Gidday from down under,

Well we are finally here, I feel like it has been forever since we started our move towards our year down under here in Christchurch, New Zealand As of May 1st we have settled into a lovely house in picturesque Papanui, Christchurch. Christchurch is a town/city of about 400,000 people but everything is only 15mins, on the middle of the South Island’s East coast. The snow capped peaks are to our West (yes, it’s the start of winter down here) and the ocean is to our east about 10 mins. It is a very English city with beautiful gardens and architecture, wonderful schools which the kids are really enjoying and plenty of outdoor activities much like Boulder, Co. It has been a pretty painless move.

Today we took a hike up around the Hills from Taylors Mistake to Godley Head, a huge hiking and mountain biking area. The views were brilliant, visibility unlimited, sunny and calm, a few sheep here and there. We could see for miles up and down the coast, the ocean was a wonderful blue green and crystal clear. At the same time you could see the Southern Alps covered with snow. It doesn’t get much better than that. It’s hard to get a work out when all you want to do is stop and take in the scenery! In contrast last week we hiked in the bush up on Victoria’s Park to the Sign of the Kiwi, gorgeous green and lush native bush and birds urging us along the moss covered trails to a lovely little cafe at the Sign of the Kiwi. Of course you have to have a break for tea!

It’s great to watch a bit of rugby again too, the All blacks play Ireland today and we are off to see the local Canterbury Tactix netball team next weekend in the ANZ Championships.

The one thing we have noticed in New Zealand is the amount of junk mail we DON’T get. More on that later.

Cheerio,
Margot