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Published: March 31st 2007
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Christchurch Cathedral
With the market in Cathedral Square Nearing journey's end So, after 5,000kms of driving we arrived at our last destination of our whirlwind tour of New Zealand. It was slightly sad to know we didn't have anymore amazing NZ scenery to look forward to. However, there's still plenty left to see in this beautiful land, so many reasons to come back one day. It was also a shame to lose our independence, knowing we'd have to hand the car back. It had enabled us to pack so much more in than we could have done any other way. On the plus side, the weather was now fantastic as we had at last escaped the cloud and drizzle of the Southern Alps (blog:
Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park). The fleeces were peeled off, and the shorts came on...
Staying in Christchurch We were only intending to spend one night in Christchurch initially but as the weather wasn't that great at Mt Cook, we decided to go there for two nights. I had expected Christchurch accommodation to be quite expensive but we managed to find two places for $60. The place that we had already booked for the Sunday (Foley Towers) didn't have any rooms available for the Saturday so we
found another hostel to stay at - Akron Backpackers Lodge. Basically this place is a motel but has a block which is dedicated to backpackers. It is very new and clean. The room we had was big and the kitchen was also a decent size. They don't have any ensuites but there are only 7 backpacker rooms so the toilets and showers are not shared among many. The lounge was also huge and they offered free internet. We would throughly recommend it. Foley Towers was also okay, but we preferred Akron.
However, we were aware before getting to Christchurch from various news reports on the problem, that Christchurch has become notorius in New Zealand for boy racers and modified cars with big, loud exhausts. They use the inner ring-road as their race track, particularly late into Saturday nights/Sunday morning. There was clearly a good reason for accomodation along their race track having good availability and/or being cheaper than you may expect. It really is a big problem for the local motelliers, with people checking out after only one night of boy-racer interrupted sleep. That said, we did not find this a problem at Akron Backpackers lodge, as it is
set back from the road with some noise protection from the building in front of it. Besides, we have been using our ear-plugs at most backpackers to cope with those selfish people that slam doors late at night etc.
Christchurch isn't like the other major cities of Auckland and Wellington. In fact on a Saturday afternoon, it was so quiet that we wondered if we were really in a city. Perhaps this is because much of the shopping seems to be based on out of town retail parks and that the centre doesn't have that many shops. Christchurch is described as looking very English, in some ways it does. There is punting along the river, much like Cambridge and Oxford. Some of the architecture certainly is quite English also.
Aside from getting/searching for provisions for the South East Asia leg of our journey, we took advantage of the great weather and spent a lot of time exploring the town on foot. It is a particularly nice walk following the river, winding past many nice bars and restaurants then onto the Botanic Gardens and park. There is also an interesting arts and crafts market on and around the Arts
Exibition (the latter worth a look in itself for its architecture). We did not manage to get to the International Antarctica centre based near the airport, which was a shame as we quite fancied the 'Antarctic Storm' chamber.
Banks Peninsular Over looking Christchurch on the outskirts is the scenic Banks Peninsular. We drove straight through the tunnel (which couldn't be more different to Homer tunnel!) to Lyttleton, as it sounded worth a visit. One drive around this small, fairly industrial looking port convinced us it really wasn't worth stopping. Instead, we continued up to the summit road for impressive sea, bay and Christchurch views. In hindsight, we should have headed straight for Akaroa, a French settlement further around the peninsular that we'd heard was gorgeous.
Closing thoughts on New Zealand Whilst there were days that we could just as easily have been driving somewhere in the UK, NZ doesn't have a reputation for spectacular scenery for nothing. In part because it's far less developed than the UK, with a population of only 4m versus our 60m you never have to go far to feel like you're out in the wilds. It doesn't do ugly motorways that divert you
from scenic spaces. Whilst I'm a big fan of our much maligned country (if you make the effort, there's much more beauty out there than we give our country credit for), NZ manages to put a cherry on top of everything. Everything's bigger and more spectacular, with a certain uniqueness that sets it apart. It's not enough to have huge snow capped mountains with glaciers sliding down them - many of the mountains are active volcanoes. This country doesn't just do rivers flowing with normal water, it has to be the most impossibly blue colours you've ever seen. It can't just have natural springs, but hot water springs, mud pools and multicoloured sulphurous, steaming springs.
The untamed beauty of this land comes with danger warnings at every turn though! This is a very earthquake prone and volcanic country. It is these features that have and continue to shape it. And whether it's the thermal pools, the glaciers or climbing Mt. Cook many people have died here. In short, this is a precariously beautiful country. A suicide blonde if you like!
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