Advertisement
Published: November 12th 2013
Edit Blog Post
"I'm sorry.... all the bars and restaurants in the city centre are closed". How silly do you think I felt, completely forgetting that
Christchurch endured a massive earthquake not more than 18 months ago. The city is still well and truly in restoration and repair mode with streets still being blocked off or reduced to one way, and entire city blocks behind fences as buildings that are propped up with scaffolding are either being repaired of waiting to be demolished. It was crushing to see some beautiful old churches with entire sides hanging out from the main structure as well as the sense of defeat that was almost palpable in the air at the loss of some of the city's best landmarks. Drinks forgotten, I spent the night thinking 2 things.... that people are resilient and situations can always be worse than I have at home.... and that nothing lasts forever, so you better get out and see as much as you can, while you can.
On the recommendation of someone that used to live in Christchurch, it was mentioned that the
Banks Penninsula is a particularly lovely area to visit. Now, I don't usually put too
much faith in recommendations as people have such vastly differing opinions on what's to like, but the story behind it intrigued me. Seemingly, When the British were colonizing New Zealand, a French fleet had also landed on the Banks Peninsula and set up a town called
Akaroa. Both colonies were unaware of each other to years later and because of this, there is a definite French influence on the area. The buildings remind me of country France archetecture, French flags fly above quite a few of the houses and establishments, and even the residents have a slight French accent. Situated around a tranquil inlet, it was the perfect place for a coffee by the bay and a chance to people watch again. The amount of motorbikes out for a Saturday ride was fenominal but no surprise with the windy route to get to Akaroa and the picturesque destination.
On the way out of town there was a couple of hikers needing a lift back to Christchurch and I thought that with all the room to spare in my camper van it was a good opportunity to meet some fellow travellers.
Anne and Mo are over from Germany for
7 months (it seems that just like Australians have to go to London as a right of passage, Germans have to go to New Zealand because there appears to be more Germans here than in Germany) and after introductions, I found that we were heading the same direction down the east coast with their final destination being Stewart Island. They had just completed one of New Zealand's
Great Walks ( a series of hiking trails throughout the country) on the Banks Peninsula and were trying to get to the next one in the south. After some searching of the maps, it was discovered that if they stayed with me for a couple of days then I could take them the entire way. Sounded like a good plan... they got a lift and I got some company.
South of Christchurch the land opens up and becomes flat and pastoral, and I'd been told that there is not much to see along the way. Anne confirmed this with a quick check of her Lonely Planet guide book (in German of course) so we aimed for our nights camp at
Glencoe. An small open field near a river and surrounded by beech and
podocarp forests, the tent was pitched and the wine flowed with some fantastic conversation (as well as a few translations and charades to help it along). I've often pondered on the fact that sometimes the best company are the people you find while travelling.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.079s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 12; qc: 25; dbt: 0.0264s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1mb