Christchurch

I was disappointed to hear on the plane that the weather was only 12 degrees in Christchurch, but when we got off the plane it was so hot and sunny I think they must measure temperature differently here than they do on Ireland! I was worried going through customs that they would be all strict and unpleasant because they are so nervous about plants and animals being smuggled in, but they were really nice. One of the officials even joked with us. 'so what part of England are you from?' he asked. 'we're from Ireland' we replied indignantly. 'You are supposed to say what part of Australia are you from' he said. Our taxi driver was very friendly and informative on the drive from the airport to the hotel. the hotel is lovely, with massive double beds. It was nice to have a bath and change clothes. I found a nice veggie restaurant in the guide book and it took us ages to find it. after walking for about 40 minutes, we discovered it was just a short hop from the hotel! The food was nice and we sat outside in the sun, with sparrows and seagulls wandering among the diners looking for scraps. The Avon river flows through the city and you can go punting on it. The city is very quiet and there seem to be very few people out and about. It is the largest city in the south island but it only has 400,000 people. After lunch we wandering around the galleries and craft shops next to Dux de Lux. We went into a fudge shop that also sold soaps and things like that. seeing a soft toy kiwi, the Monster cried 'that's the first kiwi I've seen!' the woman in the shop laughed - I think she thought the Monster was referring to her! (New Zealanders call themselves Kiwis). she was very friendly and chatted to us for a while. she said it was hard having Christmas in summer because you never get to see your Christmas lights! I never thought of that before.