We started the day having breakfast at the cafe while doing a load of wash. Hotel Give is more like a hostel than a hotel. Nice room but full bathrooms outside the the room that are shared. After bags packed and checked out of the hotel we put our bags in storage so we could go back to the botanical garden and boy am I glad we did! How did I miss the dahlias and roses yesterday? And we knew we wanted to walk through the conservatory and observatory since they were closed when we were there yesterday. Back to the cafe for lunch and now waiting for the Kiwi Bus Experience to arrive. We look like we will be the oldest on the bus!
All packed up the night before, we started our day early with breakfast at 7:45 at the B&B. We have had so many wonderful conversations around the breakfast table. Raylene dropped us off the airport depot in town at 8:45. A ride up to the airfield with 8 of our closest friends and into the puddle jumper. The man sitting next to the pilot before the pilot came on board joked about it being his first time flying the plane. Even though he was a New Zealander he had a NY Yankees cap on. I told him if he was a Yankee fan he could do anything! Everyone chuckled at that. It was a nice flight and the sunshine glistened on the water like diamonds.
Once in Invercargill we found out fog had delayed the flight coming in so we got some hot drinks and passed the time texting, reading and talking about possibly buying electric bikes when we get home. Around 1:30 we took off and an hour later landed in Christchurch. We ubered to Hotel Give with a very friendly driver telling us how he came to be living here. Everyone has a story if you just stop to listen. After we checked in and settled into our room we headed out across the street to the Christchurch Botanical Garden and it did not disappoint. Tired from our plane rides and walking the garden we headed back to the restaurant in the hotel called Duo. Delicious food. We’re now calling it an early night, that was a really good day!
Nancy Lee Carlson
