Trip of Giants - Christchurch and Birdlings Flat

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Today was a day of finding, not finding, clues and hairy armpits. It started with a fabulous sleep-in in a cosy bed while outside it was below zero. The inventor of the electric blanket should be given an award!

The girls had planned a shopping trip for shoes (three generations of them - girls I mean). Some gut instinct told me I (and the boys) wouldn't fit in so instead after receiving a generous snak-pack from Penny, the boys and I drove over to Lake Forsyth and Birdlings Flat. I wanted to let Joseph have a fossic for the agates and petrified wood that can be found there on the beach.

Liam must have been still recovering from jet-lag because he fell asleep almost straight away in the back seat, while Joseph and I enjoyed the Canterbury plains, farms, sheep, cattle and all sorts. My nephew Toby was surprisingly quiet, possibly because he'd been given strict instructions by his mum to "BEHAVE" and "DON'T ARGUE" and "DO WHAT YOUR UNCLE DOUG TELLS YOU TO DO". There wouldn't have been much he could say (or do) within these guidelines, so he ended up being an angel the whole trip.

The beach was beautiful, scenic, wild and fierce with a strong breeze. Gulls and other seabirds flew above the enormous waves that crashed down on the pebbled beach. The beach was much larger and longer than I recalled from my visit sixteen years before. With Liam having a reluctant moment, I ended up split between two boys sitting at one end and Joseph searching at the other. We finally came together again but didn't find much. On the drive out I noticed a sign that read "Gemstone and Fossil Museum". "Shall we look?" "Yeah".

While driving along the side road to the museum, I was saying to the boys "One of my cousins lives around here but I don't remember the address", when there in front of me hanging on a fence was a (purloined) AA sign for Bartletts Road. Hmm I wonder who lives there? I knocked on the door but she wasn't home.

The Gemstone and Fossil Museum was really good. The guy has an extensive collection of agates, geodes, crystals, petrified/fossilised wood and other great stuff. Joseph and I picked out some geode cuttings and polished agates to take home and add to our small collection.

Then we drove to the Blue Duck Cafe, at the turnoff to Lyttelton and had a great pie for lunch. The next stop was supposed to be the top of the Gondola, as I expected you could reach it from the top and take it down then up. We drove along summit road to the Sign of the Kiwi, which I thought was the spot, but found out on Sunday that I hadn't driven far enough along, and you can't get to it from Summit Road anyway.

So we ended up at Victoria Park, in the Cashmere Hills where the boys climbed Macrocarpa trees and Liam found a great big "hairy armpit" (pictured). There was also a playground, picnic gazebos and toilets.

The remainder of the day was spent doing quiet activities at home, including Joseph honing his golf, bowling and tennis skills on the Wii.

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