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Published: December 22nd 2008
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The River Avon
In the centre of the city Christchurch, the Garden City Sunday 21st December 2008
Sunday morning, the first day of summer and it has not stopped raining since Friday night; wind, rain and damp and because the hostel is a lovely old Victorian building, the ceilings are high and the heating is a bit inadequate, so it is also very cold. Christchurch is called the “Garden City” because it is so full of trees, gardens and beautiful landscaping. The River Avon winds gracefully through the city and botanical gardens. Just as the founders of Dunedin wanted a little bit of Scotland in the southern hemisphere, so Christchurch was designed to be a little bit of England, or as the early settlers said, a little bit of “home”. It is no exaggeration when people say that Christchurch is more English than England. With the river, cathedral and the old university buildings (and also with the weather) one could so easily be in Oxford, Cambridge or Stratford upon Avon. Despite the truly awful weather, we can still appreciate the city’s beauty, although yesterday we spent most of our time inside rather than outside (shops and the cathedral ) because it was raining so heavily, but are hoping that
things brighten up a bit before we leave.
Hurrah! This afternoon the rain stopped and we were able to get some photos of the city at last. Every Sunday in the Arts Centre, which is just across the road from our hostel in the old university buildings, they have a craft fair where local artists show and sell their work; spent a few really enjoyable hours there and then strolled around the botanical gardens. As soon as the sun came out, so did the people, strolling along or punting on the river, filling the cafes or watching buskers and street performers in the cathedral square; lovely atmosphere. Weather forecast is good for tomorrow but we’ll wait and see. As one local said to us, “Christchurch can have all four seasons in a day!” It is known as the place with the most varied and changeable climate in New Zealand; so very English!
Monday 22nd December 2008
The forecast for good weather was spot on. Today has been glorious, so we went canoeing on the Avon, strolled around the cathedral square once more (but this time in sunshine) and had a leisurely riverside lunch. Tonight we have
Navigator
John says I can't steer! to pack our rucksacks ready to fly to Sydney tomorrow. New Zealand has been so memorable; we have done so much in five weeks here, seen the geysers, glaciers, mountains, beaches and cities as well as dolphins, kiwis, tuis, parrots, birds of prey and best of all the penguins. What have been the highlights? Probably Rotorua and seeing the penguins, although Coromandel and the Southern Alps were pretty spectacular too! Loved it all! Great people, great food, good coffee and such an easy-going atmosphere. We could easily have spent a lot longer here. We are now half way through our travels and if the second half is as good as the first we’ll be very happy! So we are off to spend seven weeks in sunny Oz (although we’ll probably hit the monsoons when we get to Darwin) starting with Christmas and New Year in Sydney. Can’t be bad!
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