Christchurch

Once the Contiki trip was over, I was riding solo again.

First up, I had to find some accomodations. I headed to the information center, and found a street with many hostels. I started crusing around town until I found one with an open bed. It was an 8-person dorm. The first people I met inside were Sweedish twins. I kid you not.

The next few days were spent with looking around Christchurch, figuring out future travel plans, and keeping in touch with people back home. I've also had to change travel styles (travelling is a lot different off the Contiki bus). The $6 chicken curry dinner has become my best friend. Much of the day is a search for good eats at even better prices. Happy hours are visited for frequently because for once, I finally have the time!

(The river running through Christchurch with lots of parks and punting. Reminded me of Oxford)

I was able to meet up with a friend from Queen's (Doug) and his older brother . I randomly saw them walking by the bar one night. I also met up with a friend from elementary and high school (Ryan Hand).

(Ryan Hand and I enjoying some pool and a beer tower)

In the hostels, I've met up with a lot of random people from all over the world. I was with a couple of hilarious guys from Sweeden who partied hard and had tons of stories about football (soccer) from back home. Also met up with a guy from Niagra Falls who's over in Australia teaching.

(Hanging out with the hostel folks. Will from Niagra Falls, David from France, Erin from New Jersey, and Ryan)

GOING SURFING
On Sunday, Doug, Dan, Ryan, and I headed to Sumner Beach to give surfing a go. Doug and Dan had done it before, so they were able to get up pretty easily. We got some lessons, and they definitly helped the learning curve. I was able to get up once and it was a pretty wild ride. However, the conditions were less than ideal, so I had to settle for a pretty slow first day. It was fun just hanging out in the surf anyways, and acting like a surfer while carrying a board.

(Dan, Doug, and Ryan heading out for some more surf on Sumner Beach)

After the surf sessions, we headed to a really greasy restaurant, where all they surved was deep fried stuff. I order a deep fried Mars Bar (yes, you read that correctly). They can deep fry anything. It was very tastey, but gave me deep heart burn.

We also watched a surf competition for a while. During it, there was an interfearance call on a surfer, and I saw one of the parents go nuts. Somethings never change between countries.

(the beach at Sumner has tons of cool caves. But you gotta watch for the flash tides coming in VERY quickly. Luckily there was a back exit as Ryan escaped a potentially bad situation).

SUPER BOWL 'MONDAY'
Super Bowl Sunday is actually Super Bowl Monday morning on this side of the planet. A bunch of us headed to the "Holy Grail" to watch the game (it started at noon). The bar had amazing set-up, as it was built with stadium seating, facing a giant 20 foot HD screen on the wall. It was a pretty cool atmosphere, as it was the first time in a month that I felt like I was back in North America.

The game ended around 4:00pm, and we were blinded by the sun coming out of the bar. Since we were a couple of beers deep, we knew we would fall asleep unless we kept the party going... so we ended up having a very long day. We went back to the hostel, and a spontaneous jam session erupted on the patio. A couple of guitars and singers provided some good listening. The night ended with us at a 'drum and base' club that night. A DJ plays electronic beats, while a second guy plays the saxophone. A third guy was providing vocals (kind of like hip hop, but a lot faster). It was an awesome combination.

GETTING READY TO TRAMP
Ryan and I have decided to do some tramps (New Zealand calls hiking, tramping). So we made a huge list of things we needed and went out for a monster shop in Christchurch. There are about 8 outdoors stores, so needless to say I was in heaven. But still no store which can compete with MEC for quality and price. Its been a lot of fun planning hikes and getting gear in a foreign country.