Christchurch - Mt. Cook

Hi everybody,

Just a quick update:

Yesterday we spent most of the day stocking up on supplies (about $300 NZ in food (yikes!)) and getting our food and equipment organized for traveling...pretty uneventful, it was pouring rain so it was a perfect day to spend organizing.

Today was much more interesting. We left Christchurch (we are both happy to get out of the city, neither of us are really city-lovers) and drove to Mt. Cook Village (about 320km). This was our first experience on NZ highways and it was a really fun drive. The roads are quite hilly and windy, and it is rare if you can see more than 250m ahead; quite a contrast to Alberta's highways. Even though it was overcast and a bit foggy in places, the scenery was really beautiful: rolling hills, green pastures, rivers, streams and waterfalls, and, of course, plenty of sheep (there were also a lot of cows). We stopped to eat lunch at Lake Tekapo, a beautiful turquoise lake, and then continued on to Mt. Cook Village. We are staying at a hostel in the village at the base of Mt. Cook, the highest peak in New Zealand. As it is cloudy right now, I haven't really seen said mountain, but the valley here is beautiful nonetheless. It has been raining for a few days here, so it seems like everyone at the hostel has cabin fever. Tomorrow morning we plan to brave the rain and do a one-hour hike to Kea point, which is supposed to give great views of Mt. Cook. After the hike, we are going to head to Queenstown for two nights before we embark on our first tramp.

I am sure that everyone is much more interested in Jay's pictures from Christchurch, so ta-ta for now,

Erin