Today started a crisp morning. Bec went out early to take a few photos of Lake Tekapo as it was still motionless. Another quick checkout and on the bus and we're off to Christchurch. The last bus ride of our trip! Don't get us wrong, it was very dependable, but I don't think either of us will be pursuing a career in the multi-passender, chaffeur arts. We drove through a few towns over rolling hills filled with large boulders. If you're a Lord of the Rings fan, this was where they filmed the attack of the Warg-wolves on the caravan in The Two Towers.

Arriving in Christchurch, the rain was just lifting and the sun began to shine. We really wanted a private, double room for our last few nights and had trouble booking it. This weekend is NZ Labor Day. The hostel we finally found a room at had raised their prices, so we decided to hit the dorms at a hostel called Base Backpackers, situated across the street from the main piazza of Christchurch Cathedral. The piazza was filled with people, market stands, music performers. After strolling through, and splitting a 12-inch kilbasa sausage, we bought tickets for the old trolley which runs in a circle through the center of town. Our first stop was the Christchurch Botanical Gardens, where we would spend most of the day. Tulips, poppies, and apple blossoms were in blume and gondola boats called "punting" were taking tourists through the river that winds through the gardens.

We finished the entire city loop, all 4 blocks of it, on the trolley and returned to our room to meet our new roommate Frederick, a late-forties Londoner, who was biking the length of the south island. This chap was crazy. He casually mentioned he was going to climb Mt. Cook, walk the circumference of Stuart island, and was attacked by a magpie earlier that day. The dorms still prove to always have a plethera of characters.

Near the last stop of the trolley, Bec spotted a burrito place, so we decided to retrace the trolley tracks in search of it. Ah, warm burritos on a chilly night. The last of the night was filled with a little internet, looking at houses for rent in LA and a cup of tea.