In this map we see details of the South Island of New Zealand, with some of the places that we would be visiting marked with red boxes.

Christchurch, the largest city on the South Island (population 378K within the urban area, 390K in the greater area) was our first destination. We would be staying there from our arrival on Sunday 23 July, doing a grand tour of the city on the Monday, a train trip through the Southern Alps and across to Greymouth on the west coast on the TranzAlpine train on the Tuesday, then out to the Antarctic Centre on the Wednesday. Thursday 27 September would see us fly south to the ski resort of Queenstown in the Alps themselves, though there wasn't any opportunity to ski. Friday and Saturday were spent in Queenstown as well before flying back on Sunday the 30th.