We are just coming to the end of a week spent here in Christchurch - the largest city on South Island. Was a bit of a shock to the system after the small towns that we have enjoyed spending time in around New Ze
aland - our favourites so far being Paihia, Coromandel & Picton. Christchurch is very much like being in a UK city - and not sure we were quite ready for that just yet! Having said that it's been great for places to eat and for stocking up on all those little necessities that you tend to run out of! It's been a lot cooler as we have headed further South, as we expected, so our jeans and jumpers have got a bit of an airing again! (Although la
st week when we were in Picton Christchurch was in the 30's for awhile - so you never can tell!) Sunday was a gorgeous day though so we took a day trip over to Akaroa, a pretty little town on the coast, where we went on a walk up in the hills to admire the magnificent views. It was ok until the last part of the walk where the handwritten map instructed us to turn rig
ht at the fence and cross the sheep paddock. Don't know when the map was written, but the sheep paddock was now a field full of cows with their calves and a few geese thrown in for good measure! The cows mooed loudly as we approached, no doubt protesting at the intrusion upon their personal space, but we gave them a wide a berth as was possible and escaped over the stile at the other end of the field! The waterfront at Akaroa was lovely, wi
th lots of little cafes and restaurants and the littel building that you can see at the end of the jetty was apparently the very first custom hous
e in New Zealand! Christchurch is also the place to be for embarking on what is reported to be one of the most scenic train journeys in the world - the TranzAlpine from Christchurch over to Greymouth on the west coast. Basically you spend the whole day on the train if you do it in a day but it was well worth it for the scenery! It was a 4 1/2 hou
r trip each way with an hour to spend in Greymouth before getting the train back again! The train was really comfy too with reclining seats, huge windows and an open air viewing carriage. That was where I managed to get the photo of the train as it r
ounded a corner - but it took some effort I can tell you! The viewing carriage was only small and was filled with tons of people wielding huge cameras with foot long lenses hanging off the end of them! For the time I was in there I felt like I was a fully fledged, card carrying member of the paparazzi, as I struggled to poke my tiny point-and-shoot digital camera under someone's elbow to get the shot! Arthur's Pass was the highest poin
t in the Southern Alps where we had a brief pitstop to stretch our legs before carrying on to Greymouth. Yesterday we had a bit of a wander around Christchurch itself. You can see CK posing down by the River Avon! New Regent Street, with the coloured buil
dings is a particular favourite of mine! I took the photo as CK was browsing in the gift shop window. If you look closely on the top floor of the building (click to enlarge the pic!) you can see some of the bears making a bid for freedom! Then, almost on cue, one of the attractive city tram
s came by to complete the picture! We finished the day, being a little chilly(!) with a hot chocolate, sitting outside a bar with our own personal
fire to keep us warm! What a good idea! Reckon we could do with something like that in the UK don't you think?!
aland - our favourites so far being Paihia, Coromandel & Picton. Christchurch is very much like being in a UK city - and not sure we were quite ready for that just yet! Having said that it's been great for places to eat and for stocking up on all those little necessities that you tend to run out of! It's been a lot cooler as we have headed further South, as we expected, so our jeans and jumpers have got a bit of an airing again! (Although la
st week when we were in Picton Christchurch was in the 30's for awhile - so you never can tell!) Sunday was a gorgeous day though so we took a day trip over to Akaroa, a pretty little town on the coast, where we went on a walk up in the hills to admire the magnificent views. It was ok until the last part of the walk where the handwritten map instructed us to turn rig
ht at the fence and cross the sheep paddock. Don't know when the map was written, but the sheep paddock was now a field full of cows with their calves and a few geese thrown in for good measure! The cows mooed loudly as we approached, no doubt protesting at the intrusion upon their personal space, but we gave them a wide a berth as was possible and escaped over the stile at the other end of the field! The waterfront at Akaroa was lovely, wi
th lots of little cafes and restaurants and the littel building that you can see at the end of the jetty was apparently the very first custom hous
e in New Zealand! Christchurch is also the place to be for embarking on what is reported to be one of the most scenic train journeys in the world - the TranzAlpine from Christchurch over to Greymouth on the west coast. Basically you spend the whole day on the train if you do it in a day but it was well worth it for the scenery! It was a 4 1/2 hou
r trip each way with an hour to spend in Greymouth before getting the train back again! The train was really comfy too with reclining seats, huge windows and an open air viewing carriage. That was where I managed to get the photo of the train as it r
ounded a corner - but it took some effort I can tell you! The viewing carriage was only small and was filled with tons of people wielding huge cameras with foot long lenses hanging off the end of them! For the time I was in there I felt like I was a fully fledged, card carrying member of the paparazzi, as I struggled to poke my tiny point-and-shoot digital camera under someone's elbow to get the shot! Arthur's Pass was the highest poin
t in the Southern Alps where we had a brief pitstop to stretch our legs before carrying on to Greymouth. Yesterday we had a bit of a wander around Christchurch itself. You can see CK posing down by the River Avon! New Regent Street, with the coloured buil
dings is a particular favourite of mine! I took the photo as CK was browsing in the gift shop window. If you look closely on the top floor of the building (click to enlarge the pic!) you can see some of the bears making a bid for freedom! Then, almost on cue, one of the attractive city tram
s came by to complete the picture! We finished the day, being a little chilly(!) with a hot chocolate, sitting outside a bar with our own personal 
fire to keep us warm! What a good idea! Reckon we could do with something like that in the UK don't you think?!
1 comment:
Poor wee bairns - you must be freezing. If it's any consolation, the temperature here has only just reached double figures at 10c. Shall I send you some thermal underwear?? Hee Hee ;-)
Love you millions
Ruth, Dave & Emma Sophie
xxx
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