trip to the south island {christchurch}

The last 5 days of our trip to the south island we spent in Christchurch. Christchurch is a beautiful city, but is recovering from an earthquake that struck about a year ago. It was sad and humbling to see the city damaged and not yet rebuilt. I spoke with some native New Zealanders about it, and they explained that the city may remain that way for some time because they don't have the funds to rebuild it. Homes have been abandoned, the city center is now a ghost town, and roads are permanently blocked off. Yet the people there are wonderfully kind and parts of the town that remain standing are as gorgeous as ever.

DAY ONE: This day was spent entirely in the car. The drive from Queenstown to Christchurch was 8 hours and we were all stuffed into vans. I've gotten really, really good at sitting in cars. I weirdly love it. We had no radio and I didn't listen to my ipod. And I didn't sleep! (my family would be completely shocked to hear that). We just chatted. And when you're in New Zealand, you can look out the window for hours without getting bored. It's like looking at heaven.

When we got to our motel I was stoked because they were more like apartments! We had 7 girls altogether, 2 stories, and a kitchen. Which meant that we could get our own groceries. . .which meant that I could get ice cream :):)

some pictures taken from the car

DAY TWO: Sunday was fast Sunday and we went to the Christchurch ward. Everyone was so welcoming and I even met a couple that is from Seattle! They live in Seattle during the summer and come to New Zealand for the winter. Sounds like the life! To break our fast we had a massive spaghetti feast and tim tam slams. ohhh baby. I was in heaven. I ate so much I thought I would never eat anything again.

DAY THREE: Today was "trip to the museum" day!! Normally I'm not a huge fan of museums, but we spent over three hours looking around.

Afterwards we went to the church building to play volleyball. It was the missionary's P-day and they invited us to come play along with the YSA. And I guess the YSA inlcudes everyone ages 6 to 60, because everyone and their dog was there. No joke. And they are so good!! I love NZ volleyball :)

laughed so hard when I saw this picture - complete accident!

I think there's supposed to be an "s" in there. . .

World of Wearable Art

perfect! I've been looking for a cockroach bra

couldn't help myself

DAY FOUR: Visit to castle rock! It looks like a volcano spewed giant rocks that just landed in the middle of a field. And most importantly. . . it's part of Narnia! Afterwards we went hiking through a cave - so cool! We bought baby key chain flashlights at K Mart and thankfully they did the trick. The water was above our waists at some points and there was even waterfalls inside of the cave.

me compared to the rock

ready to hike the caves!

with Tiare (the director's daughter) and Kirsten

I was Tiare's personal cave guide and sweatshirt holder

DAY FIVE: Got on the plane and flew home :( Oh and here is the flight safety video for Air New Zealand. Slightly disturbing, but I crack up every single time (yes, it's real!!)