Heal

Went for a short walk around the immediate area before checking out of our hostel in Christchurch early this morning. Saw lots more evidence of the quake damage - pretty much every building was either condemned or had fallen or been brought down. We did see one new building that had gone up though - good to see amongst all the construction - and so much other rebuilding work happening, too.

There were also lots of cool artworks and little touches of humanity and humour about the place - a tree whose trunk and branches were wrapped entirely in orange fabric, and 'gap golf' - a number of crazy golf holes dotted about in razed lots.

Checked out of the hostel and set off for the airport, stopping at a petrol station on the way to hoover and wash the car. Dropped the car off at Go Rentals having put 4,800km on the clock! What a trip! Got a lift to the airport with well over three hours before our flight, so killed time getting coffee, lunch, drinks, more drinks.

Arrived in Auckland late afternoon and checked back into the hotel we stayed in on our first night in NZ (Heritage Auckland). Really nice suite in the newer Tower wing - absolutely huge, with separate bedroom, living room/kitchen, bathroom and balcony (with great views of the Sky Tower). Two TVs, fridge-freezer, microwave, washing machine, dishwasher - you could literally live here!

Decided we had to make the most of the suite, so we went back out to Countdown and bought the ingredients for Tim to cook us a delicious chilli.