Wednesday 25 February 2009

A day in Christchurch

It was beautiful today, despite an unpromising forecast. We managed to do three things in this pleasant English-like city. Firstly, we punted on the River Avon, which winds through the city and its splendid botanic garden. Then we took a trip 10kms south of the city to Lyttelton, where we ascended in a gondola to Crater Rim a high spot from where the view was stunning. In gaps in the clouds we could see the Southern Alps to the west. To the west we could also see all of Christchurch and its port. To the south and east we could see the beginning of the Banks Peninsula as well as Lyttleton harbour. On our return to the city we enjoyed a trip around town on the clunky old trolley buses, stopping off to walk around the botanic gardens, considered one of the top ten in the world.

1 comment:

  1. I'm getting jealous now. Its only a week since we left NZ, but your recent reports are both from places we visited a couple of weeks ago.

    The botanical gardens were great, but we were approached by a couple of drunks who asked us if we 'smoked weed' when we first arrived! We joked about this afterwards saying that NZ wasn't a completely perfect place to live.

    Arthurs Pass was also interesting, although I forgot to put the handbrake on when parked at the viewpoint and the wind started to blow the car forward!

    Anyway it sounds like you are still having a great time. If the weather is OK, try Lake Tekapo and the Observatory on the adjacent hill - there are some fabulous views.

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