After being disturbed at midnight we woke at 5.30 and left the Ibis on time, checked in and departed to Christchurch on time.
We arrived at Merivale Manor https://www.merivalemanor.co.nz and we’re greeted by Raffles.
We were early so just left our bags and went for a wander to try and understand Christchurch and the aftermath from the 2011 and later earthquakes. We walked through the Botanic Gardens via the ruined cathedral, 
bumped into Carol who we had last seen in Cuba, and then on to the Cardboard Cathedral. 
The city is an interesting contrast of ruin and rebuild but has a good feel. 
We had lunch in a small coffee house C1, 
which was nice, and then wandered back again via the art gallery 
and Botanic Gardens shop to get Marion a 50th birthday present.
We were told when checking in that Marion and Gunner had arrived and Marion was very excited. However when we knocked on their door their was no reply. We had arranged to meet at 6 so showered and generally caught up on email.
At 6 we all met up. It was great to see Marion and Gunner. 15 months since Cuba. A few mins later Carol turned up and we all went to dinner at a bar called 4. https://no4bar.co.nz. 
Good meal and lots of catching up. We were in bed by 10 something ready for a 7.30 am start.