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Published: October 4th 2016
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It’s a grey drizzly morning (Thursday 29/9), looks like the bike ride is off the list and option 2 heading to Christchurch is the winner. A slight detour to Rangiora for a walk around the town and lunch down by the Ashley river before heading to Brooklands, which sits on the southern side of the Waimakariri river. It took us a while to realise this was a red zone area from the 2010/2011 earthquakes. All those concrete driveways leading to vast areas of empty land was rather sobering. We are not sure what the plan is for this area but it looks like they have done some recent planting and work on the wetlands reserve here. Final spot for the night is the NZMCA Weedons Park which is between Hornby and Rolleston.
Friday and it’s time to go and explore. Metro Bus cards (best way to travel around) in hand and we are off to catch the bus to New Brighton Pier. There is a lovely expansive sandy beach here. It’s a bit of a favourite with the surfers when the swell is right. We enjoyed a brisk walk down the Pier in the cool breeze before finding a nice
sheltered spot to eat our lunch. Back on the bus and into central Christchurch and what was one and still is one of our favourite citys. We haven’t been back here since before the earthquakes and I found the experience fairly emotional. The destruction is still very evident and the many accommodation places we had stayed in around the square all gone. The damaged Cathedral behind high fences, is still awaiting final decision and outcome of its future. I took a couple of photos of the Cathedral but didn’t feel comfortable about it. So I have opted to post pictures of the positive things and what is and continues to be beautiful about this place. We wandered around the Avon river then onto the The Re:START container mall. This was set up as a temporary mall in the city following the earthquakes. This places is quite cool with all the colourful vibrant container shops. It’s actually buzzing here today which is nice to see. Nice place for a coffee, bite to eat, and maybe bit of people watching😊.
Saturday (1/10) and it’s another day on the pegs. We have walked around both Hagley Park and Botanic Gardens. There were
plenty of young families out enjoying the sunshine which was lovely to see. The Botanic Gardens are beautiful at the moment with all the spring blossoms on the trees. A bit of a bonus for us was the Scape Public Art Exhibition which is on from 1
st October to 12
th November. There are many sculptures that are scattered around the city and are well worth the effort finding if you have time. Some of the art is very questionable according to Lance, but I dragged him along anyway😊.
Bus then ferry was the go Sunday morning. What a beautiful day to be heading across from Lyttelton to Diamond Harbour. The ferry only takes about 8 minutes, once across the other side you have the option of a few walking tracks or plonking yourself at one of the cafes for a latte and scone. Obviously we opted to do the Clifftop Walk. What great views all the way on the track to Church Bay. The track is narrow and very uneven, so you do find yourself looking down rather than out at the view. I understand they have a restoration plan for this track which would make it very popular
walk if the track condition was improved.
Sunday morning and it’s an early start to catch the bus to Rolleston to meet the Tranz Alpine Train to Greymouth. Now this is a treat for us. We have purchased the Freedom Pass ($417 each) which allows us to travel 3 days travel on the Tranz Alpine, Northern Explorer, Coastal Pacific and Interislander Ferry. We have 12 months to use the pass so today we are doing the Tranz Alpine return. We started in a bit of fog but were relieved that it cleared by the time we got to Springfield. The scenery is just magic. I spent most of the journey in the outdoor viewing carriage. Yes it was a bit cool but it was worth it. As we wound our way up to Arthurs pass we followed the aqua blue Waimakariri River with numerous bridges and tunnels. 3 million tonnes of rock go into the sea from the Waimakiriri River each year. There was not as much snow as we expected but there was some. A quick stop at Arthurs Pass allowed us to stretch our legs before heading down through the 8.5km Otira Tunnel. This tunnel was the
longest built in the British Empire when opened in 1923. Now ranked 3
rd in NZ and 45
th in the world. We then wind down the western side of the alps through some of NZ’s large high country stations, rivers, Lake Brunner and on to Greymouth. A short stop here allows us to walk down the edge of the river to the port then back around through town and a quick beer at Speights Ale house before boarding for our return journey. A very different view on the way home as the cloud closed in over the ranges and we were sitting on the opposite side of the train. What an awesome unforgettable day😊 . Fact of the day: Climate – Western side of Alps receives 5m of annual rainfall but the Eastern side only gets 1.5m in comparison..
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