Christchurch

Our first day in the South Island was a long day of traveling. We got up really early to go to the ferry station, but when we got there, it looked like we had a cruise ship for a ferry - it was huge! My mom had given me that scopolamine patch, and I knew after just one hour on the open ocean that if it weren't for that patch, the fish would have had a nice meal of blended eggs and sausage. Unfortunately that meant that I was tired and a bit whoopdeedoosy (if you know what I mean), so I didn't get to enjoy the boat ride itself until halfway through when I got myself a mountain dew on one of the ship's several restaurant/cafes. My dad and I decided to go up to the very top of the boat. The wind was so strong up there that I could stand backwards at a 60 degree angle and be completely supported - that was really fun.Those pics are while we were going through the Marlborough Sounds - a labyrinth of islands and straits and stuff like that.
We got off the ferry at Picton on the South Island and had lunch there while waiting for the train. For a six hour train ride I was expecting a big smooth riding Amtrak or something like that, but what we got was a small wobbly old train that felt like it was gonna rock right of the tracks at high speeds. You kinda got used to it though, the ride was nice, and the scenery was awesome. They had these really cool open air cars, too, that were just that - completely open and hardly anything to stop you from just jumping (or falling) off. We rode right along the beach for a while and got to see a bunch of black-sand and even penguin beaches.
It doesn't sound like much but that wore me out, and when we got to our hotel in Christchurch, I was exhausted.
The next day we wandered around Christchurch and Cathedral Square, and that was pretty cool. First we walked along the Avon River and found a cheap kayaking place, so we did that for a little while.Next we walked through the Botanical Gardens of Hagley Park. There were tons of ancient trees, including a christmas tree the size of a several story building that you could walk around inside, and an even bigger sequoia.
Near Cathedral Square was Ernest Rutherford's museum - actually in and around his actual laboratory and the lecture hall he actually taught in - that was pretty cool.
Cathedral Square was very cool. It is the tourist and historical center of Christchurch. All the buildings are early 19th century made from hewn stone in Old English style. There are performances, shops, markets, giant-life-sized chess games, wizard blatherers (a guy dressed in a complete wizard suit stands in the square and shouts nonsense to anybody who'll listen) and an enormous 150 year old Christchurch Cathedral, the icon of the city, all in the Square.
That is the Christchurch Cathedral. We decided to climb up to the top of the bell tower (the tall thing on the left). That was slightly creepy - the stair was the narrowest, tightest, steepest spiraling staircase that went up pretty high. I wouldn't have known what to do if somebody had come back down while we were going up, because there was not enough room for anybody to pass by.
I'll continue this post later, so check again later!