Once again, we were up early to catch a tour. We decided to do Christchurch on our own, but still had to get there. It was a two-step process: first the tender, then the HAL bus.
We met in the World Stage, as usual, for our tender tickets. Weather was first described as “rain” and there was an early morning chill in the air, so I wore my rain jacket and hat from Tasmania which keeps me warm, and took my little umbrella.
We landed in the quaint village of Akorara, which is a popular tourist spot in the good weather. There are lots of cute cottages and tons of flowers, which we will explore on the way back to the ship.
We got on our bus for the hour and a half ride into Christchurch, over beautiful scenic rolling hills filled with sheep and cows, water features and some magnificent views. The camera’s eye can’t capture the beauty of the scenes, especially while riding in the bus.
There are a few blurred shots but I’ll show you the best shots I could get, both going into town in the morning and returning in the afternoon. It was a spectacular Journey.
Here are two shots from our morning journey into town:
Once in Christchurch we were left off at the impressive art museum.
It was cold on the bus so our first stop was to the museum cafe for cappuccino! We even had a bird visit, who must have been hungry or thirsty.
Christchurch has been described as “the most English of cities outside England,” because of its history, geographical setting and architecture, but many of the wonderful buildings were destroyed in the earthquake. The crown jewel of the city, the magnificent cathedral, is still left in ruins today because neither the Anglican diocese nor the city fathers have been able to figure out what to do with it. It is left right now as a reminder of the ferocity of Mother Nature. It’s especially frightening for me to see this, since I have lived all my life in Earthquake Country.
Many buildings were razed and replaced by parking lots which will be needed, as the new buildings will be high rises. There’s quite a bit of construction still going on in the central city area. Our bus driver described the hardships endured after the quakes, as the population had to scramble to find new housing. It was a terrible event.
Parts of the city, however, retain the original charm, with traditional park and river views mix with modern street art. The old mingles with the new.
We stopped for lunch near the Bridge of Remembrance, which honored those soldiers who fought valiantly in the wars for New Zealand. We perused menus for about a block finally decided on this one. Our restaurant is called Original Sin- and with our order of blue cod fish n chips, my sister had a margarita and I enjoyed a glass of The Ned Sauvignon Blanc. The wine here is so much better than the New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs I get at home. The difference is noticeable .
After lunch we had an hour of free time before getting on the bus, so we wandered through the arts center at the University of Canterbury, where we saw some lovely jewelry made by the students, a café and a fudge shop, where we succumbed to a few purchases. Has anyone ever had Hokey Pokey fudge ?
We had an hour to examine the art work across the street from the arts center at our waiting spot, the museum . A man on the street who told my sister he was a chairman said to “see the chicken – man statue” – so we did. We spent a wonderful hour examining the works while the storm pounded on the rooftop! Don’t you love the chairs hanging from the ceiling? The admission was free and the staff was very friendly. Ironically, this modern glass structure not only survived the earthquake but served as the emergency command center directly after the harrowing event.
We met the bus at 2:20 and made our way back. The only rain we had was during our time inside so we were lucky and there were times during the day when it was bright and sunny, as you can see by the photos .
I got a few nice afternoon images on our return and the bus was even able to stop once for the panoramic image of the entire area from the top of the highest hill.
We came back to our quaint village to examine some of the holiday homes and gardens before getting back on the ship.
We had such an ambitious and satisfying lunch that we skipped dinner entirely and devoted our evening to listening to music before heading off to bed a little earlier than usual, at about 10:30. We’d had two long days.
It’s now Tuesday and we go on an afternoon wine train. We are in the area of Picton. We will spend the afternoon eating and drinking.
It’s a rough life, but someone has to do it. We’re up for the challenge.