The Kilboran's Great Antipodean Adventure - Episode Seven - The City of Quakes and Gateway to Antarctica

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January 17th 2018

Published: January 19th 2018

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Paulkilby

Gondola 1

The view west of Christchurch.

Today, we left the wonders of the North Island and headed South to our next stop of Christchurch. We approached this leg with a mix of emotions; excitement at seeing our first stop in the South, the place in NZ that is probably most familiar to people back at home, but also a certain element of sadness at what we might see in a city ravaged by two major earthquakes in six months during 2010 & 2011. But the itinerary waits for no man and up we were at 5am, full of the joys of Spring (well, up anyway!) and ready for our taxi to the airport.

Sleep at the Bay Plaza was fitful, at best, with Wellington deciding to compensate for our lack of air conditioning, by having one of its hottest nights of the summer; morning couldn't come too soon for any of us! Our flight was at 8.20 and after sailing through the early morning traffic, we had checked in and dropped off our bags before 6.30. We were a little concerned about check in, because we were still carrying the two bottles of wine we bought in Napier; we didn't really want to put them in

Gondola 2

This could have been the one we came up in.......or maybe it was another one!!

our luggage (just in case they decided to break!), but weren't sure if we would be allowed to carry them on. But, 'no worries' as they say in this part of the world, we were on a domestic flight and we could take onboard our wine and full water bottles, without any problem whatsoever. Why the security procedures should be any different on an internal flight compared to an international flight, I'm not entirely sure; I don't think we would have got away with it on an internal flight in the UK! Actually, one thought that occurred to me whilst onboard the plane was that this was flight number 3 of our trip......only another 7 flights to go!!

Our 50 minute flight on a 737, was actually 10 minutes early (!), the bags came through like a shot and a taxi dropped us at our hotel (the Towers on the Park) around 9.45 am. We had originally thought about taking the ferry from Wellington to Picton and then driving down to Christchurch, but that journey would have taken all day and we found out on arrival that the Picton-Christchurch road had only just re-opened after the 2011

Gondola 3

The view back down the cables to Christchurch.

earthquake! At least, the way we travelled gave us another full day in Christchurch.

We had four key things on the agenda for Christchurch, the Hop on/Hop off tram tour, the Skyline Gondola, the International Antarctic Centre and a walk around central Christchurch. We decided to do the first two today in the perfect weather and leave the IAC, which is principally indoors, until the following day, when some rain was forecast. Our hotel was on the edge of Hagley Park and it was a walk across the park to get to the central city side. Hagley Park is said to be the third biggest central city park in the world, after Hyde Park and Central Park and having walked across it four times during our stay, I can CONCUR.........it is big!!

Now, having deprived you of quiz questions in the last blog entry, here's an early one for you: we've been doing a lot of concurring with each other during this trip (for reasons which I won't bore you with!), but in which film did Leonardo di Caprio use the phrase 'I Concur' a significant number of times?

Having crossed the park, we caught the shuttle

The Tram 1

Here comes our tram.

bus to the Gondola which climbs up Mount Cavendish to a height of almost 1500 feet and, once again, giving fantastic views over Christchurch and the surrounding area. It was a little hazy, but still fabulous. Later in the day, we heard that the city had suffered a relatively minor earthquake of 3.8 on the Richter Scale at 1.22 that afternoon with some shaking being felt. We certainly didn't notice anything, but think it may have occurred as we were coming down from the top of the gondola; but what we felt could equally have been when the gondola car we were in, vibrated as we went over one of the stanchions! The fact is, NZ is a country, where earthquakes are as common as a rainy day in good old Blighty, with around 2,000 quakes occurring every year, most relatively minor.

Next was the Tram tour and here again, this is really well done in an original, old-fashioned tram car with driver and conductor, trolling around the city centre for about an hour. The trip and live commentary were excellent, but it did show the devastation that occurred to the city and the massive amount of construction work

The Tram 2

I suppose gobbing out the window's out of the question as well!

that is still taking place. The time that this work is taking (over six years and counting so far), is no doubt a reflection of cost, who is paying and the important job of ensuring that the new construction/repairs are quake proof for the future.

After leaving the Tram, we headed back across Hagley Park to check in to the hotel (we were too early, when we first arrived) and on the way back Tim discovered that there was going to be a 5km run in the park that evening, which he decided to participate in. Part of me is impressed, part of me thought he was a complete idiot, but run he did, achieving a very respectable time of 25 minutes 34 seconds. Good friends would, of course, have gathered by the finish line to wave him in........we didn't bother and got ready for dinner instead!

Day two in Christchurch and it was back over the park again, to pick up the shuttle bus for the International Antarctic Centre. This was a free bus and the old chap who was our driver, was an absolute hoot. One of the things he explained was that digital head sets

The Tram 3

Entering a quaint little place called Cathedral Junction.

were available at the IAC, in every major language, although he did apologise that they're yet to offer the commentary in 'Australian' as yet - obviously no love lost between the Kiwis and the Aussies!

Christchurch is considered the 'Gateway to Antarctica', with most major countries using Christchurch airport for flights in and out of Antarctica. The IAC is well worth a visit with, as they say, 'fun for all the family'. This includes a ride on a Hagglund all terrain vehicle (as used in Antarctica), an artificial wind storm with temperatures down to -30C with the wind chill, a 4D movie experience of a voyage to Antarctica, which involved a lot of water being sprayed around and a live encounter with some penguins.

The Hagglund was over a specially constructed off road course and basically involved everyone laughing hysterically and being shaken to bits; great fun. For the artificial wind storm, we all had to put rubber overshoes on our feet and were provided with warm coats to wear and we were then herded into a quite large room, done up as an Antarctic landscape, with snow and ice all around and a temperature of -8C. We

The Tram 4

This time on New Regent Street.

had the chance to get up close and personal with a husky, before they turned on the fans and let rip. It was a blast (literally), but bear in mind that whilst we had coats on, we were also in shorts!! We were pretty chilled by the end, to say the least! The penguin encounter was quite sweet, with an interesting talk by the head handler. It was pleasing to note that all of the penguins and huskies were rescue animals, which couldn't survive in the wild. Another big tick for the IAC.

After about 3 hours, we caught the shuttle back to the city, with the same driver. It had started raining quite hard and rather than drop us back at the pick up point (a few blocks from the city centre) he asked where we were headed and he took a detour and dropped us right in the centre of Cathedral Square - no concerns about H&S or Insurance issues, preventing him from doing so, he just did it; so refreshing!

And by the time we were dropped off, it had stopped rainy. We wandered around for a while and saw the Cathedral itself, the front

Hagley Park 1

A long, but pretty walk....

of which is still a complete wreck - it is planned to rebuild it but when, is anyone's guess. As it was about 4 pm, we decided to have a proper meal this afternoon and just buy some snacks to have back at the hotel with our wine. We actually struggled to find a restaurant amongst all the construction work, but did come across a place called Orleans, where we had the Wednesday Special of waffles and southern fried chicken for $8 each. Sweet waffles and spicy chicken were an interesting combo, but with a side order of fries and a couple of beers, it all went down very nicely and the music in the bar was excellent. The girls then went to do a bit of retail therapy, while Tim and I decided to stay back and sample a little more ale, including a couple of alcoholic milkshakes, which they called 'Hardshakes'! And very nice they were too.

Then it was back across the park for the last time, home to our hotel to pack, have our nibbles and wine, play a few hands of cards on the balcony by our rooms and get ready for our next

Hagley Park 2

.......very pretty....

adventure tomorrow, the Tranzalpine Express across the Southern Alps to the west coast and then all points south. But before we popped off to bed, we were, somewhat incredibly, scolded like naughty children by a lady from a neighbouring apartment, who felt we were making too much noise at 10 o'clock when she wanted to go to bed! We were so astonished, we actually wrapped up our game and did as we were told!! Shades of Nashville with Jill and Eddie Jones!!

Christchurch, in many ways, is probably the most English of anywhere so far, apart from the destruction caused by the earthquakes of course, although the Cathedral does rather have the look of London during the Blitz! I am running out of superlatives for New Zealand, but save to say, Christchurch was another great stay.

So, here they come everyone, today's quiz questions and let's say that this round has a distinctly chilly feel. Don't be shy, all attempts welcome!

* What is the lowest temperature recorded on Antarctica? Is it -69C, -79C or -89C?

* How many different types of Polar Bear are found on Antarctica?

* What is the main difference between