Last few days in Christchurch

The last few days have been adventure packed, as we're trying to get everything done that we want before heading out of Christchurch. This weekend we are going to a music festival with Philip and Yaneck, a couple of German Friends we met at the Hostel here. After that, we're hitting the open road, heading south toward Dunedin. We're giving ourselves a week to do the 4 or 5 hour drive, so we'll have plenty of time to stop and camp along the way and check things out. Here are some highlights from our last few days here in Christchurch.

Adrenaline Forest (a.k.a. Schichopance Forest) - Monday

Adrenaline forest is a hellish nightmare for those of us who are mildly afraid of falling from heights. It starts out innocently enough, with lots of obstacles on wires just a few meters above ground (you're strapped into a harness at all times, so it's not really dangerous at any height), but then at each level, the height and difficulty increases. There are 6 levels each, with 15 or so "Challenges" between the trees for each level. The 6th level is at 20 meters above the ground... I made it through level 4, before deciding we needed pictures and so I finished there and took some photos of Faye doing level 5... Basically you make your way through the levels by navigating different tarzan ropes, high wires and wire bridges of varying difficulty and incline. The flying foxes (zip lines) were the best, and made the rest of the obstacles worth it...

Faye navigating Level 5 ... at 17 meters up!

Another Level 5 challenge...

Level 4 ... I wasn't really scared...

Hanmer Springs - Tuesday

After straining our muscles and, even more so, our nerves in Adrenaline Forest, we decided we needed a nice relaxing day. So, we packed up the car, and drove a couple of hours northwest into the mountains to some hot springs. Yaneck joined us in this adventure, and the three of us had a nice relaxing day at the springs, with a stunning drive there and back. The hotsprings were a bit of a disappointment as the company that manages them (maybe the township?) was adding on, putting a few more pools and a new waterslide in. Also, the waterslide was an extra $6. It was quite busy with the construction going on around us, but enjoyable none the less. We found that the sulphur pools were amazing at hiding foul odours...

Bridge on the way to Hanmer Springs

The Road to Hamner Springs

Port Hills Hike - Wednesday

On Wednesday, we went for a little hike. The Port Hills are hills separating Christchurch from the outlying ports. There's a tunnel through the hills to get to the port of Lyttleton, and from Lyttleton, we climbed up the hills and along the crest of them. The day was extremely hot, and the climb was tough in the sun, but it was well worth it. We caught a ride there with Francisca and once again, Yaneck came along as well. To get back to the city, we drove around the hills, through Sumner and back into the city. All in all, another gorgeous day.

All of us above the port town of Lyttleton