Day 50 (Chch - Dunsandel) / Day 51 (Rest Day).

BlueBridge Ferry:I am excited to announce that Bluebridge ferry is now onboard and sponsoring the JUCY van, myself, and one other (Cam), across the cook staright - at the end of the walk. Thank you very much to Hamish, Kirk and staff for making this possible!!!
Day 50:The worst weather I have encountered on this trip!!! It rained the entire day... I met my friend Anna outside my hotel (Copthorne, Durham St) this morning, just before 9am. We both wandered over to the Cathedral Square (where I finished walking on Fri). Waiting for us was Nicky Wagner (National List MP), and one of her staff - Heather. Nicky & Heather deserve special mentions - turning up to walk for a few hours despite the miserable weather (and Nicky in corporate atire - in preperation for a conference after walking with me!!). It was really awesome to have Nicky & Heather along. We took the scenic route out of the city, and visited all the tourist spots along the way. We even stopped at the dyslexic gardens (bit of a personal highlight for me, being dyslexic). We eventually made it on to the road out of town, and Anna and I said goodbye to Nicky & Heather, and continued walking. Caroline (CF project manager and support driver for part of the day), joined us. Kate and her daughter, Jessie, took over driving duties just before lunch. We made it to Rollerston at 1pm and stopped for lunch. I had been looking forward to arriving in Rollerston (town of the future), as Chris Cairn's finished his walk there in September. After lunch the weather deterorated, but we continued on. Anna did a good job and walked all but the last 6 or 7km. I eventually made it to Dunsandel just before 530pm. We drove back to the city. I thawed out in the shower, then caught a taxi to the strip for dinner (table fo 1...again). Spent the rest of the night relaxing by myself in my hotel room.
Day 51 - Rest day:I was going to head along to church this morning with Anna, but the service time didn't fit in with my schedule for the day (and Anna was still pretty sore from the 40ish km she walked with me yesterday...in the rain!!). Kate (CEO CF association), and myself drove to Mona Vale, where we had lunch with Christchurch's mayor, Bob Parker, and his wife, Jo. I had a great time at lunch. Bob and Jo presented me with a bag full of gifts - a really nice greenstone pendant, sunscreen & lip balm, a few chch postcards, and a really nice book about the city (as well as a few other things). Bob gave me some really good advice on public speaking and dealing with media etc. We also discussed politics and international development, as well as CF and the walk. Thank you very much to Bob & Jo Parker, for the opportunity to meet, and have lunch with you both. It was much appreciated, and I enjoyed myself (Thanks also for the tips!!). After lunch I went to the hospital to spend some time with some of the CF kids in hospital and give them a few christmas chocolates. I met Logan and his Mum. Logan was great fun to hang out with. We played cricket in the hall way for about an hour (the staff didn't seem to mind us hitting balls all over the place - A set of wickets were even drawn on the doors in vivid!!!). I also spent some time with Sam and Uther - Awesome guys. For me, the most rewarding aspect of this trip is meeting people, and it was neat to be able to spend some time with the guys in hospital. Hopefully my visit was a good distraction for them. I said goodbye to the guys, as I was leaving, Logan gave me a thank you post card, and one of his toys - a really touching moment!! Logan lives in Timaru, so I have arranged to catch up with him when I walk through there (Christmas). As soon as I left hospital, Paul picked me up, and took me to church. Paul's sister, Amy and her husband Ben, are on the worship team at Arise church. Paul and I had front row seats reserved for us. It was the christmas production this afternoon, which was absolutely amazing!! After church, I arrived back at the hotel in time for dinner with Caroline, her partner Roger, and Margaret (WGTN CF chairperson, and my driver for the next few days - Paul has christmas off, and Sharon has finished the trip). It is now just before midnight, and I have a busy day again tomorrow - time for bed!!