We are touring New Zealand from our arrival in
Christchurch on April 3 through to April 10.
Welcome to Christchurch!
Christchurch is dominated by the destruction from a series of earthquakes starting in late 2010 and continuing into 2012. The worse quake came in February 2011 but aftershocks were so severe and frequent that demolition and reconstruction could not begin until 2013. The city-center was virtually shut down for over two years until there was consensus that it was safe to return. Above is “Cathedral Square”.
Not everything was destroyed however!
The sheep remain – it’s New Zealand
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Saturday was our first full day in NZ and had us on the train
across the “Southern Alps” from Christchurch to Greymouth,
then driving for a couple hours, down to the “Glacier Country”
Jan at breakfast as we prepare for the
Trans-Alpine train across the Southern Alps.
Into Greymouth, lunch at the pub and then pick up the
rental car for the drive south to the Franz Josef & Fox Glaciers
Tasman Sea behind
Franz Josef
We got an extra hour Saturday night as daylight
savings time came to an end. Seems like it
just started a few weeks ago!
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Easter Sunday was a busy day. The morning’s activities started with
an 80 minute hike to the base of the Franz Josef Glacier:
Then we drove 30 minutes south to get a
closer view of the Fox Glacier
Mt. Cook, to the right, is NZ’s highest peak
That afternoon we had a 5+ hour drive to Queenstown. Some of the best views are not included because our photography doesn’t do it justice. Around every corner were views that made you reach for the camera. Not that even this would do it justice but you can watch The Lord of the Rings again and get a sense for it.
…watching porpoises play in the Tasman Sea
Lake Wanaka
(Many/most place names sound Hawaiian.
The native Maori people are Polynesian)
…and there are sheep
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Monday, April 6 was a relatively quiet day with stuff like laundry, walking around the town center, shopping for almonds and other snacks for Tuesday’s drive, etc. We did get a nice cask conditioned pale ale at lunch, drawn with a hand pump and served at the right temperature so that was kind of nice. Also there was the Thunder Jet boat ride.
See Atlas Beer Cafe
Jan with a kiwi
Fall colours emerging in the background
Views from Queensland town-center
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A Walk in the Park
Tuesday Morning
Then we found the ice rink…
“Southern” as in southern end of the South Island
2005/06 NZ Ice Hockey League Champs
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Tuesday & Wednesday Trip to Milford Sound
The drive out to the sound (really a fiord) was probably
as spectacular as the cruise. Around every curve… yea,
you heard this before.
Upon arrival we waited for our boat, the Milford Mariner, to board.
Milford was a popular name for the boats…
And the cruise was nice…
For Tuesday evening’s activities we did kayaking
Tea?
On our way back to Queenstown we stopped at “The Chasm”
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Gondola Ride and Views
Back in Queenstown on Wednesday the 8th we took a gondola to the top of a mountain overlooking the town.
View of gondola cable run from our hotel room (above)
Notes on the view and our shot from same perspective
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Thursday and Friday – Back to Christchurch and to the Airport
On our drive we had more early fall foliage…
...and about half way back, at a lake near the east side of Mt.
Cook (see earlier pics) we visited “the worlds highest salmon farm”.
We erred on the side of buying too much sashimi and smoked
salmon, well over a pound, and then proceeded to eat it all.
Back in Christchurch…
…more devastation…
…and rebuilding
For Thursday dinner we wanted something simple. Our
hotel (right, below) was just next to the tram line and
there was a little area for shops and restaurants in a
covered terminus from where this picture was taken.
Unfortunately nothing looked interesting…
…until the Restaurant Tram pulled up.
Not exactly “simple” but it was very nice.
And here we are on Friday afternoon, working on the blog while
we wait for our flight into Melbourne to start our travels in Oz.
Looks amazing! Love those gorgeous photos from the plane. Hope you’re having a blast!
You guys are so cute. The tram restaurant looks like it was a blast! Hope it was tasty too.
Can’t wait to hear more about all your adventures. Safe travels to Oz and love you guys!!