…………..

Aha! In Auckland now. Domestic transfer to Christchurch. Some wonderful Maori/Pacific type faces here. Also a lot of people who look like they’re from North Shropshire. Farmer types. Ifton Mum types….. it’s drizzling and feels a bit like Anglesey. Lovely.

Exactly 48 hours from leaving Home in Oswestry we arrived  in the motel in Christchurch. The sun is shiny warmly, the birds are singing in the little back garden and there is blossom on the cherry trees. The flight was wonderful. Fantastic views of rugged snow capped mountains and isolated valleys with winding streams. I took some photos. They’re not great , but may give you a feel.

Typically for New Zealand it seems, the hotel room has a kitchenette:

Microwave, fridge, sink, tea towels. 

Room was a little cool last night, but then we discovered our electric blankets! 

The room opens onto a small private garden: 

And security is very relaxed, just an ordinary bolt on our door 

Keith was about to choose his standard ‘fish and chips’ off the menu (rarely anything else). The fish is an orange roughy. He looks it up, wondering if he’ll like this fish. He finds the uk marine conservation soc thinks it shouldn’t be eaten.

They say it’s endangered. He poo poos this, reasoning it won’t be over here.

We watch a short video from nz where a child tells us they are fish that live to be 150 years – older than your great grandfather. They live 2000 m below the sea surface.

Not a man for sentiment. He ordered it. 

And found on another website that it’s very tasty!

It was, he says, “all right. A bit bland”. 

I had pasta and salad. 

And so to bed. 

Tantrums: none. I took responsibility for (apparently) losing my boarding pass myself. 

Endangered species:

1) Seen. 0

2) eaten. 1 (k). 

Birds/animals never seen before: 0