When Marc first told me his plans of moving to New Zealand, the first thing I told him was that there were more sheep there than people. And when I told people of my plans to go to NZ for vacation, the first thing they told me was that there were more sheep than people. Then a couple of those people told me to watch "Black Sheep".

Damn, those sheep are cute. I almost wanted to jump out of the gondola to say hi to them.


Last year when I was in Portland, my aunt and uncle bought me these really nice pair of hiking shoes that I thought I would never ever find another use for. Oh how I was wrong. After going up on the gondola (where you can see all of Christchurch and it's thick haze of smog/fog), we did a little light hiking along the crest of the hill. I've pretty much been walking all over Christchurch in those shoes and they might make an outdoor person of me yet.







I want to take one home so I can constantly gaze at its cuteness while I make yarn out of its wool.

If my entries seem to have no rhyme or reason, that's because they don't. Too many travel stories have been ruined by itinerary-based writing. I'm pretty sure you don't want an hour by hour, day to day bullet-pointed entry about my trip.

In any case I wouldn't be able to give it to you anyway. Christchurch is so mellow and laidback, it's hard to remember what day or time it is. Yesterday, sitting in Cathedral Square, as people walked across the plaza, their long shadows followed behind them. I thought it was late afternoon but it turned out to be only 1pm.

This standing upside down plays tricks on you.

Anyway, this one's for mom.

I read or heard somewhere that the photos most often looked at are the ones with people in them. While I think that's true, it doesn't mean I enjoy being photographed, even when on vacation or to commemorate some sort of event. But for the sake of my mother, who will kill me if I come home with Kristine-less photos, I gritted my teeth and permitted myself to appear in some pictures.

So when I hand my camera to Marc to photograph me in front of some building or pretty sunset, it's always preceded by "This one's for mom."

So, do you think you can live there?

I arrived in Christchurch Sunday, after a 10 hour flight from Manila to Sydney (hence the airline meal) and a connecting flight to Christchurch. The flight was nicely uneventful except for the couple of Aussies who refused to shut the fuck up on the plane. They talked for the entire duration of the trip. Egads.

So anyway, here I am in Christchurch, enjoying my 3-week vacation from stress, heat and world events.

I've been here for almost a week and I suppose it's about time I blogged about it. Or at least gave you some photos.



Cathedral Square
It's basically the heart of Christchurch. Everything pretty much extends from it. And it's very good for people watching and pickpocketing (if there were such goings on in New Zealand).





The weather is the hardest part to adjust to. It's been hovering around 6 to 12 degrees with mostly overcast skies. But yesterday, I think I'm finally managing to deal with the cold. I only had 3 layers!

Route: Manila to Sydney
Flight: QF20 Qantas
Flight duration: 10 hours
Class: economy
Meal: Fish with sweet sauce over rice, with broccoli, a side salad of corn, tomatoes and lettuce, with a mango sago pudding, a Kitkat bar, one pan de sal with butter, crackers and cheese.
Drink: just water
Comments: The fish was alright, the broccoli was downright disgusting. The side salad was passable. The mango sago was great. And the cheese in the pack was gross. It might have been expired.
Rating (1-10): 6.5