Day 7 - Christchurch

Lake Pukaki

This morning were heading back to Christchurch, a 4-hour drive,  as we were leaving for Australia tomorrow.

The fresh salmon display

We avoided the big breakfast today (no energy-burning skiing) and set off around 10:30. We promised ourselves to not have too many stops during the trip, and hoped to stick to the plan.

Well the first stop was at Lake Pukaki, after less than an hour as it was just so beautiful - aquamarine blue water and Mount Cook in the distance. There was a visitor centre there where they sold fresh salmon which we couldn't resist. We bought some, with soy & wasabi to eat later for lunch.

Church of the Good Shepherd

About an hour later we arrived at Lake Tekapo, a popular resort town for skiing in the nearby mountains. We didn't stay long, just enough to visit the historic Church of the Good Shepherd on the lake shore, which has the distinctive feature of a window behind the altar that opens onto the lake view.

Lunch ingredients - large toothpicks,
soy, wasabe, pickled ginger, salmon
and rice

We drove for another hour along the flat plain, surrounded by mountains and arrived at Geraldine. This was a much larger town with an agricultural rather than tourist economy. It also was more established, with a local clothes-making industry (mainly wool products) and a strong arts scene. We decided to have lunch in a park there, so after buying some steamed rice at a Chinese take-away to eat with the salmon, prepared our gourmet lunch.

Straight 8 Estate
'Vintage wines for classic people'

Frances drove the next stretch, and stopped for nothing....except a winery, Straight 8 Estate. Obligingly I went inside as well to taste their mainly white wines and some reds. We weren't too impressed but did like the Riesling, so we bought a bottle to bring back with us. They also had a 'sparkling' wine which was a carbonated Riesling - don't think it will take off.

Overall the wines were fruity and a little sweet which isn't to our taste. Their motto, 'Vintage wines for classic people'.

We finally arrived in Christchurch around 5pm, and our priority was to see some of the effects of the earthquake and visit the Quake City exhibition.

Reconstruction on a grand scale

The abandoned Rydges Hotel

It wasn't till be arrived in the city centre that we saw the magnitude of the destruction. It's difficult to describe walking city streets where reconstruction is happening everywhere and many buildings are just boarded up because they are to dangerous to enter. Even the Rydges Hotel where we stayed in 2001 was derelict, too dangerous to be occupied.

Shipping container shopping

One interesting innovation is a city mall that has been reconstructed using shipping containers - a temporary measure 3 years ago which is still there.

The Quake City exhibition was excellent, documenting the September 2004 and major February 2011 quakes. probably the most interesting exhibits were two videos, one from a CCTV of a street as the quake happened, and the second of skateboarders who filmed themselves skating through the damaged buildings and over cracked roadways.

  CCTV footage from the moment the 6.3M Earthquake hit Christchurch CBD


Skating a couple of weeks after the February 22nd 2011 quake

We returned the car later that afternoon and stayed at the Gateway Hotel which is quite close to the airport, convenient for a 6:30 flight back to Sydney tomorrow morning.

Battered New Zealand Gurnard Fillets
served on Rustic Fries with Garden
Salad and Tartare Sauce

Trio of mini burgers of Pulled Pork,
Chicken & Brie and Cheesy Beef
served with Jacket Potato Wedges

Without a car, we decided to eat at the hotel, which can sometimes be a mixed experience. However the staff were incredibly friendly and helpful, even providing unusually large tasting quantities of their wines before we eventually decided on a Riesling and a Sauvignon Blanc.

We were quite hungry, and the two meals we ordered were just what we needed to fill the gap. I must say though, Sweet Chili Sauce makes a poor salad dressing!