After a blissful wedding weekend in the North, I headed down South to Christchurch. I was to spend the evening with another friend from my time at Disney!
These two ladies were lovely and the most gracious hosts!
They are also blessed to own a majestic Persian queen named Frida. I am not a cat person, but she was real cute. She showed her love and/or curiosity all night long, tenderly pawing my face. Or she hates me.
Alas, we would only spend one night together as I was leaving for my first ever Tour Group the next morning. Thankfully, my dear friend took me for a quick drive around the city and a last-minute-supply run. I forgot to get a converter at the airport. This is safe right? Meh, it worked like a charm.
We had lunch at the cutest cafe that could’ve been plucked straight out of Portland. Local art covered the walls, re-used industrial materials were given new life and purpose, plus, a secret bookcase door lead to the bathroom. Oh, and the bathrooms?? Depending on who you choose (Luke, Leia, Han…) you are read to while you do your business. I got to listen to a bit of Harry Potter! Let me clarify: there is not a random dude sitting on a stool reading in each bathroom. It’s a speaker people, simmer down.
This place was honestly my favorite part of Christchurch. Those tubes you see on the ceiling? They deliver fries. There’s also an old sewing machine which doubles as a water fountain. You have to run the pedal and turn the wheel. It’s hipster heaven, I know.
Another perk was a doorway that led to a video shop next store. That’s right. A good old fashioned movie rental store (and also a theater). They had categories! They were so specific and fun, plus apparently they change often. I’M MOVING TO NZ TO WORK HERE. I never wanted to leave. The only downside was this heinous thing:
This statue was so unsettling!! I didn’t notice that it wasn’t a person until I stood right next to him, and his red eyes were staring me into a pit of hell fire. Real creepy. First thing to go on my list.
As a thank you to my lovely hosts, I wanted to give them something special. I noticed they had a few original artworks hung from their friends. I decided to paint their dearest feline, Frida. She was an excellent model.
So, back to my super exciting Tour Group!! It was seven days long, covering most of the South Island. A friend recommended Haka Tours to me, having just went on a two week tour with them and loved it. Her pictures looked great, and their website was super helpful and detailed, complete with online helpers who answered any question I had, no matter how stupid.
They have a road-trip-with-your-mates approach rather than a rigid schedule of long speeches over the PA. This sounded perfect to me, so I went for it. As my first day was in Christchurch, we walked the city for a bit, funnily enough, re-visiting a few places I’d already been (including the cafe!).
Some history on Christchurch – In 2011, the city was hit with an earthquake, causing several aftershocks for months afterwards. The city was devastated, leaving an eerie skeleton behind. After five years, there is still much work to be done. Where once stood the pride of the city, Christchurch Cathedral, there are piles of rubble and unstable scaffolding.
It truly was a somber sight, but seeing how people have come together in light of what’s happened was encouraging. On many buildings were massive works of street art, making an otherwise desolated place, look beautiful.
I was joining a group of sixteen people, eleven of which had already been on tour for a week on the North island. From here we were headed to Lake Tekapo. Which is where my next post is headed!
It’s pretty much free rein for artists to paint as they please. The only rule I saw was a general request for respect and not to paint over the exceptional pieces that clearly took some serious time and talent to complete. It would have been an excellent location for Avril Lavigne’s 
At this point in the trip, we realized our painting project was getting neglected. I hadn’t attempted watercolor since grade school, so I decided to try it out with some flowers from the botanical garden.
Since my friend had to go to work, we decided to hit the road and drive as far as we could through Texas. Our next stop wasn’t until New Mexico. Everyone warned us that this would be the most miserable and boring leg of the trip. They all said Texas was big, flat, and a whole lot of nothing.
While yes, it was hot and miserable weather-wise, we enjoyed the scenery and the tiny towns we drove through. There was only one moment where we were a little uncertain…
This was by far my favorite activity so far. I’ve always loved caves, despite their tendency to house creepy crawlies. Something about being underground makes me feel cozy and safe. Weird.
My mom got out of the car and stood dumbfounded looking out over this vast scene, which to her, looked like an ocean, even though she knew it to be otherwise.
Did I mention it was paved? How cool is that? Spelunkers can’t have all the fun! It was a steady decline the whole way with an elevator at the bottom to bring you back up. OR in other words, a lazy girl’s dream. It was nice and cool down there, and quiet.
Fighting Fernweh 