More flight delays

The flight has been delayed until January 2nd at 7:30 pm so it's time to rent a car and tour the countryside. We're thinking of driving up the coast to Kaikoura and then trying to get to Nelson or even further into the fjords. It's supposed to be gorgeous there. I didn't get a chance to see it last year, so I'm very excited.

We were originally planning on going to a cricket match today but ended up deciding to just grab a big dinner and get some rest. Most of us were fairly hung over all day and since we will be doing a lot of driving/hiking early tomorrow morning, we decided it would be best to go to bed. We ate at an indian restaurant downtown that was absolutely phenomenal. There were actually a lot of Indian people eating there, so you know it had to be good. When I ordered a dish as spicy, it actually came out spicy, not white-man spicy. After a few bites, we were all sweating and our noses were starting to run--the good stuff. Had a couple of local organic pilsners. They were actually pretty good unlike most of the NZ beers I've had.

That's all for now. In the next couple of days, I'll expect to take some breathtaking pictures. I can't wait! Middle Earth, here we come!

Flight Delays lead to Hangovers

After the flight was delayed 24 hours, my group and I went off to the Bard upon Avon which is a nice english pub style bar near the hotels to discuss our plans for the following day over some beers. I remembered that there was a cricket match between NZ and Pakistan today and suggested we check it out. The match is at 7pm and hopefully we can get tickets. With our plan set, we were able to focus on our beers. The bar had a girl singing and playing guitar. Before playing a cover, she would describe the artist saying that "I don't know if you've heard of them" but it would be by someone common in the US. Apparently, the only artists that make it to New Zealand are Dido and Brian Adams. She was good, though and we were all enjoying the live music. The bar finally kicked us out around midnight so we went to Sol Square where we could continue drinking. There was a little bar called Cartel that I remember going to last year that had a DJ and a very chill atmosphere. We grabbed some more drinks and the next thing I knew, it was 5am.

I begrudgingly got out of bed this morning at around 10:30 and after video chatting with Sara got some food. I went to one of the restaurants in the hotel and had a salmon and cream cheese sandwich. I asked if they had bagels and the server laughed. I have no idea what was funny... apparently there aren't many jews in NZ.

Now I'm sitting in the lounge at the Windsor waiting for the rest of my group to show. I've seen 2 others so far.

My hangover isn't so bad, thanks in part to New Zealand's weak beer.