Christchurch

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Lake Tekapo was our first stop, another lake of a remarkable turquoise colour, fringed in part with lupins, now over. We popped into the small chapel on the lakeside, the Church of the Good Shepherd but there were hoards of tourists so we didn't linger. We had passed many canals and a series of damns as we drove through the area and apparently they formed part of the hydroelectric infrastructure which also used the lakes, some of which had had their water level raised for this purpose.

Our next stop was Geraldine which only served as a place where we ate our sandwiches, failing to match the hype in our DK guidebook. We had a choice of routes to reach Christchurch, a scenic one inland or the main Route 1. Seeing as we were staying in an Air B and B in Lyttleton, the port of Christchurch five miles out of the city, we thought it would be nice to get there mid afternoon and explore a bit so we took the main route which was predictably busy with heavy traffic and quite boring. Ah well, should've taken the scenic route!

However we were delighted with Lyttleton, reached through a mile long tunnel cut through the granite rock. Early settlers landed here in the late nineteenth century and walked over the mountain to Christchurch, a route now called the Bridle Path, which had a better situation for a new town, being a larger area though located in a swamp.

It was immediately apparent it was a working town with cranes in the harbour area variously loading logs and containers on to awaiting vessels. We learned later that Lyttleton was the port where the great Antarctic explorers such as Scott and Shackleton departed from. The Main Street was similar to many others, having the characteristic wooden shops along its length although i was amazed to see it also had a SuperValue supermarket, which we had only seen in Ireland. Gasping for a cuppa and unable to get into our B and B for an hour, we wandered into a bar where we were persuaded to have a glass of beer instead, from the local micro brewery called The Three Boys. Delicious! Perusing the menu, we decided to eat there that evening since Thursday nights had10% off.

Luckily our B and B for the next three nights was just five minutes up the road, in a delightful wooden villa hosted by Deborah. From the veranda, we could look out over the port and the rest of the town climbing up the hillside. Her garden was lush and even had a lemon tree. It proved a peaceful spot and I was glad we had not decided to stay in the big city.

Deborah gave us lots of tips including advice to take the bus into Christchurch the following day and she volunteered to give us a walking tour of the earthquake-affected town.

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Photos

Lake Tekapo
Morning view

Lake Tekapo
Church of the Good Shepherd

Lyttleton
J Voyce & Co, Ships Providores, Main Street

Lyttleton Port
Logs about to be loaded

Lyttleton
View of the port

Lyttleton
Deborah's home