Roaming with Peter & Marilyn: Christchurch to Dunedin

Monday, Dec. 13 Happy Birthday Andy!
to Wednesday, Dec. 15.
The drive out of Napier as far as Featherston is lovely farm land and we share the driving, but Peter takes over and, wow, he gets some of the hilliest, windiest part of the trip so far. The drive down into Wellington is like Osoyoos on a very narrow road through deep, narrow valleys. There is roadwork at the top to help widen and straighten that section of the road. Luckily, Peter stops at the I-site office in Upper Bluff to get driving directions to the rental car location in Wellington. The lady there gives us such good instructions that we did not make one wrong turn. We never would have found the place without the instructions. The young lad at the rental office drives us to our hotel, the Abel Tasman - old but modernized.
Downtown Wellington is definitely a walking place. The highlights over the two days there are the trips to Te Papa where we enjoy a exhibit of photography by Brian Blake (look him up on Google) and I take in a 19th & 20th C. European Masters show. Monet, Degas, and Renoir are still my favourites. We also discover Peri Peri chicken & chicken livers (me) and hare & black pudding rague (me). I will weigh-in in Christchurch, so I make one meal stretch into two or three. I enjoy trying these new delights.
Before leaving, I buy a pair of calf-length black tights which everyone in New Zealand still wears under long blouses or dresses. I think it is the nip in the air that drives this style. But the styles in the dress shops are extremely classic with a funky touch, beautiful draping and fabulous colours. I think the fashion even on everyday women and men in Wellington challenges anywhere in the world.
We fly to Christchurch on the 15th. We have chosen a Bella Vista that is not too far from the downtown. We have the next to smallest room because that is all that was available when Peter booked. The up side is that when Peter asks if there’s a beer store close, the owner gives him two beer. Nice bonus.
We find a carvery in Oxford on Avon which, next to the RSA restaurant, is the best value for money. As many of you know from our blog two years ago, Christchurch is more British than the British. You “punt” with the swans and ducks on the Avon River which meanders through the downtown.

Thursday, Dec. 16.
Peter goes downtown to the Internet and I do the laundry and make lunch, then we meet at the square. The W.W. meeting is just around the corner, so I attend that (just within my limit, and the nice leader gives me a copy of the new program) and we meet again to eat lunch and listen to the Wizard. He is as full of hot air as ever. He has a good argument for why Jesus is a really neat guy but God does not exist and why women‘s liberation is way better for men than for women. Peter and I are the only two people who last the whole hour of his oration. Canadian politeness.
There is an interesting exhibit at the art gallery by an New Zealand sculpture who does life-like, although not like-sized (they are either smaller or bigger than real-life) figures in fibreglass and acrylic. It is recommended by the lady in the I-site, so I decide to go. (If you go on-line and look up Ron Mueck, you will see how life-like they are.) Each figure tells a story. After viewing it once, I rent the audio lectures for each piece. One critic says the lack of proportion interferes with her ability to engage with the figures. I find just the opposite. For me, the size of the piece affects the emotional impact and the story I find each figure is conveying. I stay for two hours and am actually moved to tears by the sadness of a couple of the pieces. If is comes to your town - see it.

Friday, Dec. 17
Today we were going to drive to Akaroa as we missed it two years ago. Unfortunately, it is raining and so we decide to go to the Air Force museum and see if the weather gets better. I see only a small part and catch-up on my diary while Peter has a good look and a tour to a restoration area. It is a nicely set-up museum. The weather is no better by one, so we head back, stop at a shopping mall, and have an excellent lunch at the Hungry Wok. The fresh noodles and crunchy, steamed veggies hit the spot.
We could only get two days at the Bella Vista, so we now go to our new digs -- Argyle on the Park. We have a full apartment here which is quite a treat. We will stay here again on our few days before we fly to Australia.
We take the path through the Botanical Gardens to the downtown. The twenty-minute walk takes forty as we meander and gawk our way along. Many of the trees are identified. By the size, they must be more than a hundred years old. We pass the Arts Center which is situated in an old British-style college. We will definitely hit this area upon return. Peter gets an All Blacks shirt which he has been putting off since we arrived in N.Z.
Throughout the city we see remnants of the damage from the March earthquake. Many buildings are cordoned-off and business have signs to where they have moved. One house on the way in from the airport had much of two sides of it missing. Many chimneys are being repaired. A steeple which has been removed (we saw it on TV) sits beside the church awaiting repair before it can be reinstalled. The locals admit that there are still after-shocks, but they only feel them if they are standing still and things “sort of sway.” We have felt nothing.
Tomorrow we are on the move again.

Saturday, Dec. 18
Once we leave Christchurch, we are covering new ground. We take Hwy 1 south to Dunedin. We stop about an hour out at a wool outlet. I don’t look at all the lovely yarns, but make my way to the merino wool/possum fur sweaters. After a bit of digging, I find exactly the one I in-grew (is that not the opposite of outgrew?). Did you know that possum fur is the warmest material next to polar bear fur? (Joke: What do you call a New Zealand speed bump? Answer at the end.) Anyway, Peter asks about shipping the sweater to Canada and it will cost me less than if I walk out the door with it. The postage is less than the GST I will save. Off it goes.
The countryside here is lovely, flat farm land with a few more rolling hills south of Timaru. Again, the lady at another I-site recommends that Oamaru and the Moeraki Boulders are both worth a stop. She is right.
Oamaru has a 19th C. section which is used by artisans and is unique. We do a cheese tasting and I buy some sheep’s milk cheese.
The Moeraki Boulders are fascinating. They look like half-buried dinosaur eggs! The Maori have legends about them. Actually, they are more like pearls! They are septarian concretions - go to Google for further explanation. From the pictures, you will notice that they sometimes resemble a turtle’s shell. In the Hawk’s Bay area, some of these boulders were found to contain skeletons of turtles, sea snails, and extinct reptiles, such as plesiosaurs. I learn something new each day!
Again, Peter has the pleasure of driving up the winding road from Palmerston and the steep drop into Dunedin. Our first impression - a bit worn but uniquely interesting. We have been upgraded at no extra cost from our teeny-tiny room in the Bella Vista to a full-sized because we are staying three nights and they are not too busy. Bonus.
(Answer: a possum)

New Zealand:
You know it is the land of the kiwi - fruit and bird; of the All Blacks rugby team; of the Maori.
But how about:
The land of small houses with large windows; of people walking around the city in bare feet (especially teenagers); of afghan and Anzac cookies; of 20 - 30 foot absolutely squared-off hedges; of give way (instead of stop) signs; of one-lane bridges; off 100 k speed limit on death-defying roads; of catteries; of the nicest people with the wickedest sense of humour; of the world’s best meat pies (ask Peter); and the funniest road signs anywhere. I will do a blog of road signs once we finish our visit, as there are bound to be more to be found.
The New Zealanders acknowledge that people have to go to the bathroom and each little town, and city as well, has a public toilet on the main thoroughfare. I took a picture in Christchurch as it is right on Cathedral Square and Peter says it is spotlessly clean.
As you may have noticed, I LOVE NEW ZEALAND!

Next Blog: Albatross; Sea Lion; Penguin in the wild; and a climb nobody will believe we could accomplish - including Peter.