Located on the Eastern side of the South Island, Canterbury is the largest region in NZ (by area). Here you will find flat grassy plains, brilliant blue lakes & snow capped mountains. With Christchurch, NZ’s 3rd largest city, Kaikoura with its abundant marine life, Aoraki Mount Cook National Park and much more, you will find there is plenty of beauty and many adventures to be had in this region.
24 HOURS IN THE GARDEN CITY
It was a bit of a whirlwind trip, but last week, my mum and I spent just over 24 hours in the Garden City. I thought there might be delays to the flight due to the weather in Wellington, but we managed to miss the thunder storm and touched down in Christchurch around 9:30am. Continue reading here.
A WEEKEND IN AKAROA
It started with a birthday wish. Daniel’s grandma was celebrating her 80th birthday and wanted to do a nature cruise in Akaroa. In the weeks leading up to it, we weren’t sure it would go ahead. Omicron had raised its ugly head and case numbers were skyrocketing. Continue reading here.
SEARCHING FOR STARS IN TEKAPO
We have one more night of our holiday but instead of spending it in Geraldine, we pick up Daniel’s Grandmother and head to Lake Tekapo. Tekapo is one of Aotearoa’s dark sky reserves. Continue reading here.
A LITTLE OLDE COUNTRY TOWN CALLED GERALDINE
It’s perfect weather for flying and I am excited to be heading away on this trip with the extended family. My in-laws, sister in-laws, brother in-laws and nieces and nephews. All 13 of us on the same flight. We are heading to Geraldine in South Canterbury for a wedding. Continue reading here.
COASTAL PACIFIC TRAIN
A train. 6 hours and 350km.
Today we are making our way from Christchurch to Blenheim on the Coastal Pacific Train. It’s still dark when we depart Christchurch. I will be able to watch the sun come up.
PUNTING ON THE AVON
It’s a cool, crisp morning as we head out across the road to an art memorial. It’s known as 185 Empty Chairs. 185 different chairs, spread out across what used to be the floor of St. Luke’s Church.
THE GARDEN CITY
The engine begins whirring and the propellors spring into life. It’s a rather noisy plane, we are on a little ATR 72-600 on our way to Christchurch. It’s a morning departure, 8am. It’s a beautiful time to fly. The colours in the sky are soft and peachy, the clouds have golden highlights. Continue reading here.
SWIMMING WITH SEALS
It’s the final day of our trip. Tonight we will be sleeping in our own bed again with our 2 dogs snuggled up next to us in the blankets. But it’s not over yet! We have one more activity planned that I am feeling incredibly excited about (and slightly nervous) Continue reading here.
MOTORBIKING, THE BEST WAY TO TRAVEL
Today is a traveling day. No plans other than get from Geraldine to Kaikoura where we Continue reading here.
EXPLORING GERALDINE
Today is a pretty chilled day; a sleep in and then we take Daniels grandma out for lunch. Continue reading here.
DISCOVERING LAKE PUKAKI
The start of our trip was a bit touch and go for rain, Continue reading here
STUNNING LAKE TEKAPO
Day 3 and we are heading to Alexandra. It’s a bit of a grey day, no wind, but rain looks imminent. Fortunately, once we Continue reading here.
THE RIDE TO CHIRSTCHURCH
Today we heading south to Christchurch. Our focus for this trip is to spend most of our time in Central Otago and South Canterbury visiting family. Continue reading here.
Exploring the Long White Cloud 