Rainy Christchurch!

We've arrived in the beautiful city of Christchurch - at least I think it would be beautiful if it wasn't doing such a fabulous impression of a water mister. Our hotel is only a few minutes walk from downtown, and many of the buildings are constructed of beautiful old stone. The centre of the city also has lots of garden spaces, though we managed to walk right through the city centre and out into suburbia (with big box stores) in a mere half hour on our first tour through.

Yesterday I made the mistake of agreeing when Maria suggested we go up the Sky City Tower in Auckland. It is built along the same lines as the CN Tower; and this should have been my first hint that I would have trouble with the height. Foolishly, I thought I'd be okay since I wouldn't actually have to go to the edge of the observatory. Unfortunately, the glass in the floor and walls of the elevator gave me my first chance to freak out, and while the observatory deck was better, it was not good. Poor Maria; I think she could have spent hours up there enjoying the view; but I dragged her back down within 15 minutes.

Tomorrow we are off for our second full-day horse trek. Maria and I are both looking forward to it, but I hope it isn't raining!