Travelling Fast But Taking it Slow

Well, we've used the last couple days to cover some serious ground. It's amazing how far you can go by bus travel... Dunedin to Christchurch (100's of km) in only hours. We spent our time in Christchurch getting oursleves packed up and ready to fly to Australia. The bikes are now captive in a cardboard box and we don't quite know what to do with ourselves... well, actually we knew just what to do.

We took a trip to the small town of Akaroa, only an hour and a half from Christchurch, down a beautiful road along banks peninsula. Even the bus was struggling as it climbed steep, long hill after steep, long hill. We were quite clever to leave our bikes behind on this trip.

Akaroa is a quaint little French town... the only town with a real French flavor to it in NZ. There are plenty of cute cafes and small shops and of course beautiful scenery. The town is situated on the edge of an old collapsed volcano. The center of the volcano is now filled in with water from the ocean and Akaroa looks right onto the water surrounded by green hills which were once the outline of the volcano. It's a glorious view over the water.

We are staying with some friends of friends who live in a nice little house overlooking the water and the hills... as I type, I am looking through a glass wall onto calm waters, rolling hills, and blue skies. (I also have a kitty purring in my lap! Life is good). We spent yesterday exploring town and seeing a few of the historical sites left by the french settlers of the 1800's. Our hosts told us all the spots we should go see. Along our sightseeing journey, we met the young dutch couple and an older gentleman from Australia whom we had seen on the Routeburn. The older gentleman was glad to see us because apparently he had been telling his wife about the American girls hiking in running shoes who slept out in the woods and drank lots of water to wake themselves up... and now he had a chance to introduce us to her!

For the rest of the afternoon, we walked through some wooded paths, took a nap in the park, and a short jog out to an old Mauri church. Then our hosts made us a homecooked meal... something we have been dreaming of for ages now! It was delicious! We then did the dishes (a small token to show our immense gratitude), read a bit while looking out to the bay below, and went to bed early.

Back to Christchurch today so that we can head out at 4am tomorrow to catch our 6am flight. Yikes!