| Our first stop out of Christchurch was Rakaia Gorge. |  |
 | The bridge over the gorge. In the distance, storms gather over Isengard. |
| Some of the water was quite white from all the silt, a welcome change from our previous experience with blue, blue, and more blue. |  |
 | After this foray to the south of Christchurch, we then drove westward toward the other side of the island. |
| Arthur's Pass took us across the Southern Alps - but not before we had a perilous battle with the dread kea. |  |
 | Overall, there was not a lot of traffic on the South Island. This is a good thing, because most bridges were one lane for both cars. Some bridges, like this one, did triple duty: observe the train tracks... |