Quick Note

I am on the road, or rather the rail. I bought a two-week pass to KiwiRail, unlimited on-and-off, and started using it on Monday. Went from Auckland to Wellington on Day One (a 12-hour trip). Spent all of Day Two in Wellington, walking around and seeing things. Day Three I woke up early and took the ferry across the Cook Strait to the South Island. There I hopped on the train again in Picton and took it down to Christchurch (about 6 hours). It is now Day Four, and I will remain in Chch tonight, but probably take another train journey tomorrow, the TransAlpine across the island to Greymouth on the west coast. However, I think that I will get off at Arthur's Pass in the morning, hike all day, spend the night, then complete the journey the next day. Don't think I'll stay in Greymouth - just have lunch then catch the train back to Chch for the rest of the weekend. There is some kind of beer festival going on. Don't want to miss the city putting on a happy face despite the state that it is still in (bad). I might work here, after all.

More detailed descriptions and pictures will come later. It's hard to put all that together on the road, and I don't like killing "do-stuff" time at the computer. Check back later...