"This Is The Life!"

Today was a variety-packed day full of sensory stimulation.

First up, Akaroa. Set on a beautiful, sheltered harbour and overlooked by craggy volcanic hills, Akaroa is a popular resort town 85kms from Christchurch. In 1840, Akaroa was settled by French settlers who had intended to establish a colony and the area still has a French influence today, reflected in many local placenames.

Next, we return to Christchurch's city centre to enjoy a Punting In The Park experience. We boarded the punt for a private half hour river trip with our punter guide, Mark. It really was the life ~ chilling out, drifting down the Avon River's peaceful waters, taking in the sights of the Botanic Park's bank gardens, observing the many 'busy' ducks with ducklings in tow and, for a moment, not having a care in the world.

Then, it was back to normalcy as tourists in a city with so much to do and see. So we got on the city tram and made our way to Victoria Square for some visual delights, while Dabak continued to ride the circuit until we were ready to join her on the return trip.

And finally, we donned our cultural hats and were entertained with a live theatre performance of The Glass Menagerie, by playwright Tennesse Williams. The four cast performers were so good that we were easily transported back into the 1930s and drawn into the tragedies of their somewhat turbulent inter-relationships.

As the curtain fell, I thought of the popular saying, "All good things must come to an end", remembering that tomorrow is another day to look forward to too!