-RJ visits
-wallabies and penguins and seals
-Dad visits
-chocolate and beer
-hiking and skydiving
After making my way up to Christchurch, I wandered around for a day, went out for drinks with an Israeli guy and German couple, and tried to get sleep before picking up RJ in the morning!!!! I was so happy to see him and we rented a car and checked into a nice little motel. We pretty much wandered and talked and were just happy to be for that first day. We went to the Canterbury Museum, Art Museum, botanical gardens, and saw street performers. RJ got picked to help out with one of the shows and I'm hoping he doesn't switch professions =) 
The next day was all planned out...however the weather altered plans for us so we drove south and stopped off at a few points. We had lunch in Timaru, walked around the trails in one of the gorges, and stopped in Waimate at the wallaby farm. 
This place was nuts. There were peacocks, a mentally impaired pony, huge rabbits, ducks, sheep (of course), a possum, and 40 wallabies. They were in pens based on personality types and we were given unlimited time to feed and pet them. When we were done with that we went inside and got to hold Baby Rhubarb. It took everything inside of us to not steal her away. We saw some yellow eyed penguins in Oamaru and then found a hotel (cheaper to have 2 beds than 1 apparently).
The next day was all planned out...however the weather altered plans for us so we drove south and stopped off at a few points. We had lunch in Timaru, walked around the trails in one of the gorges, and stopped in Waimate at the wallaby farm. 
This place was nuts. There were peacocks, a mentally impaired pony, huge rabbits, ducks, sheep (of course), a possum, and 40 wallabies. They were in pens based on personality types and we were given unlimited time to feed and pet them. When we were done with that we went inside and got to hold Baby Rhubarb. It took everything inside of us to not steal her away. We saw some yellow eyed penguins in Oamaru and then found a hotel (cheaper to have 2 beds than 1 apparently).Next, we drove down to Dunedin, but not before stopping at Shag Point to see 60ish seals staring us in the face!! Their beady eyes just looked at us and we got pretty close to some of them....boy did they smell.
We made it back to my flat and I showed him around town a little bit. We met Katie for drinks at The Baa and to watch the NCAA championship game. Rachel made dinner for us and we went out for karaoke with some friends. Of course I was feelin' the flow and did Eminem proud. So fun! We drove to Long Beach which was really rainy, went in a cave for shelter, and met Dad at his hostel. I showed him my place and we went to do some tours. Cadbury Chocolate is good and they gave RJ many extra pieces for beating the little boy in question answering. We killed time looking around the railway station and driving a ways out on the peninsula before the Speight's Brewery tour. It was interesting since I didn't know much about beer and the tasting afterwards warmed us up. The next day's plans were spur-of-the-moment as it was rainy and cold, so we drove to Wanaka to get out of Dunedin. The weather was much clearer there and we finally made it after many bathroom stops, a petrol fill-up, a beer stop, and lunch. We hiked up Mt. Iron that evening and walked down by the lake as well.
The next morning we had a really good breakfast (pancakes for RJ, muesli for me, the usual for Dad) and went to hike up Mt. Roy. We didn't really know how difficult it would be when we started...but it was definitely a challenge. We took as much time as we needed, but once we got near the summit we just wanted to sit down already! The view was fantastic and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Have I mentioned that I love this place?? We ate our lunch and Dad modeled for a Beck's ad.
As we were sitting there thinking about the accomplishment of hiking in the Southern Alps, these two kids come running (yes, running) up the trail. The energy of the young. Anyway, we trekked the long way down and drove to the airport to skydive! The plane was so small and ascended pretty quickly. We had views of the Southern Alps and of Wanaka and the weather was perfect and sunny and it couldn't have been better. Seeing RJ just fall out of a plane at 12,200 feet freaked me out but I didn't have time to think about it because I was next. The 45 second free fall lasted forever and I can't describe how beautiful the scenery was. It was such a thrill and I am so glad we were able to do it together!! 
We showered and met Dad for dinner, which was so good. I had the best wine I've had here yet and we talked about what a great day we had and how lucky we all are! While nothing can compare to this day, there were more adventures to be had of course.I dropped RJ off at the airport and we said our goodbyes that next morning (I think I'm on Saturday now). I was sad to see him go, but we had such a wonderful time together and I'm really grateful he came this whole way to visit!!
Whew. Part Two will soon follow....
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