Franz Josef & the Rainforest Retreat: the Beginning

After another gap in communication (sorry, Dad), here's a recap of the last few days...

Tuesday evening (Jan. 20) - Hokitika
Mariah and I befriended a German girl from our hostel, who agreed to join us to see the sunset and some glow worms. We stayed at Sunset Point until the sun dropped below the horizon, and then headed to the other side of town to the forest where the glow worms could be viewed.

Thumbs Up for New Zealand

Well, we’re officially in New Zealand! A lot has happened since the magical layover. Let me try to summarize...

Saturday

We arrived in Christchurch completely exhausted, and somehow found our way to our hostel, “At the Right Place.” We chatted with one of the backpackers there, an Australian named Steve, who invited us to join him in going to a shopping center with him and two of his friends. We joined them and got an immediate glimpse of the quirkiness of Christchurch by playing Giant Jenga (to the apparent pleasure of the crowd that had gathered to watch).