Published Oct 2, 2009
I’ve been bad about blogging. Very, very bad. For about the last year. I know, I’m sorry, please come back gentle readers; I plan to post a lot more now. You see, at first I didn’t feel like I had much of anything to say; then my inspiration came back, but it was joined by a new business and, most of all, by being engaged. And, if you want to find an excuse to give up all your hobbies and free time, let me tell you, getting married is it. DJ L’il Bit — now, I guess, Mrs. DJ L’il Bit! — and I spent a quick 18 weeks planning two weddings, and then we got married, and now we’re on our honeymoon, and finally I have time to say something in. So, let me say: ha-ha, I’m in New Zealand and you’re not!
Actually, let me say that we’d love to have all of our friends join us here to have fun together.1 But, since you can’t actually be here, I’ll tell you all about our travels and maybe even throw in a few photos here2 so that you can see what we saw.
First of all, there was the flight across the Pacific. Eleven hours with nothing to do but relax — the first time since the engagement, at least. We flew Air New Zealand, which is supposed to be a pretty awesome airline to fly on for long-haul trips. I wouldn’t know, because I pretty much slept the whole way there; Mrs. DJ L’il Bit slept somewhat less and sure seemed to enjoy the on-demand movies and the meals, plus the big bottle of water they let her refill throughout the flight.
Our first stop in New Zealand was Christchurch, a lovely town on the South Island:
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In Christchurch, we stayed in the midst of the city center at the charming Hotel So. Sure, it offers small rooms, but the amenities — including a great restaurant, a gym, and laundry — are just what we need. Here’s our space:
After tucking Mrs. DJ L’il Bit in, I set out to explore town a little bit. There’s a lot to do in Christchurch, but we’re here for only a day (we’ll be back later!). I decided my first stop needed to be the famous Anglican Cathedral for which the city is named — when settled, Christchurch was supposed to be a back-to-the-true-religion new home for Anglican true believers.
Ahh, there’s always construction in the way, eh? But at least with my friend Vance’s generous lend of a wide-angle 10-22 zoom it’s easy to get the whole thing in the shot!
Inside, I tried out my brand-new Sigma 18-50 zoom. It turned out pretty good:
Now, the Anglican Cathedral was in the center of Christchurch, and in fact the whole city was planned around it. In contrast, the Catholic Cathedral was put at what were, at the city’s founding, the outskirts of town. Nonetheless, I walked the 12 minutes there:
Along the way, I got to see some great architecture — it’s really a beautiful city:
Then, after some relaxation in the adorable hotel room, it was down to the restaurant for $10 fish and chips dinners. Even a short wait to get the food — nothing in New Zealand is fast by American standards, so far, and that’s fine — was no problem. And they let us take drinks back up to our rooms!
Tomorrow: our drive up to Kaikoura and the Hapuku Lodge. Meanwhile, see all my photos of Christchurch here.
1 Not true. Please leave us alone.
2 Also not true. I like taking photos. A lot. The whole point for me is the photos. So, really, I should say “let me show you some photos and I’ll even throw in some text here to keep the photos from touching.”
3 Yes, I saw the Start menu.
Is it just my imagination, or does footnote 3 not have an anchor anywhere in the text?
NZ looks fantastic. Try not to get eaten by orcs, trolls, or giant spiders! (Ref.)
Yeah, I had a bit of a diatribe about the Air NZ in-flight entertainment system, which is clearly Windows CE based, and veeerrrry slow, but, then, I realized it didn’t matter! I had a great flight. And that paragraph was boring. So I cut it.
I’ll watch for Black Riders too.