The taste of more to come - From Christchurch to Queenstown

New Zealand Tour 2010 continued/......
our shopping and tourist tour of Christchurch had come to an end. We had done the punt the gondola... been to Akaroa, done that....now it was time to move on...



Canterbury plains.... in the distance a taste of what was to come... Snow ice, mountains and alpine country. And the most spectacular scenery imaginable. We were lucky, they had just had weeks of heavy rain and a fresh dumping of snow several days before we arrived, so the weather was fresh, crisp and we were thermal equipped, coat and scarf wrapped and ready.





New Zealand is spookily similar to Iceland in many respects, both North and south Island but it was the alpine landscape that brought back such lucid memories of the land of "fire and ice" .
Yet another parallel to Iceland - New Zealand is one of only a few other countries on earth, (such as Alaska and Canada) to have the natural feature described as 'braided rivers' present in the landscape, as seen in pictures below. These rivers vary greatly in their width and depth according to the snow melt from the mountains behind. Prior to the melt, and spring thaw, the rivers are thin, windy, split by beds of shingle stones. Similar to a braided hair plait on a young girl, wispy, fine and running left and right of the river bed. In fully flood, it is a different story... wild and full, the shingle beds are hidden from view.

More information on these rivers can be found here:
http://www.doc.govt.nz/conservation/land-and-freshwater/wetlands/wetlands-by-region/canterbury/braided-rivers/

The bridge over this "braided river" is over 1.6 kilometres long! The longest in New Zealand


This area is naturally dry until the rainy season and the spring thaw.... but now the fields are lush and green year round, thanks to an extremely intensive irrigation system that ensures that dairy cattle can graze on this lush grass, any day of the year.

In turn, this has resulted in an ever expanding dairying industry, now New Zealand's biggest export. Not content with imported broad range products, China has commissioned a plant to be built especially dedicated to producing bottle formula for babies in China and it is to be built on the Canterbury plains.

A bus was to take us through the area, on our 11 hour journey to Queenstown. Whilst most of our fellow passengers slept peacefully with their Japanese-English earpiece translators tucked into their ears, I listened intently to the commentary by the Kiwi bus driver with eager ears and prepared my camera for some heavy duty action... because this was only the curtain raiser to the main event to come.... and that is really something to ponder about.. the mountains get higher, the sky gets darker and the snow gets lower...
But where do we stop for lunch... a nice cafe at a lookout spot, where one can test the limits of the battery life of one's camera on the beautiful backdrop of snow covered peaks???? No, in a dismal valley town with no discernible views save for that which includes Subway fast food restaurant ( which may I say is a gross over use of the word restaurant, although I do like the food), and the local service station.

A place called Geraldine!

Clearly the bus company has a contract with this lunch cafe come souvenir shop to bring their passengers here in the hope of stimulating the economy of this small town, but oh despairing I was that there was no vistas to be had of snowy peaks anyway! Not even if I craned my neck in all directions!!! There was a memorial garden to someone whom left no big impression on me, as I can't remember his name, but it did have some interesting flora within.
I guess the only other claim to fame was the fact that the town has the same name as my sister in law....
not something to ponder much about at all.....




Next: On To Tekapo one of the prettiest places in the world....

Arts Centre and Lyttleton Gondola

Tribute to the Twin towers of the World Trade Centre 9/11 in Ch ch ch.

Christchurch has an interesting monument to September 11, so will the Big Apple reciprocate?



Who do you call in Christchurch? Quake busters!!! Sorry bad pun there, but the old fashioned phone box was functional at the time, and not so sure now, as this area is badly hit....


Tram stop outside Arts Centre...

Whilst waiting for our lovely old tram... we checked out some local architectural gems....like this....






We visited theArts centre

http://www.artscentre.org.nz/


The style of the College was based on the Oxbridge model of academic buildings surrounding cloistered quadrangle and is such a wonderful example of bluestone gothic revival architecture... and I am afraid that parts are damaged in the recent 7.1 magnitude earthquake.... but hopefully it will be restored to its former glory as seen in these photographs.

Little wonder that a tv commercial was being filmed there... .what a wonderful backdrop!

The majority of Arts Centre buildings are brick with an outer stone facing. The grey volcanic basalt rocks were sourced from Banks Peninsula, although the quarries have long since closed. With the assistance of convict labour and wooden scaffolding, rocks were shaped with hand tools and mortared into position.

The cream-white coloured stone around the windows is Oamaru limestone which is easy to carve to great ornamental effect. However, these qualities also make it susceptible to airbourne pollution, and often a dark crust builds up causing rapid deterioration.

With an on-site stonemason and a summer programme of mist cleaning, the stonework to all buildings is being progressively repaired and reinstated to international best practice, ensuring the buildings survive for future generations to enjoy.

Earthquake status reports that the Arts centre has re - opened to the general public except that some areas like the Great Hall, clock tower, and observatory remain off limits due to damage.
The great Hall and is off limits due to earthquake damage...


But back to the pre earthquake days in Christchurch....

What could top our punting experience? Kotane and a kiwi experience perhaps... or

a magnificient 360 degree view.... from snowy mountains that look like white cake icing to the Pacific coast and the harbour at Lyttleton ( which has dropped substantially due to quake damage...)


The iconic Gondola is a must do in Christchurch. A must do.
And if you go there and back within 2 hours, the bus ride back ( about 20 minutes to the city centre) is free.

Catching that #28 bus from the city to Lyttleton, was easy, and after a compulsory photo opportunity form the Gondola staff, and a short queue ( as it was not school holidays), we hopped aboard the Gondola and gradually silently went up and up and up


.... to the summit. And the view........ see for yourself.



Lyttleton harbour from the Gondola summit.

This is the summit road... very dangerous in high winds.
Heading over to Governors bay and Looking out towards Banks peninsula


There is a restuarant and large souvenir shop at the top plus a tourist attraction Time zone which we did not have time to zone into, but I do want to remark on the quality of the souvenirs in the shop. Many I had not seen anywhere else, and some were very useful. I would skip the rest and just shop here.

BTW, we were sucked into buying the badly photoshoped picture of us in the Gondola, but the view behind without the afternoon haze made it worthwhile.

Subway beckoned us for lunch in the mall, and then we hopped in a taxi to the Holiday on Avon, and spent a short while relaxing in the Garden courtyard.
An Eclectic mix of rainforest plants and northern hemisphere botanicals, like conifers and fuchsias....


Next....To Kotane wildlife reserve. A Moari concert, Pois ( not poise ) and close encounters with a kumu pig and a kiwi....

Punting in Christchurch: A time warp to Victorian England

The best way to see Hagley Park, the Botanic Gardens and the Avon river in Christchurch.




This is seriously one of THE most relaxing things that I have ever done... I hesitate to say better than a massage but truly that is how I felt. Punting at the Antigua sheds at Christchurch is something, like the city itself, very English to do. And we were blessed with the most beautiful winter's day: fresh cool but sunny and clear.
....... .......

A Punt is a flat bottomed boat that does not have a keel. Typically, a punt is approximately 21 feet (6 metres) long and 3 feet (1 metre) wide. It should be propelled by means of a pole - about 16 foot (5 metres) long. The punt and consequently, the passengers sit very low in the water, although at no time do the passenger feel in any danger and I did not even get my feet or anything else wet.

You can read more about the Punting history here:
http://www.punting.co.nz/Punting-on-the-Avon/Punting-History_IDL=1_IDT=2996_ID=17080_.html

The abridged version is "To punt without losing your balance, getting wet, wetting your passengers, while keeping the trip smooth and making sure that the passengers enjoy the ride, is something requires expertise indeed. Punting originated as a means of fishing, dredging, carrying and transporting all kinds of materials.

In other words, the punt was originally a work boat. The punting style consisted of starting at the bow, where the operator dropped the pole to the bottom, leaned on it, and then ran after it, pushing the boat under his feet. It was a method that often left the novice clinging to their pole while the punt drifted away in solitary splendour. Pleasure punts were unknown prior to 1860 and found in Nelson and Christchurch and a couple of places in England.



A time warp would take me back to the days when men were gentlemen, women genteel, men wore Botas, and ladies, hats and gloves, but it was not necessary to build a time machine, instead, take a 30 minutes of the Punt ride: To Victorian splendour.



There are two Punting routes to choose from, one passing through the river as it goes through the main part of the city and the other, which is close to the hop on hop off point of the city trams, just a short stroll past the entrance to the museum and Botanic Gardens. There you will find a small cafe and the quaint and delightful "Antiqua Boat sheds" which is the starting point for the Gardens punt through the gardens and Hagley Park. I only hope the historic Boat sheds, which appear to have changed little since early last century have not been ruined by the recent earthquake.



We were also blessed to have the punt all to ourselves, not having to share with anyone else except Andrew, "Mr Gondolier" or should it be "Mr Punter"?!!!

Location of the punts.. at the two green arrows. You can see how close it is to the Tram route.


Along the way, we all had to duck our heads as we went under a very low road bridge, and Andrew maintained the perfect balance whilst undergoing this manoeuvre.

Andrew, a University dropout with a flare for business, and a love of history and stories, has turned this tourist attraction into a successful part of his thriving business empire. He does not have to work, but does so he claims, "because he loves his job" and who wouldn't: even in the rain, the guests are protected with blankets and large football umbrellas from the elements.


Although his name is given as Andrew, the website lists him as:
Wesley Golledge – Managing Director Wesley first started punting in 1989, as a summer job to get him through university. In 1994 he established the Park branch of Punting on the Avon and is happy now to manage a fleet of 10 punts between the two branches.

The ride through the Botanic Gardens and Hagley Park, a 50 acre green zone in the middle of the CBD which is never to be built on, the legacy of a pioneer settler, is a dream for those who appreciate and love nature. Also a wonderful area for environmental oxygen carbon dioxide exchange, a green zone in the metropolis, although Christchurch could hardly be called a metropolis. Just a nice sized city, really.


You also pass by the curators house and herb garden. The punts themselves are very comfortable and Andrew has blankets to keep you warm on cooler days.

Other creatures enjoying the Avon will be the endemic ducks, swans, and other aquatic life, the Daffodil garden which is really a lawn, as the daffodils are not mass planted but erupt from beneath the soil anywhere to the point that they mow a path through the daffodils in spring. They would be a bright point in the city's current misery, as I feel sure that they would be in full bloom at this moment. (We were a few week early for the daffodils but a few weeks late for the earthquake and for that I am truly grateful. {But right on time for the Lambing})
A few brave early plants showing their blossoms amongst the grass are seen here, before the mower gets to them.....

The daffodil garden shortly to be cropped by the mower....
.

Our ride was around 10 in the morning and the punt is silent. No motor pervades this almost spiritual atmosphere, the water is shallow and clear, rocks form the bottom of the river, and the excellent and entertaining commentary given by Andrew, pertinent and interesting.
Near the end of the ride, you get a good view of the Curator's house, and adjacent herb garden, seen on our approach to the Punting on the Park Attraction.



The Ducks, here you will see the Yellow eyed duck, named so for obvious reasons, paddle quite close to the punt, totally unaffected by the punt or the humans, and definitely not camera shy!!

"Some days you are the statue, and some days the pigeon...." one of my favorite sayings, so I had to take a photo of one of the important people in Christchurch history...

This was definitely a day where I was the pigeon, on top of the world as I knew it then, and felt that in finding a new relaxing pastime, in a foreign city, discovered something new about myself. Surely that is something to ponder about..... even on a punt....