Christchurch, NZ

Remember the Santa Cruz post? Yep, that's right, Christchurch sucked kinda as well. We started off having problems finding a place to sleep. So after spending 1 and a half hours chasing a nice clean bed with a decent shower, we finally ended up in the local YMCA. And you know what... it IS fun to stay at the YMCA (or at least this one). The construction worker, indian, and moustached leather guy were all VERY friendly. Anyways, the place was cheap, clean, relatively central, and had a small gym.

From our new HQ, we explored the city a little and ran into a nice cathedral and got some Japanese food. However, since the city itself was a little boring, we went to the Antarctic Centre. Yep. Christchurch is the world's main gateway for Antarctic expeditions by various countries that do research there. Bet you didn't know that. The above pic is taken in this center where we both experienced a fake Antartic icestorm which was VERY cold and nasty (especially in shorts). OH, and we saw (handicapped) pinguins as well. These poor guys and gals couldn't survive anymore in the wild so the centre acts as a sanctuary first instead of attraction: Two "eco" thumbs up! As for the rest of our stay, well, we spent it laundry-ing (?) and planning for our "expedition" to Aoraki/Mt. Cook which is part of the famous NZ Southern Alps. So dress warm and come along!