Despite all my travels around this little blue-green planet, I have to confess that I've never been to the South Island of New Zealand.

Well, technically that's not quite true; I once boarded the ferry from Wellington to Picton in a drunken stupor. When I arrived in Picton, it was 10pm and raining hard, everything was closed and the ferry was heading back sharpish, so I hopped back on and returned to Wellington. But I figure that this doesn't really count.

Over two decades later, it was nice to finally get down to the big island, in a much more sober and inquisitive state of mind. After grabbing a cheap Pacific Blue flight from Auckland to Christchurch, I touched down in the garden city around 9:30pm and within half an hour I was having a late bite and a beer with my old friends Nick and Sian at their groovy new apartment, overlooking Hagley Park.

Saturday dawned fairly bright and we headed off to a local farmers market in nearby Lyttleton, then drove back across the ridge, stopping to get a few snaps along the way (at least Nick did; like a prat, I'd left my camera at their place!). A light lunch was followed by a wander round the Canterbury museum (paying special attention to the weird and quirky Paua Shell House) and of course the famous Christchurch Cathedral.

Having done the culture thing, it was time to head to a the Holy Grail; a well-known local pub with a huge screen, to watch the 5th Tri-Nations match between the All-Blacks and the Wallabies. The match was being played in Christchurch and the town was heaving with supporters dressed in both black and the green and gold. 80 minutes later, the All-Blacks had once again emerged victorious (beating the Wallabies 20-10) and hordes of supporters spilled onto the streets and headed for the nearest bar. We headed over to the Twisted Hop for a pint or two, before rocking on to Fat Eddie's for a couple of rusty nails and a big dose of live music, courtesy of Kate Taylor and her 5-piece funk band KTO. It was getting onto after 2am by the time, we made it home.

After sleeping off the hangover, we decided to head back into town to attend the 2010 International Film Festival and see a screening of Please Give and a very enjoyable film it was too. We emerged from the cinema to find the rain pelting down and a chilly wind blowing, so we ducked into a nearby cafe for a hot cup of Chai and a chat about the film, before heading back to the apartment. Around 7pm we rounded off the evening with dinner in another local bar, followed by a pub quiz that kept us occupied until almost closing time.

Not a bad way to spend a weekend eh?

It was with some reluctance that I said my farewells on Monday morning after Nick and Sian dropped me at the airport, and headed back to Auckland. Christchurch is a fun town and is definitely on my: must-visit-again list. And many thanks to my friends there for their warmth and hospitality.

Awesome!