Week 14 Febrary 22nd to 27th.

Enjoying Kaikoura


Fred and Myrtle's Shell House



Begonia's in Christchurch

Christchurch Cathedral

Banks Peninsular

On Monday morning we had a good flight to Christchurch in New Zealand. We had to change the clock two hours forward. Our friends, Joanna and Pete, were at the airport to meet us and drove us back to their house which is in New Brighton, a few miles form the city centre. They took us on a drive through the city centre, which appeared so much smaller than the Australian cities we have got used to.There are no high rise buildings. Christchurch is called the Garden City as there are many beautiful parks and gardens. The sun was shining and it was very warm. It seems that the warm weather only began this week. Up to now they had had their worse summer for twenty years.

On Tuesday Pete and Jo took us on a most spectacular drive down around the BanksPeninsular to the French settlement of Akaroa. We had so many stops for photo shots. Pete is so knowledgable as he used to take tourists on coach tours for many years. We couldnt have a better guide.
On Wednesday we spent the day exploring the city, visiting the Hagley gardens with their fantastic Begonia House, the Christchurch Museum and Arts Centre and the Cathedral where there was a beautful carpet of flowers in readiness for a flower festival. In the museum, Pete showed us the famous Fred and Myrtle's Paua Shell house. This old couple had collected Paua shells over many years and decorated their home in Bluff with them. It became a big tourist attraction, although they charged nothing. After they died, their son donated the collection to the museum and a reconstruction of their bungalow was built to house them just as they were originally.

On Thursday we took the Tranz Alpine railway from Christchurch to Greymouth, which is on the West Coast. This spectacular journey is classed as one of the top ten train journeys in the world. The line was begun in the late 1800's but not completed until1923 and includes many tunnels through the mountains, bridges and precarious via ducts over rivers and glaciers. The scenery was truely awesome. The rail originally served the gold mining industry and later switched to coal mining and there are a number of disused coal mines along the way. Giant trucks full of coal are still transported each day. The journey to Greymouth took four hours, we had an hour stop and then returned to Christchurch.
On Friday we took delivery of our hire car and then visited the New Zealand Air Force Museum, where there are many old aircraft and a huge workshop where many more are being restored. Brian was in his element.

On Saturday Pete and Joanna took us on a scenic drive to Kaikoura, a picturesque seaside town famous for its crayfish and whale watching which is about 200 km from Christchurch. It also has a number of arts and craft shops run by local artists. We didnt see dolphins, but we did see some seals on the rocks. On the way the scenery just kept getting better - from rolling hillsides to mountains. There were sheep, sheep and more sheep. There were also great herds of beef and dairy cattle as well as a number of vineyards. We made a number of scenic detours on the way back ending with another tour around the city to view more beautful gardens.

After a week in New Zealand, we have certainly fallen in love with the country. There are so many aspects which are so different from England and Australia. In many respects it is as though we are back in 1950's England - a much more gentle pace of life. There are no motorways or high rise buildings as there are only 4 million people. The highways are just single lane in both directions with overtaking places every few km. In every town and village we have remarked on the huge memorials erected in memory of the men who fell in World War I. New Zealand lost far more men per population than any other country. And of course a similar ratio in the Second World War.

We are really looking forward to exploring the rest of the country in the coming weeks.