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Published: February 11th 2008
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Christchurch
(http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/
Newsroom/NewImages/Images/
christchurch_etm_2001264_lrg.jpg) Monday 11th Lot of noise 630 as a big group leaves the hostel, get up 745 (lie-in for a bus morning!), ready in plenty of time and get the front seat on the bus. Back with Ryan, who was driver from Nelson to Franz Josef. Expecting to get into Christchurch by 1ish so not too much travelling today. Find I'm not on the travelling list, so probably not booked in my hostel either... If you want something done, always do it yourself!! We stop 10ish at Geraldine, café/souvenirs and 5 people are getting off for a days rafting. Am in my hostel I think so that's OK. Chat to another girl who left her job as she's not sure what to do and kept being offered work on the basis of what she'd done before which was what she'd wanted to leave behind - reminds me I need some thought on CV wording - emphasise the people side of me, see where I can drop the admin stuff! Now we're heading through the Canterbury Plains to Christchurch where I'm booked til Wednesday so far! Quick stop at Rakaia - take a piccie of a big salmon, before continuing. Someone's decided to
go to the Antarctic Centre, so will take a wee while longer - I debated going there but think will save my money - definitely want to come back to NZ, so can always go another time!
Get into town, hostel looks nice enough. Weather is boiling hot, so change to shorts/flip-flops and head into town to take a few photos, see what the options are for tomorrow. Meander about quite a lot, wander into MORE souvenir shops but is all getting very 'same same' - but found my badge patch/postcard so sorted for Christchurch now. Headed across to the Botanic Gardens where I asked where the REAL shops were - found those and went into
bivouac to see if I could replace my bum-bag. After ensuring that it all fitted in, I got to the counter, said can you throw this away, and the guy said "why?". Said that the zip was broken, so he fixed it for me, saving me $40 (about GBP18), so very happy with that, and would return again! Asked him about the Osprey Bag and he said warranty covers faults, so need to pursue the airline/insurance for the damage to the bag. Back
to the airline. Now found an internet cafe for $3 an hour, cheapest have found since Auckland $2 per hour! Caught up on a few things, and will do some more tomorrow - need to make a 'to do' list for online, but today target was just to get this blog up to date. It's now 7.45pm, it's now dark-ish and raining (remember what I said I was wearing) - oh well, am gonna get wet! Going back to make another veggie curry!! That curry took ages, but was tasty, and now meals are cooked for next couple of days! Ran into Netty again, had another catch-up, then enjoyed a read before sleep! Bizarre that a guy turned up for the top bunk when I'm in a female dorm...
Tuesday 12th So, it's still raining! Maybe I won't do the gondola, but decide am still going to do the Botanic Gardens. Ask reception about the guy, and he had been given the wrong room key - ho hum! Wander slowly over the Gardens as I'm real early, not sure exactly where I'm supposed to be standing, then see a woman with 'Botanic Gardens Guide' on her bag - that
might be a clue! She's called Anne, and I'm the only one on the tour, but she's still happy to take me - says much of the garden is very English as much of it was planted by the Victorians, and yes, it does feel quite familiar. Is a nice cottage/garden in one corner - now a cafe, which uses that local garden produce in its meals - nice. Pretty damp walk, but still plenty to see, and Anne says that as they are in drought, the rain is much needed/appreciated. We go to more of the indoor segments of the garden to shelter from the rain, and see a good mixture of plants (you know me, plants/trees/flowers, I don't get much more precise than that). By 11.15 we're back at the start point, which is also the entry to the Canterbury Museum, so I head into there, and it's pretty interesting - particularly the Antarctic section, which has the genuine items cleared away from the Antarctic stations in order to allow the penguins to rehabit the area. Plenty of bird-life (stuffed!) to see, and all that. Decide to check out the Fudge Cottage - book onto the tour for
2pm, then go to the Art Gallery. When I get there decide am not in the mood for looking at art, so sit and look out at the rain for half-hour until I think I might go and see the Provincial Council Buildings - has that empty feel that the Great Hall has in Winchester. Back in time for the tour, when we're taken across the courtyard and down into the kitchens. Don't get a seat, but, even better, get to stand near where all the action is happening. We try about 10 different kinds of fudge in between information on the history and processes of fudge-making in this small business. Interesting, but the sugar is pretty strong - so I better be careful. Only one I don't like is the Dairy Fudge. We head back to the shop for our 'surprise' - oh no, it's a piece of Dairy Fudge. Oh well. Now, found the internet cafe, and about to log-off and head back to the Arts Centre to hopefully watch
Death at a Funeral in a 60-seater cinema - maybe that will feel like Winchester cinema too... Well, that was funny, and as I was leaving the cinema felt a bit
homesick... the things that remind you of home (and Christchurch has plenty of them!) - so now I'm back in the internet cafe hoping to clear some of my electronic tasks... and say hi to a few people! Well, I ended up in that internet cafe for over 2 hours, and ate my lunch for my dinner (fudge was for lunch) - and that piece of fudge turned out to be Baileys - bliss! Back in time to pack and crash!
Off to Kaikoura in the morning, and Wellington on Friday, Napier on Monday.
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