The South Island of New Zealand

Since our flight to Christchurch, NZ didn't leave until midnight on Tuesday, we had a full day to spend in Melbourne. We checked out the Victoria State Library, a WWI memorial, and just walked around the CBD and grabbed some lunch and drinks. We got an uber to the airport around 8ish. The flight to Christchurch was about 3 hours, so with the 2 hour time change, we arrived very sleepy at 5am. Thankfully, we thought ahead and booked a hostel room for that "night" and got a few hours of sleep in. Around 10am we took a tram ride around the small town of Christchurch. The city was hit with back to back earthquakes in 2010 and 2011, so a lot of the city is still being rebuilt. There wasn't too much to see or do in Christchurch, but we were able to walk around the botanical gardens and eat at an amazing restaurant called Strawberry Fare that our cab driver recommended to us. We all agreed it was by far the best meal we had had so far. And the dessert was out of this world. 

Thursday morning we rented a car and drove a quick 30 minutes to the small town of Rangiora, where we stayed in a Bed & Breakfast on a tiny vineyard. We had lunch in town at a brewery and then grabbed some crackers, cheese, and other snacks to have for dinner with the  wine from the vineyard. They only make Pinot Gris, so we easily finished off a few bottles of that at dinner. 

Friday, we set out on a 3 hour drive to Lake Tekapo. Korie was the brave soul to volunteer tackling driving on the opposite side of the road first. She quickly got the hang of it!

Saturday, we drove another 3 hours south to Queenstown. The drive through the mountains was absolutely beautiful. We stopped for some pics at Lake Pukaki. 

We arrived in Queenstown and walked around the town for a bit before heading to the Gondola. The views were out of this world. Korie and I already agreed that we will be going back to Queenstown! Thankfully, they have a direct flight from Melbourne. Two days there is not nearly enough. 

We did the luge down the mountain too!

That night, Korie and I went out to explore the Queenstown nightlife. Our taxi driver recommended a bar called "Cowboys" and I felt so at home! There was a longhorn on the wall, saddles for barstools, and a huge country theme. We ended up meeting the Melbourne Footie Team (not initially knowing who they were...turns out they're pretty popular back in Melbourne). We taught them how to properly play Shuffle Board and asked if they would be our friends when we returned to Melbourne. Here's hoping! 

Sunday was a relaxed day. It rained a bit so we slept in and enjoyed the views from the house we rented. I went for a run and we cooked some dinner before catching a movie on tv. 

Today we are making the 6 hour drive back to Christchurch before we fly out in the morning to head to the north island for a week. I'm going to give Korie a break and attempt driving! Pray for me.