Around the World in 34 Days

Update time again. Cathy here, as we sit in Ann V's house having had yet another delicious home cooked meal. You really do get fed up of eating out eventually. After our last update from Franz Joseph we made up to Hokitika, an odd little town. In the gold rush days it was one of the biggest towns on the West coast, and it did have a slightly ghost town feel - that it was once a much more bustling place. I found a strange little cinema showing a film I had wanted to see for a while (this year's foreign Language Oscar winner, The Lives of Others, complete with German subtitles.) Unsurprisingly, Lou and Jordana didn't fancy it, so I went on my own, in fact it was just me and the projectionist bloke. Meanwhile, Louise and Jordana hit the chippy for fish and chips.
The following day was a real highlight for us all! We went to Bonz and Stonz, a place where you can design and carve your own jade. I had a design in mind (Xena's chakram, circa season 5 and 6 for the Xena fans!) while Louise went for a couple of animal designs - an adorable kiwi and a cute dolphin. Jordana's was a spiral design pendant. Basically we spent the whole day working with power tools, grinding, cutting, shaping and polishing our jade. I managed to grind down my fingernails while I was at it too! It was tremendously good fun, and to have a piece of jewellery that you made yourself to take away with you was just so cool. Louise's animals looked brilliant, Jordana's pendant extremely professional, my chakram was a little wonky however.. ah well, it was fabulous fun. Anyone getting the chance to do something like this, should definitely take the opportunity. Our instructor Steve was very laid back and cool, and quite frankly we were amazed it only cost us $85 (less than 40 quid for a whole day's entertainment including tea and biscuits!)
The next day we headed out for Christchurch, crossing the southern Alps at Arthur's Pass where we were amused by a cheeky Kea (NZ alpine parrot) pecking away at people's windscreen wipers. The weather cleared up as soon as we left the west coast, and the road was very dramatic and beautiful. I'll upload some more pictures soon. Ann and Gary's internet connection isn't quite up to photo uploads I think, so no new pictures today.
Anyway, we arrived in Christchurch yesterday, and it has been great seeing Ann and Gary, and we are all completely besotted with the adorable Erin! I am not sure who is the more entertained; us by Erin, or Erin by the strange English people.
Today we went to the Antarctic Centre where we saw real live penguins much to Jordana's delight. We had a ride on the Hagglund - the all terrain vehicles they use in the Antarctic. Tomorrow we are hoping to see Kiwis (the birds) and maybe even another Maori cultural show for me! Ann says to say hello to all the Good Shepherd people by the way.