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Published: November 3rd 2013
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Sadly on Sunday evening we left Melbourne on a flight to Christchurch, New Zealand. Our flight left a little late because a gentleman had arrived earlier on an Asian flight and his baggage was already on our plane and he was nowhere to be found. They had to take off his luggage before they would let the plane leave. I am glad of that safety precaution! And Ken had an empty seat beside him!!
So it was close to midnight before we arrived and 2 other planes arrived near the same time. Customs was not prepared for this to happen. New Zealanders and Australians went through one customs gate and all other passengers through another. There was one agent for our line. The one official came out and looked with a “What are we going to do look on his face”. He went down to the internal customs. In the meantime, the crew were waiting in their fast track line and had no one to process them. Finally two more officers arrived and some people were sent to the local customs line and we eventually did get through. We did see some people having to open their bags and one
young gal went through that and had to join our luggage line (it goes through yet another X-ray) and the dog was around sniffing. This poor girl got stopped again. Don’t know the result! Frank (our local contact from the travel agent ) picked us up and took us to the hotel – The Chateau on the Park. Room was great and free WiFi!! The novel thing was the switch you could put on to light up outside your door – Do Not Disturb. We used it, as it was 2:30 AM. Needless to say, we had a very late breakfast. The gal explained about the coffee. Ken could have 2 shots (for strong) and I could have 1 shot. Finally was able to have an acceptable cup of coffee. The hydrangeas and rhododendrons and roses and all the other flowers that I cannot name make this a very beautiful English garden. Our room overlooks the pool and the garden. The hotel had a van that took us to the museum. I have to say that people really go out of their way to help you. The van driver told us about the Botanical gardens and about the architect who
was rebuilding the temporary cathedral using cardboard and steel. The devastation of the downtown of Christchurch is overwhelming. It is like a war zone. Across from the Museum is/was a boy’s school built in 1870. The turret managed to survive and was lowered until the base is rebuilt. Some stone walls are intact: others are completely gone. New Zealanders have been innovative in the rebuilding. They have used container bins to rebuild a retail mall downtown. They are also using containers for temporary housing for the workers they have had to bring into the country to help in this reconstruction process. A Lululemon store is even in one of the containers.(didn’t check the prices!). The Museum had an exhibit to remember the earthquake by photographing 37 individuals for 37 seconds and having each of them write what they were doing and their emotions during the 37 seconds of the earthquake. It was such a moving tribute.
The only bad thing was arriving on their Labour day holiday and the restaurants already add 15%GST, but on this holiday they add another 15%. Our supper was a bowl of soup for Ken and a pasta dish which we shared. Our bill
was$47. Just a tad expensive! After supper we walked back to the hotel through the Botanical gardens. It was a wonderful place with the plants and trees labeled. We even found an Oak tree planted in 1863 in honour of the marriage of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. We had to guess where to go when coming out of the park, but after passing the tennis courts and then crossing the rugby fields we did find our hotel.
Tuesday morning it was up at 5:15 because we were catching the train to the West side of the Island going through Arthur’s Pass. The commentary kept us informed about the history and the views. The mouherentains are called The Southern Alps and reminded me more of the Alps in Europe than our own Rockies. The terrain changes from farmland to rough terrains with very deep gorges. There are very pretty yellow flowering bushes which they say are weeds??? At the higher points we are taken off the train and loaded onto buses. The tunnel at this high point is not that stable. At another of the old train stations we reload onto the train. Eventually, we get to Greymouth on
the West side of New Zealand. Here we pick up our next white Corolla. But we have to find some lunch first. It is a small old town that I am sure was busy in the coal mining days. There do seem to be lots of restraurants and on a side street came across a cute modern place. It could be owned by a mother and daughter. The daughter had recently been to Italy, England and Ireland. She loved Ireland. Interesting that they flew via Los Angeles. In Australia, everyone flies either via Hong Kong or Dubai. We had a choice of $10 lunches, so we thought maybe prices were going to be OK here!! Dream on!! We drove north along the coast to Punakaiki but it is raining and the Tasman sea is angry! Our hotel is nice. We probably had the best room in the complex, right on the water. The beaches are full of driftwood and they are gravel and grey. I wonder what the rest of New Zealand has. Supper at the hotel was expensive and the resort is not very busy. It is a cold spring!! Tomorrow it is on to the Glaciers.
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