CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND

Today we drove from the Catlins to Christchurch, stopping briefly for lunch in the Scottish-influenced city of Dunedin and at the Moeraki Boulders, which are weird spherical rocks sitting on a beach north of there. I would tell you all about the geological forces that help shape them into such perfect spheres, except I really have no idea--the explanation I was given was completely incomprehensible.

We arrived in Christchurch late in the afternoon, and checked into our hostel, X Base Backpackers, which is right on Cathedral Square in the center of town. We walked around town for a bit, and then took Thomas out to dinner, because today is his 22nd birthday. Unfortunately, after stuffing ourselves with pizza and a ridiculously rich chocolate dessert thingy, we really didn't have the energy to do any more celebrating, so we called it a night. (Christchurch is pretty dead on Sunday nights, anyway.)