CBD is A+

Cathedral Square
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Came down with Andre Cargill, a fellow volunteer from the ISDE.

Long 13+ hour trip from Taupo to Wellington. A Fancy and fast paced city that deserves a few days of visiting.. but, no time this trip.

We ate at at a Belgian restaurant named Leuven. Tasty Frites and even better beer. Leffe Blonde.. mmmmm...

Negotiated an extra seat on the Bluebridge Ferry from Wellington to Picton. 3AM departure was hard to make.. as we were sleeping in the parking lot of the loading dock.. but, made it onboard and went directly back to sleeping.

The Largest Chessboard in NZ
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From Picton, we drove south towards Christchurch.

The South Island is a very scenic place. The Southern Alps stretch the whole length of the island, and the Eastern routes all are within site of the sharp peaks... and in some places, you can see the sea as well.

It seems that no matter where you are on the South Island, you can do everything in less than an hour. Tough, huh??

Windsurfing, Surfing, Skiing, Tramping (Hiking), Offroad Motorcycling, 4 wheeling, you name it, you can do it here...

Christchurch Botanic Gardens is a fun day hike
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A few weeks in the South.. and then, on to Cairns on December 5th... but, I have a while to enjoy more of this area.

The walk through the Botanic Gardens, City Centre, and surrounds was fun... it isn't that hard to cover most of the city on foot in a few hours.

My fav's so far: Dimitri's Greek Food (Souvlaki was a 10) and Dux de Lux a great brewery with outdoor seating and tasty pizza. Went with Andre, Jeff (his flatmate), and only had to deal with a single jerk... from the US.. who thought that Ohio was a hole.

Little does he know.

On to Arthur's Pass via train tomorrow... and who know's for the rest of the week. Stay tuned!