After visiting Sydney, Melbourne, Ayers Rock, and Cairns, my traveling companion and I flew to Christchurch, New Zealand for a brief visit.  I wish we had more time, but we had spent quite a few days in Australia.

We spent 4 nights at a hotel named The Chateau on the Park in Christchurch and enjoyed various sites of "The Garden City" as well as a day trip on the TranzAlpine Train to Greymouth and another day trip to Kaikoura to snorkel with wild dolphins.

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On the first day we met with Ellen, a fellow orchid grower whom we had met through an Internet orchid forum.  She took us to the Willowbank Wildlife Reserve to see native animals and birds, and then we visited her house and greenhouse.  Later we had a nice lunch with Ellen at a restaurant called On the Beach with a great view.   After lunch we explored the city on our own , the Royal Botanic Gardens, and the Port Hills gondola.

On the fourth day, we had a nice walk through Mona Vale and then revisited the Royal Botanic Garden before departing for Sydney.