Scrumming and Rock Clicking

Ah, how time flies. Last night I had a horrible dream that it was July 1st, I was on my way back to the states, and I had done nothing in New Zealand. But thankfully it is only March 9.

This weekend was a lot more laid back than I had hoped. But it was enjoyable non the less. Friday was suppose to be a beach day, but it turned into an outdoor shopping extravaganza! Pretty much everything in every store had some sort of discount. It was awesome and necessary because I realized that I came to NZ very under-equipped for the weather during tramping. But do not fear, I am slightly more prepared now :)

Saturday turned into Damon and I walking around Christchurch, price shopping for a Ukulele. And let me just say that she is a beautiful ukulele indeed. I went for the mid-range uke. Bottom range are pretty cheesy looking, but mine, she is different. A very nice wood with a natural finish and a little inlay in the neck. Love.

I suppose that because I just included a picture of my new found love, I should also include some pictures of my room. And perhaps my flat as well?

By the way, new favorite food is as follows. Also note that if given the choice to only eat one food for the rest of my life, this would be it. I have yet to name this culinary delight, but I am open for suggestions. Toast two pieces of bread. On one, spread honey (this honey is not the squeezable stuff, but rather solid) on the other spread chunky peanut butter. On the honey side, evenly coat with rice crispies (which are amazing in milk with brown sugar). On the peanut butter side, thickly slice a banana, and on top of that sprinkle just a touch of brown sugar.

BAM!

Best. Sandwich. Ever.

Bar none.

Okay, so continuing on. Saturday night was the Rugby game. I think that if I picked a favorite sport, this would be it. Talk about an intense sport. They don't wear helmets, the game continues even after the player gets tackled, the game keeps going, its just turns into a huge dog pile. Its just a lot of fun to watch and try to figure out. At the end, I found a flag too! They also let everyone rush the field at the end of the game to get players signatures, how awesome! I tried to get my new flag signed, but those darn little kids are just so good at sliding in between you and the player! Darn you tiny kiwis!

So we woke up in pretty good time Sunday to head out and catch "The French Connection" to Akaroa. We jumped on the bus and away we went. Our first stop on the way there was on this really cool beach made up of what looked like river pebbles. The swells and waves were enormous! It was so dangerous that there was no swimming or surfing allowed. Understood by me for sure. Our second stop was at the top of the surrounding 'hills' looking down onto the bay and Akaora. It was a beautiful site :) Then on the way down we stopped at a cheese factory. This was awesome. Unfortunatly we couldn't see them actually make the cheese because that day was an off day when they were cleaning. But I got to try cheese curds and squeaky cheese! I bought a bag and it was awesome on my pasta that I had later.

Nicole, Kelsey, Megan, Damon and I met up with Emily and Juli who had come up the day before. The plan was to explore then take a kayak ride to hopefully see Hector's Dolphins which are really tiny rare dolphins that are really only around this area. Fingers crossed for my first native mammal experience!

The town used to be a French settlement, so it all had a really frenchy feel as you can imagine. It was pretty touristy with a lot of little shops. But we had a lot of fun looking around. After lunch we walked down to Child's Bay area and we rented some kayaks and away we went into th harbor! The guy who rented us the boats told us to click rocks under water to attract the dolphin's attention. It was a perfect day, maybe a touch to windy, but overall beautiful! We explored some covey areas, clicking rocks all the way. But the most I saw was a couple birds and some generic fish :/ After that, we had about an hour until the bus came to pick us up, so we walked to the lighthouse at the other end of town.

Bus ride back = me sleeping.

But that night Damon Emily and I went to the last night of the lantern festival! It was really cool, there were performers and of course oodles of beautiful lanterns.

Click here for more pictures!