Christchurch take 1

The Old Countryhouse is a benchmark. This is how city hostels should be. Based around two suburban villas, this place ticks all the right boxes. As I waited to get checked in i got chatting to Steve as he was pinning up a poster of a hostel on the Banks Peninsula. I mentioned that I was thinking of heading that way the next day and asked if his place was open. It would be if I turned up! I got on well with Steve so I shook his hand and said I'd come and stay if I ended up that way. The were no dorm beds left so I took a discounted twin room which ended up being in its own cottage in the garden! Central heating!! Wow! The owner was an ex-pat Welsh bloke who missed central heating so much that he ended up buying all the old radiators from the old city hospital as it was being demolished and went about plumbing them in to the hostel. It turned out to be a bit of a reunion as there were about 6 people I knew staying that I had bumped into at previous locations! R+R turned up later and we had a good evening cooking and catching up with old faces.

Before I heading out to the Banks Peninsula, I wanted to try and get rid of my show chains that I had purchased in Greymouth. Seeing as the were unused I thought I could get a good price for them, even if Spring had sprung and the snow was melting fast. A few phone calls to the Jucy Rentals and ski shops around town resulted in a dead end. No one seemed to want them. I didn't have the time to sell them privately to another traveler or local so I headed into town armed with the bag of chains and ploughed my way around the various likely looking establishments dotted around Christchurch's Cathedral Square. Nothing. Getting increasing frustrated I decided to try and get a refund from the original retailer. A quick flick through the local directory and I found the CHCH branch of Repco and headed off into the wintry winds. No worries, A refund was given with not so much as an inspection of the chains! Happy as Larry with a full refund I headed off to the Banks Peninsula with a smile on my face.