Gore Bay to Christchurch

We just can't say enough about the people of New Zealand. Everyone has been really wonderful and helpful...which leads me to tell you about Sonya and Peter. Sonya is a friend of Zqwan Peterson of Juanita, WA. Zqwan hooked us up with Sonya prior to us leaving for NZ. We've never met Sonya, only e-mailed her once or twice. Our bike ride today was short and quick. We called Sonya earlier in the AM on Friday, February 8th to let her know we were heading her way. Short notice. We made it into Cathedral Square early afternoon. While Paul was playing doctor on some poor older man's knee (he took a tumble), Sonya approached Paul and I and introduced herself. She was out and about in the middle of Christchurch and found us. Actually, she works at the Ministry of Transport in the building nearby. She noticed Paul from pictures on the blog...we thought that was funny. Anyhow, she set us up for the afternoon until we could meet up with her and Peter later for a beer. Sonya and Peter offered us their spare room for the weekend. We thought that was super nice for such short notice! Thanks guys! We truly enjoyed our time in Christchurch and appreciate your hospitality! Go Obama/Clinton...whomever!



Not only does New Zealand have great people but they have a great courier system. Check out how NZ delivers their mail...cars are only used for rural areas. Smart, eh?



We spent the weekend wandering the streets of Christchurch, eating savory foods, drinking tons of beer, and visiting the Art Centre. Good times.






Sunday afternoon we headed east to South New Brighton to meet up with Sue and Brad whom we met at Gore Beach. Spent the night chatting. Great spending time with you guys! Thanks for playing host - we'll see you in the states!



Although we didn't get a picture of Eric and Al from Vancouver, WA...we did run into these guys on a regular basis. Eric and Al are probably now back in Vancouver trudging away in the 8 hour day trenches. We're thinking about the two of you and wish you were still here. It would've been fun to ride with you guys. Keep your heads up and start planning the next tour. Don't forget about creating your own micro-brew!