Mountainbiking in Christchurch

We arrived Christchurch around noon yesterday after a 200 km drive along highway 73 from Arthur's Pass. The scenery was absolutely beautiful - if any of you guys are planning to roadtrip 'round on the South Island, you should consider taking this route.

Waking up at YHA this morning, we had to figure out how to spend the day. The alternatives were: arts museum, historical museum, aviation museum, church museum, navigation museum, museum museum and mountainbiking in Bottle Hill Forest just outside Christchurch followed by a spa bath. Of course we went to all the museums. Not.

The tracks weren't quite as good as in Rotorua, but they still provided us with heaps of fun.

Christian riding along the beach

Last 3 pics: Mari "GunnRitaDale" Jonassen showing off

This afternoon we are going to do some vining and dining. Henrik and Lonely Planet highly recommend a vegetarian restaurant named Dux de Lux, so we'll be heading there later tonight. Also, YHA has provided us with drink vouchers in various pubs, so probably tomorrow morning is going to be a tough one. :)

Tomorrow we head on to Karikoa (spell check on that one) to do some whaling and/or swimming/drowning with dolphines. My plan is to Free Willy 1, 2 and 3. We'll keep you posted!