Arrival at Christchurch- (late entry- arrival was Thursday 11/15/12)

Flight over- via San Francisco to Auckland to Christchurch did not feel as long as I expected.

  I have arrived safe and sound and with all my stuff (would you believe I wasn't charged anything for checking that enormous box, as their computers weren't working well at United).
  The flight San Francisco to Auckland actually went by very fast- I only watched one of the 70 movies you could choose from (the new Spiderman), and slept for 5 hours.  Air New Zealand also provided meals and free wine (which I did not have, as I wanted the best sleep I could get).

Customs: allowed smoked salmon and chocolates from Seattle.
  Did spray hiking boots despite my prior cleaning of them with a rag.

Upon arrival- KAS from Pegasus picked me up at the airport and gave me a bit of a driving tour before dropping me off at my new home.  The airport is not far from the city.
  My host family was out-and-about, but left me a note and key, so I got to get settled and explore.
  I set up my bicycle.
  There is a mall about a 10-minute walk away.
Notes on buying a cell phone: both vodaphone and telecom were in the mall, and have good coverage here.  You can buy a smart phone for $99, which includes $20 of credit; you can have a pay-as-you go plan for $20 a month with 500 texts and 50 minutes included, and some minimal data.

Exchange rate: 1 New Zealand dollar = 0.8090 American dollars

Pearls:
-phone tips as above
-you cross the international date line and the equator flying from the US to NZ
-there seems to be a lot of respect by the Kiwis that I have met so far for Peter Jackson and what he has done for New Zealand via the Lord of the Rings movies (even by people who don't particularly like Lord of the Rings).
  -Air New Zealand's safety videos have the actors dressed up as elves, hobbits, dwarves, etc!
  -I did watch all 3 films a few months ago when I had bronchitis, and it does give a great preview of New Zealand's landscape.  The Hobbit comes out next month, with the world premiere in Wellington (North Island).

-EDF