My First Kiwi

The weather hasn't been so nice today. It is very overcast and it was drizzling earlier on - like an Irish summer really! The Monster and I rose at about 8am. We took our time getting ready and did our brain training to get us in order for the day. We eat breakfast in the hotel. The Monster had some delicious toast while I helped myself to smoothies. We set off to find a Catholic Church for Mass tomorrow after brekkie. The woman at the hotel reception told us there was one on Manchester street. After walking for a long while, we find no sign of the church. We stopped and asked this middle aged man and young woman. they hadn't a clue, but offered to look up the phone book for us. That didn't tell us anything unfortunately, but they recognised our accents and we chatted for a while about Ireland and thanked them for their help. We were walking back to the hotel, bemoaning the useless directions of the hotel receptionist, when a car drove up honking behind us and the next thing the young woman we had been talking to earlier came running up. they had driven past the church and came back to tell us! I was bowled over by their kindness. They offered to drive us to the church. They were so friendly, we thanked them profusely. After visiting the church we walked back into town. A man at the sony centre (called sony style here - beautiful shop) recommended a restaurant called Coyote for lunch, so we went there. They had heaters and an awning so we sat out side. Our waitress was a lovely Cork girl, who was very friendly and chatty. The Monster thought we could have been sitting on the canal in Dublin - we were over looking the Avon river, and the weather was certainly like a summer day in the home country! We also spotted out first Irish pub today - called the Bog! delightful. After lunch we popped into the aquarium and kiwi house in Cathedral square. they had a lovely selection of native fish, although the poor things looked very squeezed in. I was disappointed that I didn't get to see the tuatara - a reptile with 3 eyes - but they were sleeping. We got to see the Kiwi's though. they had a pair of females. they are nocturnal so the enclosure was very dark and they are very shy. They are really awesome though, very strange looking, but beautiful. They first time we went in they were hiding in a corner, but we went in again a while later and they were stalking around in the shadows.

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.