GrandmasterbashibirthdayNZ2006

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cacelelelcla

Tracy's International MoFi Meetup

In July 2006, #2 and I will be turning 30. This appears to be a highly appropriate time to call for the most ambitious meetup EVER.

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AirNZ deal on until March 12: fly to NZ for $798US return and get a free round trip to Australia

Date: Saturday July 22nd, 2006

Venue: Somewhere in New Zealand, most probably Christchurch

Event: Events will centre around a birthday par-tay winter-style which may or may not include a dinner, music, drinking and, hopefully, a few dozen friends and relatives.

Also: we will do our best to make the following available to any overseas visitors who would like to come along:

• A fishing/day trip in the Marlborough Sounds on Pearl, Mike's family boat which is coincidentally 100 years old this year. This depends primarily on weather and willingness to take a four-hour drive to the marina, and numbers. We can organise this and take people along.
• Skiing/snowboarding at a number of different skifields: Mt. Hutt and Lyford are both good. Lyford is also close to Hanmer Springs, a thermal resort and spa town in the mountains with good accommodation and lots of horse-trekking, hiking and mountain-biking trails. Of course it'll be winter and snowy so perhaps sitting in the hot pools will be sufficient.
• If we ask nicely, some monkeys may be able to spend some time on a beef farm in the vicinity of Lake Rotoiti, not far from Nelson.
• Wine tours around Marlborough, and a visit to the in-laws' small vineyard if you want to see how the wine-grapes are carefully nurtured toward tasty tasty vino.

Around Christchurch

• The Arts Centre: lots of small art galleries, an observatory, an independent movie theatre, lots of handmade quality crafts and kiwiana, good cafes, housed in the original university buildings. Also where we got married (woo!).
• Willowbank Wildlife Park: native animal sanctuary and a kiwi breeding program -- one of the few opportunities to see kiwis literally close enough to touch.
• Christchurch Art Gallery: our newest architectural wossit with New Zealand artists and some great temporary exhibitions.
• Canterbury Museum: yeah, local history. A gorgeous building and some fascinating stuff -- natural history, cultural artifacts, kitschy things too.
• Cathedral Square: the heart of Christchurch and a good place to start exploring the city. It's very bleak-looking in winter but the Cathedral is gorgeous and there are good bars and cafes on the boundaries. Also the public-transport hub. Do the tram circuit for a tour around the outskirts of the central city.
• Banks Peninsula: where to start? It's a surprisingly large and rugged area. Akaroa is lovely and French(!), Diamond Harbour has a pub with great gourmet pies, and there is a ferry to Quail Island which was, I believe, a penal island for a bit.
• Kaikoura: whale watching, more food, beautiful scenery, seals and occasionally penguins abound. Lots of lobster or crayfish, whichever one it is, I forget. Crayfish, I think. Kai is Maori for "food" and koura means "crayfish".
• Arthurs Pass: take the train to the West Coast if you have the time and money. It's the best lazy way to see NZ in winter.
• Mackenzie Basin: head down Tekapo way and see Mt. Cook (Aoraki) and the snowfed lakes. It's incredible in winter. Not completely different from Tahoe if Tahoe was a huge plateau.

Getting to Christchurch

From the USA Flights go LA-Auckland,, LA-Sydney-Auckland, SFO-Christchurch, or SFO-Auckland. From Auckland you can get anywhere in NZ. You can rent a car or RV and drive down from Auckland to Christchurch, or take the bus, or train/ferry. It's at least two days' drive nonstop, probably three, plus a scheduled ferry trip from Wellington to Picton.

From Europe Most flights to NZ go via Singapore (Singapore Airlines) or Dubai (Emirates). You can come via Australia, also. There are many combinations coming from the west of NZ. Again, you can fly, drive, bus or train to Christchurch if you come in via Auckland or Wellington.

Map of NZ and driving distances (in kilometres)

Remember, people, if you start saving now you'll have plenty of money to spend on tickets!