Sue and Doug Are Here!

Monday morning Sue and Doug finally made it to Christchurch! After picking them up at the airport in the rain, we made our way back home for our last pancake party. Joined by our weekend fun crew members Phil and Crystal, we had a great spread for our final big brunch and Sue and Doug got fueled up for the day ahead.

Despite the rainy weather, we took a walking tour of the city and saw all the key sights (Cathedral Square, the Botanic Gardens, etc.) making sure not to tire out our new guests too much. After the rain started to get the better of us, we decided to head back home for a quick dinner before our first game of indoor ultimate. Since we hadn’t officially signed up for any team, we picked up with whatever team needed us for the night. Doug sat out and was the official photographer taking tons of shots of our stellar play. The game was a bit different from what I had expected. We played on a basketball court, using the key as the endzone and the stall was to seven. So, it was kind of like hot box, but on a basketball court and a little less tiring since we didn’t play make it take it. Sue played great despite the jet lag and months of no ultimate shutting down Chris on the mark (see the photo). We all had a great time and had done plenty to tire everyone out for our first day together.

Tuesday, we woke up pretty early to get a good start on the day. Sue and Doug were a little less worse for wear as the jet lag was wearing off, so we headed out to the Antarctic Center. We had heard about this place from Cara and Joe but we were saving it for when Sue and Doug got here to enjoy together. It was a pretty cool experience. We saw a lot of little penguins called Blue Penguins during their feeding time which was fun to watch. We then went into the “storm room” to experience an Antarctic storm. Since Chris was wearing shorts and still survived just fine, we decided that this couldn’t be what the real Antarctic was actually like, but it was cool none the less. Afterwards, we managed to convince Sue to join us inside to go down the ice slide and experience the Antarctic chill.

After our visit to the south pole, we did some hiking around the Port Hills where the sun peeked out from behind the clouds from time to time giving us some great views. And we successfully managed to avoid running over any sheep, which was a bit of a challenge as they seem to own the road up there. After hiking Chris cooked up a stellar chili to refuel before going out for the night. It being the last night in town, Jen and Chris and Sue (Doug is weak and begged out) met up with all of our ultimate friends for one last night at the Dux de Lux. As excited as we are to start the rest of our trip, it was sad to say good-bye to Christchurch posse. We will see you guys again on an ultimate field somewhere!

Jen and Chris ride the snocat

The Little Blue Penguins, native of New Zealand

Still no idea how Hannan hurt his hamstring

Plenty of room in the endzone using the international key

The coastal track at Godley Head

Today, we start our journey with a trip to Mount Cook. The highest point in New Zealand should offer plenty of photo opps, so check back soon!