Monday, 21 February and Tuesday, 22 February

We had got behind with our blog because we were either travelling or out and about most of yesterday.

Obviously the terrible news of the earthquake in Christchurch has very much overshadowed our afternoon and evening. We have heard that Georgia and Alex are safe although they were in the centre of Chch and had to shelter in a doorway. We can't believe what we are seeing on the TV and hearing. We were there only 3 days ago and our hotel, now damaged, was at the side of Hagley Park and only a few streets from the city centre. From it we could see the marquees being set up for a forthcoming flower show which are now being used for people to sleep in overnight.

We had commented on what a lovely, vibrant city it was and on Saturday there were so many people, especially young people, out and about having fun and being happy. There were some buildings which we could see had been secured following the September earthquake and also one or two spire tops on the ground ready to be replaced.

So because of all this, I will just give a short update on what we did yesterday and today.

Yesterday we drove from Twyzel to Queenstown. Yet again another lovely scenic drive, this time with some much appreciated straight roads though! Unfortunately it started to rain when we had stopped at a waterfall called Roaring Meg (don't ask!) and continued well into the afternoon.

Our hotel in Queenstown is definitely not going on our favourites list. It is very large and impersonal, a bit of a concrete jungle and quite a long way out of the town. On the plus side we do have another beautiful view, this time of the lake (perhaps we are getting blasé about great views!). We thought the long walk into town would do us good so we set off and made a beeline for Fergburger.  Jo and Sean were here a few years ago and recommended this burger bar for the best burger ever … and it was!

Today, Tuesday 22 February was wet again in the morning so we went to a small former mining town called Arrowtown.  It was really quaint, a bit like an old colonial/cowboy type town. Now most of the buildings are shops and cafes but it had a real charm to it and we quite enjoyed a little bit of retail therapy. We bumped into another couple we had first met at one of our B&B lodges – we always knew we would cross paths sooner or later with someone we had met along the way!

From the main street, it was only a short walk to a little settlement where in the 19^th century a handful of Chinese miners made their homes. They were invited to come and mine for gold after the main gold rush was over and most of them stayed for the rest of their lives in these little huts and shacks eventually turning their hands to market gardening when the gold finally ran out.

Then … thanks to a text from Gwyneth we heard the terrible news about the earthquake. It was still raining so we headed back to our hotel and spent the afternoon watching the news unfold on the TV and doing some emails. We have to wait until our travel agent gets back to us either tonight or tomorrow morning to see if there is an alternative to the end of our time in NZ when we should be back in ChCh. Rod and Suzanne, our friends in Melbourne, have been in touch to say we can always go to them earlier than planned. As soon as we know exactly what we will do, we will let you know.

More news tomorrow when we get to our next destination at Franz Josef.