Hi there,

I'm now in Akaroa which is not far away from Christchurch. (80km). Nick has joined me in my travels for a while in New Zeland before I fly to Syndney on 8th Jan. He plans to cycle around the two islands. Its nice to see a familar face. We were in Akaroa last week where I was offered a job in a hostel. I have free accomadation and a small caravan to stay in, so no more shared dorms for me. Hehehehe... Even the sun shines in Akaroa. We will be spending Christmas here. I enjoy it because it is very peaceful. Here's an up-date.....

CHRISTCHURCH

Christchurch is the south island's largest city, populated by 350,000 people. It has a very english feel to it. Catherdral Square is where the locals and the tourists mingle with each other. Market traders sell their tourist tat from bone carvings to sunglasses. There is a large chess set for people to play. The players always look very serious and never smile. There are many street performers who are always fun to watch. The catherdral is an impressive building and dominates the square. I liked the metal chalice, the large blue sculpture in the square. I found the best place for coffee and hot chocolate in the square. A small kiosk sold fantastic drinks and the staff there always made me laugh. They played good music too. I was realy impressed by the parks and gardens, I spent a few evenings runing around Hagley park. The park  even had an assult course where you could do pull-ups on rings, swing across suspended ladders and walk along a balance beam. I have to admitt my pull-ups were a poor effort and entertaining to watch.

Everyone is getting into the Christmas spirit, there was a huge Christmas carnival through the steets. It was strange to be celebrating the festive season wearing shorts and tee-shirts. Not that I'm complaining. I hear that you are having miserable weather. (I'm not, its great here!!!) We stayed at a lovely hostel called Dorset House, probably one of the niceset in the city. I did stay at another hostel but didn't like it. I was sharing a dorm with 12 people and unfortunely for me, I was sharing it with a couple of american girls who had just discovered alcohol. They had an olympic standard abiltiy to laugh at everything. I have never wanted to slap someone so much in all my life... And no, I didn't slap anyone.

I enjoyed Christchurch for the cafes and the amazing parks and gardens. Everything was filled wih colour and people smiled, even shops assistants were helpful. I like this country....  

AKAROA

What a beautiful place this is. We took the bus from Christchurch to Akaroa. The journey only took 1.5 hrs. Akaroa means 'long harbour' in maori. It's a french settlement and is a sleepy little town.There is alot of hiking in the surrounding hills. a popular actvity it swimming with dolphins. Hector dolphins are the smallest in the world. They are very inquisitive and playful. There's also boats trips that take you out to the remote banks of the peninsula where you can see seals, dolphins and penguins. We stayed at two hostels, the 'Bon Accord' and the 'Le Bons'. Both were very chilled. The Bon Accord is where I now work at.  It has a lovely atmosphere and is very homely. The 'Le Bons' was very nice too, with its large gardens and sunny verandas. The food at the Le Bons was amazing. (only 4 pounds for a two course meal). Nick and I also went on a boat trip during the evening to see the seals and dolphins.

I hope you are enjoying the festive season. Thinking of you all, especially when the sun shines1

Take care as always.

love Annie