Christchurch, NZ

Boisterous Bella.

Our adventure through Arthur's Pass was underwhelming. Low cloud and light rain made the views unremarkable. A short walk and a hot pie were about the highlight of the trip as we rolled through the plains and down to Christchurch.

Bellas yelps could be heard from Auckland. Her deafening squeals and energetic crotch punches haven't relented with age, nor has her demand for attention. She welcomed us to Hamish and Kasias home where we set up for a quick work power hour, followed by a few beers and a delicious lasagna. We had been joined by Alastair who managed to squeeze us in between setting up for a wedding and a cocktail party. Thanks Al.

Saturday involved a brisk visit to the local markets, an expensive spell in Torpedo7, a delightful salami sandwich, a lime scooter tour of the CBD (thanks Kasia), an informative visit to Quake City museum, and dinner at H&Ks local favourite - the Laboratory - where the flirtatious Bella stole the show again.

Sunday started slowly but we managed a relatively uneventful visit to Lyttleton, which included a genie lamp and a towball fiasco in the bunnings carpark, all while Kasia "played" soccer. Regrettably, we did not get sausages.

Mcleans park hosted us that afternoon, with some loopy rolly mtb trails, which was ultimately a serious workout - big hamo tapping out first arguably for ice cream over true fatigue.

Dinner was the filling in Sunday's icecream sandwich. Roast lamb and Annys potatoes- que bueno!!

We worked the morning out of Monday, said our goodbyes and hit the road to Timaru where we were hosted for dinner by Cat's Scottish friend's brother David and partner Alice. A lovely pair of adventurous doctors who between keeping the people of Timaru alive, appear to enjoy kayaking, hiking, skiing, cycling, collecting lamps and on occassion, running out of gas. Fed and watered (thanks guys!) we took a very dark road to Tekapo.

Thanks a bunch to the older brother, the jock and the princess for hosting!

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