Christchurch

"Basketball Man"
Paulo, my Swiss friend

Kea about to raid the local cafe

View from *halfway* up avalanche peak

Kea drinking water

I seemed to have arrived in Christchurch at the right time. Tomorrow is Waitangi Day, a big national holiday celebrating the Treaty of Waitangi (which I believe was a peace treaty between the Europeans and the Maori) and the celebrations are a bit like our Independence Day. There was music all day in Cathedral Square in the center of the city and some performing acts as well. I assume there will be the same tomorrow and I know there are some things going on at the art museum. The whole square had a good vibe, with people playing chess outside using enormous chess pieces. One of the highlights today was "Basketball Man." He was one of the first black people I've seen here, and his whole act more or less followed racial stereotypes - I guess a black basketball player is a novelty here. At one point, he was dribbling 5 basketballs at once - funny stuff. Tonight I'm going to hear the Christchurch Symphony give a concert in the park followed by fireworks - again, I stumbled upon all this by chance so I'm very happy that it worked out so well!

Tomorrow I might go out to the beach in addition to catching Waitangi Day festivities. The weather is good here, although the winds out of the East off the Pacific are strong and keep it pretty cool in town (~70-75).

I really don't like the big city hostels here, but at least I have a room to myself. A lot of the people at the hostel are off the party buses and really pretty obnoxious. It's a completely different atmosphere from the hostels frequented by trampers where everyone is really friendly. That said, I'll be heading down to Te Anau, a tramping town, on Saturday (NZ time) and pitching a tent in a holiday park/hostel right on the lake, which should be a nicer atmosphere. I've saved so much money by carrying a tent. I'll be paying 15$ NZ (~8 US) a night to pitch the tent at the hostel whereas it's 30$ for a dorm bed, and I still get the same services and no one snoring next to me.

-Brian