Christchurch to Dunedin

The drive down highway #1:from Christchurch to Dunedin.
Far side: What do you do when you see a train? Timaru
Midle: A cat on a chair in the sun, familiar Lynda?
This was where I bought my sweater: Rangitata

Left: Oamara

Peter on a pennyfarthing, Oamaru.

Peter applies for a job at the repair shop.

A delivery bike.

The Moeraki Boulders: look like giant bowling balls.

This one looks like a buried turtle.

One of many monuments on the top of a lone hill.

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.

We thought we had to wait until Cambodia.




Fashions in Wellington.

Te Papa Museum. It is free.

A Christmas ball of silver fern - the national tree - in Civic Square.

The Monteith Pub, and my yummy Hare and Black Pudding dinner.

Christchurch; Cathedral Square.







The Wizard

A Spitfire from WWll.

An Avenger.

Ducks on the Avon River swimmimg to stay in one place.












A tree in the Botanical Gardens whose branches droop.

Peter on the right under a "little" tree.

Holding up a wall after the earthquake last March. Yes, they are wearing Santa Clause hats.

The steeple is sitting beside its church awaiting repair after the earthquake. We watched it being removed on the TV news.

Another building under repair.

I guess they will leave this damageas a rememberance.

How's that for a tatoo!

The toilets at Cathedral Square.





















Two young Canadian backpackers.

Gisborne to Napier

Saturday, Dec. 11.

Peter began to get a cold yesterday and is not feeling well today. I drive first so he can rest and actually do the complete drive to Napier. At one point I see confusion ahead. As we get closer it becomes clear the road is blocked by a flock of sheep. As I approach, the sheep dog is circling the flock keeping them bunched together. When they are one solid mass, he stands at the front awaiting orders as to what to do next. The farmer is off at the side with his truck. He gives a sharp whistle and the dog moves the flock past me. Peter gets some photos. It is fascinating to see the actual dog at work.
I proceed slowly as one sheep has separated himself from the flock and, although the farmer is by it, I think it might come back onto the road.
The drive is not daunting - only 215 k. We stay again at a Bella Vista motel. This is a fairly new chain - each owner-operated - that are throughout N.Z. They differ in the number of rooms in the motel, but are all built on the same style. We stayed in a few last time we visited and were always satisfied.
I definitely must thank Antigone for suggesting strongly that we should not miss this lovely town. We are “wined out” from our winery tours in Argentina, so we settle for wandering around town with our inexpensive guide book in hand and viewing the Art Deco buildings.
The earthquake that hit Napier in 1931 devastated the area. With the entire downtown demolished - well all the brick building which crumbled and all the wood buildings which were destroyed in the fire following the quake - a phoenix arose from the ashes. As it was depression, workers came from all over N.Z. to work on the rebuilding. Being the 1930’s, most buildings were built in the Art Deco design. Combined with the cleanliness of most N.Z. towns, Napier is one of a kind.
As I have my lamb shank and mashed potatoes for dinner, Peter gets all his food groups in his 12 inch Subway sandwich. We eat in! He spends the evening booking flights, accommodations, and cars for the next little while. I drink scotch!

Sunday, Dec. 12.

We are up and out to the National Aquarium of New Zealand to see the feeding at 10 a.m. It is just a 500-yard walk along the “melacon”, called Marine Parade here. The museum has an acrylic tunnel where the fish swim beside and over you. I like the manta rays and shark the best. At the fish feeding, some of the fish actually line up to be fed! They are not as dumb as we might imagine. The crayfish climbs over the feeder’s foot and crawls up his leg as he knows there is food coming.
The exhibits are well laid out and there is lots of interactive stuff that even Peter and I get into. We are very lucky as we go through the kiwi “night” area as one comes right to the window area poking into the soft ground for food. It goes to a stump and pokes all over the bark. Finally, I’ve seen a real kiwi going about its natural activities.
One exhibit is about an amateur palaeontologist who discovered that dinosaurs did live in N.Z. This had never been proven until this lady found a bone 80 k. inland in a river. She only began to study at 60 and spent the next 22 years engrossed in the work. Sorry, I forget her name and Peter has the brochure somewhere - he is sleeping.
When we get home, I make Peter some chicken noodle soup and put him to bed as he is still coughing and not feeling great. I go out for a walk.
There is a place called Bluff Hill lockout, so I decide to get some exercise and venture out. There is a Century Garden at the bottom of the hill, constructed where once there was a quarry. It is quite pretty with a hundred foot waterfall built into it. I continue up the hill past many interesting cottage style houses built into the hill. Not far from the lookout, I stop to read a plaque pointing out the way to Sturm’s Gully Reserve. This gully, I discover, circles around the hill. A local who lives by the entrance confirms that I can get to the lookout by following the signs through the gully. There may be stairs to climb, but it beats walking up the street.
It is a quiet walk, much like the stairs in Kinnaird. The view is mostly of the port which is important to the life of Napier. They export wood products, sheep, beef, wool, dairy etc. I get some nice photos.
I return via the steps on the Ahuriri side of the hill then cross back through the gully and down the stairs and roadway back to the ocean walkway to our motel. It is a two-hour walk which I really enjoy.
Dinner tonight is at the RS(A) - Returned Service (?). It is like our Legion except way more upscale. The restaurant it open to the public and for $25 you get a buffet of seafood and ham and roast beef with veggies and salad and dessert. It is right across the street, so we just pop over at 6 p.m. Peter does not do the food justice - eating way less than he would normally. I do just fine! I guess it will be lots of soup for the next week.
Tomorrow we make the run to Wellington and fly to Christchurch on Wednesday. Seemingly, they are still having aftershocks from the earthquake earlier this year. Should be fun.

The sheep on the road with the dog as boss.

Buildings in Napier - The Art Deco city.

Sunset Saturday night.

At the National Aquarium.

Kiwi humour: Please keep our footpath clean.









Typical Kiwi holiday caravan.

Path in Sturm's Gully.

View over the gully from Bluff Hill lookout.

View of the port, Napier.

The city of Napier.

Steps down towards Ahuriri - around the hill.