Diary 3rd January 2001 & Images
Christchurch, New Zealand.

Although only about the size of Great Britain, New Zealand is home to snow-capped alps, deep-cut fiords dotted with beautiful islets, luxuriant rainforests, river-braided lowlands, active volcanoes, gushing hot springs and glorious unspoilt beaches. You'll see an endless variety of unique flora and fauna, and everywhere the presence of Maori culture and tradition.

There was nothing very much to look at as we crossed the Tasman Sea so I spent most of the journey sleeping. It was fortunate that I woke up as we were approaching New Zealand. The scenery as I looked through the window was absolutely fantastic.	The southern Alps, capped with ice, could be seen just beyond and narrow belt of cloud. They'd been covered by a recent shower of snow and stood proud above the clouds as we approached the island.	As the plane travelled on, the clouds passed by underneath and the ice capped mountains made a stunning view.
So clear was the view that I could see right to the bottom of the valleys and the glacial rivers that flowed therein.	I was greatly impressed by the extravagance of the panoramic vista which was absolutely magnificent and extended as far as the eye could see.	Some of the river beds were almost dry whilst others had this strange blue liquid running through them. I had never seen water this colour before
This is what's known is a braided river. The water runs over a wide area and the river bed is exposed giving this braided pattern.	The rivers flow into the low-lying areas and form big lakes.	Leaving the mountains behind we came over the Canterbury plain.
At this point it was like a gigantic patchwork quilt spreading out from a central hub	Crossing the island we approached Canterbury and here the fields became more green and fertile looking.	Outside Christchurch airport

I was surprised to find a man holding a card with my name on it when I emerged from the customs clearance at the airport. I went over and shook his hand and said, "I expected to meet someone at the motorbike office as that's what Stefan instructed me to do. Thank you very much for coming out to meet me."
He introduced himself, "Hello Iain, my name's Gordon. Well I thought it would be a lot easier for you if I met you have the airport and take you directly to your B&B. Unfortunately I didn't have the flight number so I wasn't sure what time you would be arriving."
"Oh I'm sorry about that. I didn't think to give it to Stefan as I wasn't expecting to the met. Have you been waiting long?" I asked.

He was a very pleasant fellow indeed and explained the situation as we drove into the city. What a fabulously beautiful country this is. I am very much looking forward to exploring the island. At the hotel I put my bags into my room and returned with Gordon to his office.

After he went through the paperwork and gave me my itinerary I asked him about an ISP and he looked up the telephone number of the main telephone company, gave me the telephone and left me to sort everything out during the next half-hour. I managed to secure a deal of ten-hour for $10 per month then $2 for each extra hour used.

I left the city NZ Motorcycle Rental office and walked to the tourist information office to get some brochures about places I was likely to visit and then took a leisurely walk back to the Riverview Lodge.

In the evening I went into the city centre. Then I wandered around looking at the shops and feeling hungry I went into a restaurant. It turned out to be very busy but worth the wait as I got a fantastically large, deliciously cooked and presented whole sole. I had sat drinking and chatting to other clients for wait three-quarters of an hour whilst waiting for a table. Feeling well satisfied and having finished my meal I paid my bill and asked the waitress about gay bars. Surprisingly she gave me a list of three or four. I set off and found the Ministry which was the first one on her list and from there was given directions to the Menfriends sex club/sauna where I went at 2300. The entrance fee was $14 just a little over £4 and I had a very enjoyable 75 minutes inside before taking a taxi back to the for the Riverview Lodge.