This trip in July 2014, is the first time back in New Zealand since 2001. The flight was only 3 hours and with many empty seats we managed to lie down and get some rest - arrival was 12:30 am NZ time. Christchurch airport is not very big (compared to Sydney), but the most memorable experience was being greeted by the recorded sound of bleating sheep as we travelled along the corridors. I didn't know whether it was cute or kitsch - I think the latter. New Zealand must have more to offer than sheep, although after a week we may have to review that position.
After the late arrival, we slept in and only just made the 10am checkout, so decided to get some brunch on the road. We'd decided to get a GPS with the car we'd hired which was useful to exit Christchurch and head south to visit Arthur, Kate and son Mike who live near Dunedin.
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4th anniversary of the
Christchurch Earthquake |
This was a big day for Christchurch as it was the 4th anniversary of the Earthquake that struck the city in 2010 although, it had less impact than the major earthquake of February 2011. Of interest was the fact that only 10% of the required reconstruction has been completed, due to a number of different factors, but that the economy was recovering much faster. The newspaper article also interestingly documented the children of spontaneous births that occurred during the earthquake and aftershocks, all now 4 years old.
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| Salmon pond at Salmon World |
The Canterbury plain south of Christchurch is quite flat and agricultural, mostly animals and potatoes, although we did see some vineyards. We only travelled as far as Rakaia before curiosity and hunger got the better of us and we stopped at "Salmon World" with a giant salmon sculpture outside.
There were some salmon in a pond, and they had a shop full of fishy paraphernalia. More interesting was the food, a nice variety of pies and baked dishes. Frances settled on a Seared Salmon with wilted greens and noodles, while I chose the beef pie, and gave the salmon pie a miss. The pie didn't taste as good as it looked, Frances's fish was delicious.
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| Grilled Salmon |
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| Beef Pie with 2 sauces |
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| Unfinished glasses of wine! |
This occasion was marked by the fact that for the first time we left 2
unfinished glasses on wine on the table. A long story, but Frances enjoyed her Pinot Grigio, but not as much as the Pinot Noir. But with over 4 hours more driving, I thought it best not to drink all of the extremely delicious, 14.5%
alcohol Pinot Noir.
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| Relocated Timaru lighthouse |
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| Frances taking a short break |
After an hour or so we arrived at the town & port of
Timaru.
It is a nice coastal town with some interesting buildings and a coastal walkway and we spent some time just enjoying the atmosphere. The sun was struggling through in bursts through an overcast sky.
European settlement in Timaru began with the construction of a whaling station in 1839 by the Weller brothers of Otago at Patiti Point, close to the present town centre. A supply ship, The Caroline, provided the name for a local bay and beach which is now a popular recreational area located close to Timaru's city centre, just to the north of the substantial port facilities.
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| The Mocca Cafe in Timaru |
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| Part of the cake window |
We looked for somewhere to get a coffee, and stumbled across the Mocca Cafe.
They had a most interesting assortment of savoury and sweet snacks and pastries but I decided on a Louise cake - coconut, cherries and apple on a thin pastry base.
It was quite sweet and rich, but delicious, especially with the excellent large cappuccino the I had with it.
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| The Oamaru railway station entrance |
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| The Presbyterian church above the town |
The next town was
Oamaru, a historic and operational port town.
Again we stopped to look at the historic buildings, most run-down and deserted, but indicative of how large and important it's economy had been in the 19th century. The result now is too many grand stone buildings to fund their restoration or for adaptive reuse.
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| The farmhouse on the Outram-Mosgiel Rd |
Eventually we had to head off again to Dunedin and then Outram before it got dark. We arrived at Dunedin around 6pm, and although the sun had set, there was enough remaining light to see a bit of the city as we drove through, before the final leg to their farm at Outram.
After a day's drive of about 380kms, it was great to see Arthur & Kate's friendly faces, share a home-cooked meal with bottle of sparkling Chandon that we'd brought, and fall into bed.
