Christchurch

After a nice stay in Picton, we drove down the east coast and stayed a night in Kaikoura where there were great beaches and warm sun. We continued down to Christchurch after a stop at a winery. Christchurch was our stop for two days and we knew of the huge damage done in February 2011 from the earthquake.

We stayed at the YMCA near a big city park (Hagley Park) and the Canterbury museum. We walked to the centre of town which has chain link fencing around the "red zone" cordoned off due to damage and continued danger. We could see windowless high rises, deconstruction equipment, and much toppled brick. The famous church was hard to find amid all the fencing, rubble and equipment.

They have made a new shopping area downtown where shipping containers have been used to create colorful shops. On our second day we headed over to Akaroa on the Banks peninsula, a French town was established a century ago. Back in Christchurch we walked the Botanical gardens where roses, mums, hydrangeas, lilies, etc  were still blooming. Some trees are turning color for fall.

 Next door we visited the Canterbury Museum which holds some Maori exhibits, Antarctic exhibits, and lots of the natural history of NZ. Very well done and to us, more interesting than the Te Papa in Wellington!

Yesterday we drove across the mountains and Arthur's Pass stopping for lunch at Castle rocks, huge limestone rock formations that looked like a scene from Lord of the Rings! As we approached the west coast the temperatures rose to a balmy +27C.



























We drove up to Greymouth and down to stay in Hokitita where we saw a beautiful sunset on the ocean - the Tasman Sea. However, dark clouds were appearing and it moved in over night.

We awoke to pouring rain this morning, which will impact my plan to walk the Franz Josef Glacier tomorrow. We hope everyone back home is doing well.

We have one more week before flying from Queenstown to Auckland.