New Zealand trip 2008

Christchurch ( 1 ▪ 2 ▪ 3 ▪ 4 )

Ok, here's a clue for our next escapade.  Whoosh!

We had headed out in the earliest of early hours, having to make a call at about 5am in order to check whether the trip would be on.  Thankfully it was.  Although did we mean that we had to get up.  Ugh.  It was worth it when we got there as we saw the sun slowly rise from behind the treeline.

Well, you've probably guessed already, but we were going hot-air ballooning.  The pilot was after a couple of strong, sturdy gentlemen and I was only too happy to step up to the plate.  Our task was to hold the balloon open, which I did so enthusiastically...

...then fairly casually, as the balloon got bigger and bigger...

...and woah there, no-one told me it would be like this.  We had to cover our faces a bit (the two of us holding the balloon open anyway), hence my posture.

With enough, um, hot air in there, the balloon soon started defying gravity.

It was quite a large basket under the balloon, with 20-odd people in there, and we were all quite cosy.  I stood at the edge, whilst Lynne safely ensconced herself towards the inside.  The pilot had the entire strip in the middle to fly the balloon and keep tabs of radio.  We were high up in the sky when the sun finally rose.

The river we passed over looked very strange.

There were, frankly, some stunning views.

Look!  It's definitely us on it!  Oi, give us me camera back!  Guess they weren't going to get very far with it.  When I had it, it was generally wrapped very tightly to my wrist just in case I dropped it.

This is how high up we are.  It actually doesn't look that far.  But it ruddy was.

As we came back to earth, we started to pick up speed in the breeze.  The problem about going so fast was the difficulty landing.  We couldn't descend too quickly but the fields were flying by.  Eventually we found some open space to land, which we did with a bang and a bounce.  We eventually came to a halt, upright, but tilting heavily.  We needed to be on the side apparently, so the pilot gave us a shove in the right direction to get us horizontal.  That was a bit unexpected as we all ended up in funny positions.  In particular, I was on the bottom and got squished by everyone else in our mini-compartment (there were four, one in each corner).  I managed to crawl out, though, and come to my senses enough to whip out my camera.  It doesn't look like Lynne would make a great emergency rescue worker, as she satisfied herself with laughing at the crazy misfortunes of those still in there.  It was a comedy scene after all.

I then ran away in order to get a shot displaying how big the balloon actually is.  Yes, that is Lynne in the middle of the picture, my willing model as usual.

We were soon all assigned to roll up the balloon.  As with most things, it's a lot easier to get it out of the box than it is to put it back in.  At some point, the farmer whose land it was drove over and the balloon pilot presented him with a bottle of champagne, as is tradition.

Luckily, there was plenty left for us.  Some people weren't drinking so we made the most of it and finished it all off.

Once back in the centre of Christchurch, it was clear that we needed some proper brekkie.  Yep, it's time for the Honey Pot Cafe.

Phwoaarr, eh?  Doing this website is suddenly making me very hungry.

Later that day, we headed east on the bus to the beach for some sporting action.  First up, frisbee.  Catch, Schoey!

She showed a wonderful ability for getting to hover above her almost endlessly.

We then switched to the mini rugby ball, albeit using it for American football style throws.

Lynne then took to the skies for a bit of paragliding.  No, not really, that's not her.

As is obligatory, I headed into the sea.  It were a bit cold.

Later that evening, Lynne tackled some a brandy snap-type dessert with gusto.

And that was that.  It was time for the final leg of our holiday, and we spotted these at the airport.  Not sure which one, mind.

We set off early on Tuesday 25th, getting a 7am flight from Christchurch, via (we think) Sydney again, heading for Hong Kong.