Back in Christchurch

I'm back in Christchurch, which means I've now completed a loop of the South Island, since Christchurch is where I started in New Zealand. Tomorrow I fly to Wellington, which is on the North Island, so today is my last day on the South Island. I can't believe I only have one more week, the last two weeks in New Zealand have gone by so fast.

On Saturday, I left Queenstown on the bus and headed to Dunedin. I was kinda sad to leave Queenstown, as I really liked it. Dunedin was settled by the Scottish, so there is a lot of cool architecture, lots of stone buildings, and quite a few old churches. I stayed two nights in Dunedin, so I had a whole day to explore. I stayed at the Leviathan Hotel, and there was a rugby team staying in the hostel part of the hotel, so they gave us all rooms in the hotel part. It was wonderful! I had my own room, my own bathroom (which was in the room and not down the hall), and my own TV. On Saturday afternoon, I went on the Elm Wildlife Tour, and we saw fur seals, sea lions, and penguins. The penguins were the reason I wanted to go, and we saw two kinds, Yellow-eyed Penguins, and Blue Penguins. The Blue Penguins were all in nests, so we didn't get to see them outside, but the Yellow-eyed Penguins we got to see walk out of the water and across the beach. They are so cute when they move! My favorite part was when they would jump over stuff.

On Sunday, I walked around, and took pictures of several churches, and of the Railway Station, which is the second most photographed building in the Southern Hemisphere. I also went on a tour of the Cadbury Chocolate Factory. The Factory was closed, as it was a weekend, but we still were able to see the factory, and we got free chocolate.

Monday I took the bus from Dunedin to Lake Tekapo. Along the way we stopped at the Moerak Boulders. I've seen a lot of beaches and rock formations on the trip, so seeing another wasn't all that exciting. The Moeraki Boulders and completely round, and that's what makes them unique, so they were a little bit interesting to see. I am getting really spoiled about beaches though, when going to a beach doesn't excite me anymore. Lake Tekapo is a really really small town, with not a lot to do. We stayed at the Lakeside Hostel, which had some great views of the lake, and we had a BBQ with the people on the bus.

Today, Tuesday, I took the bus back to Christchurch. The weather again is really nice and warm. It's always nice to be back to a city you've been to previously, because even though you don't really know the city, it's nice to have your bearings a little bit, and feel like you know where you are going after being in strange cities for so long.