Friday 4th March. Up at 0500 for the flight to Christchurch. Got to the car with the luggage and guess what, flat tyre, so Bob spent the first 30 minutes of the day changing the tyre. That put us 30 mins behind schedule , so by the time we got to Brisbane Airport, checked in, through security and to the gate the flight was boarding. With a 3 hour flight and 3 hours time difference we arrived in Christchurch at 3pm local time. Picked up the hire car and drove to Cathedral Square and the Novotel. Our room overlooks the very forlorn Christchurch Cathedral. Had a brief walk around, normal purchases wherever we stop, Tonic and Lemon, Crisps and Salted Nuts and a PAYG Sim. 0220360122 is the number. Hotel includes a free welcome drink, as Bob is an Accor Member, so we had that and Dinner at the hotel. Booked a Wine Tour for Monday, Bob spoke to his Dad to wish him Happy Birthday, seems weird 9pm here on Friday evening is 8am Friday morning in the UK and then bed.

Saturday 5th March. Woke up around 8am, caught up with FB and emails. Decide we would tour town today, Breakfast in a local Cafe on Regent Street, which was very good. Then walked along the River Avon looking at all of the damage around the town from the Earthquake in 2011. As always managed to see some new species of Birds,Flatfish and Eels in the river. Walked along Oxford and Cambridge Terrace alongside the River,through Victoria Square and up to Antigua Boat Sheds. Booked a punt on the river, quick drink and then set off for a very peaceful 30 minutes being punted down the Avon. Back and then a walk around the beautiful Botanic Gardens. By this time it was 1pm, so found the Pegasus Arms for lunch and a refreshing Beer. Finished our lunch and walked to Friendship Corner and Remembrance Bridge. Then walked through Re- Start Mall, which is a lot of containers fitted out as shops to re start businesses close to where the earthquake did most damage. A walk back though Cathedral Square and past the Millenium Torch and back to the hotel. Out to see the Cardboard Cathedral and the 185 Chairs signifying those that lost their lives in the 2011 Earthquake.

 Sunday 6th March. Up early and left the hotel for the day out. Started off driving to Sumner, a beautiful little village slightly SE of Christchurch. We had a walk along the beach, a paddle in a very brisk Pegasus Bay, part of the Pacific Ocean, and then stopped at Joe's Garage for breakfast. They spotted we had checked in on FB,thanking Si Wood for telling us about it, so they gave us a Joe's Garage Baseball Cap which we will give to Si. After breakfast, which was very good, we set off for the Christchurch Gondola on the outskirts of Christchurch. We rode up approx 1KM to the top cable car station. Here you get fantastic views of Christchurch, the Canterbury Plains and the Southern Alps to the West and to the East you can see Banks Peninsula, Lytteton Harbour and Lake Ellesmere. Some wonderful views and well worth the trip up. We set off from the Gondola Ground station around 1130 for Akaroa South East of Christchurch by car, around a 90 minute drive. This place was settled by The Compte de Paris, in around 1840 and remains Canterbury's "Little France". The drive is also very enjoyable climbing up and over the Banks Penisula, past Lake Ellesmere. There you discover a delightful little village nestled on the banks of Akaroa Harbour. We had lunch sat alongside the beach, a walk along the beach front, ice creams and then back in the car for the journey back to the hotel. While we were there Lesley had her picture painted by a local artist, see photo . A really relaxing and enjoyable day out with Akaroa being the hidden jewel. Well worth a visit if you are ever this way. As with all of the Cities we have visited on this trip, tomorrow we are off to the Waipara Valley on a Wine Tasting

Monday 7th March. Lazy morning, breakfast around 0930 as off to wine tour later. Bus arrived at 1220 to go off to Waipara Valley. After a couple of pick ups we changed bus and Sue our driver took the M1 North towards Picton. Waipara is around an hours drive North of Christchurch. The wine is becoming more famous throughout the world. Our first stop for lunch and a tasting was Waipara Springs, they make approx 36K Cases a year. Here we tasted Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Chardonnay and finally Pinot Noir with a Cheese & Cold Meats lunch. Bob's vote was for the Riesling and Lesley the Pinot Noir. So after lunch around 2.30pm we literally drove 300 Metres To Greystone/Muddy Water Wines. We did not taste the Muddy Waters as it is all Organic and limited volumes. Overall across both wineries they make approx 70K cases and it is available in the UK from Majestic Wines, Waitrose and Berry & Rudd. However we made up by tasting Sauvignon Blanc, Sea Star Riesling, Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir from Greystone. Here again similar winners Riesling and Pinot Noir. From there we went to Waipara Hills, where we tasted a lot. Dennis our host helped us here. They make around 350K cases a year. Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Gris, unoaked Chardonnay, Pinot Noir Rose and a Pinot Noir and finally a Late Harvest Riesling (Desert Wine). As you can see there are a lot of white wine varietals grown at Waipara. The winners here were the Pinot Noir Rose for Lesley and the Late Harvest Riesling for Bob. By now it is 4.15pm and we were supposed to be back in Christchurch for 5, an hours drive away!! Still time for one more wine stop, Pegasus Bay, here it was a little more chaotic as the lady giving us the tasting just seem to poor wine from everywhere to anyone with an empty glass. We tried Sauvignon/Semillion Mix, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot/Cabernet blend, then a Riesling and finally a Gewurtztraminer. They make 17K cases overall per year. Lesley and Bob felt the Sauvignon/Semillin Mix was the best here. Although for Bob the Gewurtztraminer came very close. Back on the coach for the journey back to Christchurch arriving back around 6.30;-). Overall a good day out, learnt again a lot about the regions wines, made some new acquaintances and most enjoyable of all drank a lot of wine.

Greystone with their "Brothers Reserve Pinot Noir" won the "Best Pinot Noir" in the world in 2012, see Certificate Photo 

thats it it folks from Christchurch, South Island off to Auckland and North Island tomorrow