Christchurch, New Zealand

We had a fantastic couple of days in Christchurch wandering around the small city. Christchurch is the most English of the New Zealand cities, with Euro influence reflected in many of the buildings' Gothic architecture, and we even saw the occasional old school red phone booth. Another English touch is the river that runs through the city is named the Avon. Along the Avon river there were gondola boats giving rides to tourists -- the Kiwis call these "punt boats".

Our first stop was the Christ Church Cathedral which is at the center of the city. (see photo above) After the church, we spent a couple hours exploring and people-watching in the Botanical Gardens. The gardens seemed never-ending and each part was more beautiful than the next.

That night, going on a hot tip from a local, we went to the Air New Zealand Cup rugby finals match- Canterbury vs. Wellington at the stadium. The game was very exciting, the local fans were enthusiastic and the home team (Canterbury) won. We made friends with some locals sitting in front of us and they helped us understand the

rules of the game (see photos).