Waikuku

We are now renting a little cottage just one minute walk to the beautiful Waikuku beach. It's about 30 minutes to Christchurch. The beach seems to go on forever and it's always empty! A nice place to spend our last few weeks in New Zealand.

Ben Lomond & Rob Roy Glacier

 View from Ben Lomond

 Rob Roy Glacier

On Thursday I walked up Ben Lomond (Ben means mountain in Scottish Gaelic). It was a stunning day with great views. On Sunday we went back to Mt. Aspiring National park and walked up to Rob Roy glacier. We had great views of the glacier and could hear avalanches on it while we ate our lunch. Luckily we were safely on the other side of the valley!

Aspiring Hut

On Sunday we went for a day walk in Mt. Aspiring National park up to Aspiring hut. We had some great views of some of the surrounding glaciers- beautiful!

Bannockburn

 View from the house

 Looking back towards the house from the other side of the lake

North Otago Golf Club (by Kakanui)

We moved in with our friend Chantal a few days ago in the town of Bannockburn. It's so much hotter here than it was in Kakanui- at least 5 C warmer, with no wind- and nice dry air. Our laundry actually dries in a few hours- instead of in 3 days! Chantal's house overlooks an arm of the Kawarau river, which is much like a lake, and it looks nice for swimming. Before we left Kakanui, Brad got a round of golf in at the bigger golf club there. It was pretty spectacular for $30!

Kayak Surfing

Summer is officially over and it's now autumn. The weather is definitely a little cooler already. Surfing the waves in a kayak is a warmer alternative than regular surfing since I can wear a spray jacket, my legs don't get wet, and I can wear a cap under my helmet. This evening we saw someone kayaking in the surf with a Hector dolphin right next to him, playing in the waves with him! Apparently they like to do that sometimes. (Unfortunately it was a little too chilly for me!)

Surfing and Surf Casting

There is supposedly some good surf casting fishing- and we've seen people catch fish, but we been out four times already and haven't had any luck yet. We've also been out surfing to Campbell's bay beach a few times- it's a great spot!

Kakanui

 View from the house

 Collecting mussels

Last Saturday we moved from Christchurch to a small coastal town next to Oamaru called Kakanui where we will stay for one month. The town consists mostly of holiday houses, and the one we are staying in sits near the mouth of the Kakanui river where it empties into the ocean. There is an awesome surf beach around the corner. Yesterday, while surf casting, we had a Hector's dolphin come up to us within just a couple meters!

Akaroa Wedding

Cruise ship in the Akaroa harbour. 

Because of it the town was much busier than normal!

This weekend our friends got married in the quaint town of Akaroa, 1 hour from Christchurch. It was beautiful- with the best food we've ever had at a wedding!

Auckland

 The Harbour

Sky City Tower

This past weekend we went to Auckland for a big concert and to explore the area because we haven't spent much time there yet. Unfortunately I had the flu so we didn't get out to some of the nearby islands that we wanted to get to- but we had a spectacular time at the concert and still got to see some of the city.

"Fairlie" good New Years

For New Year's Eve we went to Fairlie- a small town 2.5 hours southwest of Christchurch. There isn't a whole lot to do in Fairlie but there are a few nice lakes nearby that are actually pretty warm for swimming (a real rarity in NZ).