saw Slumdog Millionaire and I would highly recommend it! At last, an Oscar winning movie that didn't make me feel as if I'd wasted 2 hours of my life! The cinema was really quaint, it had a small screen and was styled like an old fashioned theatre. There was no popcorn and fizzy drinks, but a cute little shop selling ice creams and cakes and coffee... I'd only been in the country a few hours by this point, but I loved the place already!

Christchurch

Yesterday was plan day and of course, I got myself in a little tizz over the best way to get around the islands. Imagine my annoyance to find that a massive 35% discount offer had ended last Friday on the Magic Bus, one of the contenders!!! Sometimes, it is best not knowing tings like that! Anyway, I could either take this option, which is more convenient as the driver will pick you up and drop off at hostels, book accommodation and trips for you and stop for lots of photo opportunities along the way. There's also a great social aspect to it as you will be travelling with the same people for parts of the route. On the other hand, a Flexi Pass is purchased in blocks of time, and you can go in any direction and back on yourself on national coaches. Of course, you will know by now, dear reader, that I'm perfectly capable of organising my own accommodation and onward travel by myself as I'm an experienced World Traveller now, but I really didn't know which option to select. It did play on my mind quite a bit overnight, but you'll be pleased to hear that I didn't get myself into the same state I did when I was planning my route through Oz. What a difference a couple of months makes!!!

This morning, I was still undecided, but I went into the travel agency as soon as it opened, picked their brains some more and made a decision - the Magic Bus it is!!! To be honest, whichever way I go around NZ, I'm going to have a damn good time and meet more great people, so I'll just head off tomorrow and make the most of it! I'll be taking the TranzAlpine Express to Greymouth, which is supposed to be a very scenic trip. There doesn't appear to be much to see in Greymouth itself, so I think I'll spend just one night there before taking the first leg of the Magic Bus to Franz Josef Glacier where I will do a trip to walk on and through the ice! That all depends on how well I'm feeling though...

...The Rotting Bite disease came back! Just like it developed after Bali, I think I picked it up again in Fiji. It must be in the sea or something, but rather than let it get out of control again, I went to the doctor's today and got some more antibiotics and cream - $115 gone! That's about £45, but that's 2 nights accommodation! I'm also coming down with a bit of a cold I think, so I had to dig out the Lemsip Max Strength from the bottom of my rucksack!!! Oh well, I won't let it spoil my trip, I'll be as right as rain soon, and off to the glacier regardless! I now make the most of every single day and I sometimes chuckle to myself as I walk around, just because I'm so pleased to be on this trip! Which reminds me of a funny thing that happened this afternoon!

Caravans in the Botanical Gardens

I went to the beautiful Botanical Gardens here this afternoon to find a geocache. I needed to drop off a travel bug, and it seemed that this was the largest cache in the area that it would fit into! As I approached the cache site, I could see a lot of muggles (i.e. non-caching folk) so I would have to be discreet in locating the box. Imagine my surprise to find the area around the cache completely inaccessible as there was an Australian TV commercial being filmed right next to it, complete with smoke and rain machines!!! That put the kibosh on that one! So I need to find an alternative cache, or wait until I come back to Christchurch just before heading to the North Island in a few weeks' time! I swear, you couldn't make this stuff up!