Day Fifty Nine

I can only give you a very small taste of each place but a Google search of any key word will tell you all you need to know.
Christchurch City with the Southern Alps in the background

Here we are in the beautiful city of Christchurch, spread out along the Canterbury Plain with the Cashmere Hills rising beyond.
 The Avon River flows through the Botanical Gardens and visitors can enjoy trips 
  by punt to the heart of the city




Christchurch has seen more than its fair share of tragedy.

Christchrch Cathedral before the quake
On Saturday 4th Sept 2010, an earthquake measuring 7.1 struck the area, causing widespread damage but with no loss of life.  

Six month later Ruamoko, god of volcanoes and earthquakes, kicked off again, this time closer to the city’s centre.
...and after
This was the strongest earthquake ever recorded in an urban area and it killed 185 people from more than 20 countries. 
Aftershocks continued and although many fled from the city, most decided to stay on and defiantly rebuild.

Within weeks a vibrant container city was open for business with banks, shops, restaurants, cafés and clubs, all housed in repurposed containers.

Although I am not, in general a city person, this place just hummed with life and  cheeky enthusiasm.
Everyone seemed upbeat and optimistic, cocking a snook at the destructive gods.


Church authorities commissioned Sigeru Ban to design and build The Cardboard Cathedral, to replace the historic stone building, adjudged beyond repair (at least for many years)
The Cardboard Cathedral

Then on 13th February, 2017  two bush fires began in the Port Hills.  Eleven houses were destroyed and 1,000+ residents evacuated but no lives were lost.
Al Noor Mosque

Sadly, two years later, an insane and armed  Australian nationalist killed fifty one people, including little children, injuring many more in a hate attack on two Islamic centres whilst people were at prayer.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said it was the darkest day in New Zealand history but it led to something quite remarkable.

Thousands of non-Muslims, even gang members,  volunteered to form human chains around every mosque so worshippers could pray in safety.

Literally millions of people came out onto the streets to lay huge banks of flowers at every mosque and Islamic centre in the country. 


Muslim families, often subject to racism, were inundated with letters and gifts of sorrow and apology.
No one could believe such a horrific thing should happen in this peaaceful country.
A little later, every shop, factory, school, college, office, marae, café, church, bank and home in New Zealand, stopped for a commemorative and deeply sad silence.

 Support for the bereaved and injured poured in, as did the money: $31 million in just a few days. New Zealanders working and grieving together posted notices across the cities and on social media:
Kia Kaha = be strong
Visit Christchurch today and the flame of renewal is still bright. A lesson to the world - if you can rise above so many appalling setbacks, you can rise above anything.
Akaroa Harbour

 Take a run out to Akaroa, named Port Louis-Philippe by the 63 French settlers who arrived in 1840, believing they owned the land there,  and you’ll find yourself in a small French town.  It has a beautifully continental atmosphere whilst still being very Kiwi.  
Akaroa has such charm that many people wish to retired here.  Despite having only 630 residents, the influx of tourists makes it a very bustling settlement with all the usual gift, food and souvenier shops as well as French restaurants and cafes.  


Like everywhere in New Zealand the scenery is amazing.


Akaroa Harbour

Kaikōura is over 180  km north from Christchurch but still also subject to shakiness.
A beach at Kaikoura
On 14 November 2016 a quake of 7.8 left 2 dead and caused a tsunami. A thousand tourists and locals were stranded when the shaking disrupted transport services.   Not a bad place to be stranded really.

Kaikoura is famous for its dolphin and whale watching tours, held on strictly ecological lines so that no sea creature is disturbed.


Up the coast 200 km  and you’re in arts-orientated Nelson (Whakatū) which  hosts multiple festivals including those for jazz, blues and chamber music as well as the famous Wearable Art Festival. 
Wearable art

Enjoying a temperate climate with long hours of sunshine, it’s the ideal venue for all outdoor sports and leisure activities.  

Nelson has retained many historic old buildings but the rot set in during 2012 when an international chain built an hotel reminiscent of dismal Soviet Bloc apartment buildings.
Thin end of the unlovely wedge?




Off now to the sheltered harbour of Picton to take ferry across the Cook Strait.
Hope you're a good sailor, I once crossed in an Force 10 gale - very invigorating.

Before we do, let’s stroll around this attractive seaside town with its many cafés, galleries and restaurants.
 The Foreshore gives a calming view of the sea whilst keeping the vibrancy of friends meeting, interesting discussions and upbeat music.  

A water taxi will take you to the Kaipupu Point Nature Reserve where total peace and quiet (there is no vehicular access) allow you to enjoy bird song.



 Grab your ferry tickets, it’s nearly time to head for the terminal and the 3 ½ hour journey across Cook Strait.   

Listed in the world’s guidebooks as one of the most beautiful journeys you’ll ever take.


You may see five species of dolphin:  Common, Bottlenose, Dusky and extremely rare Hctor dolphin as well as  the Orca.  Birdlife included Australasian gannets, shearwaters, shags and even blue penguins. 

If you’re lucky you may spot a majestic Royal Albatross heading down the coast to the Taiaroa Head  sanctuary, 29km from Dunedin.


Before we leave the South Island, a word about boulders.


The Moeraki Boulders.

Maori have several  legends about these concretions: they are the kumara seeds which the gods brought to Aotearoa; or eel baskets and calabashes from the wrecked canoe, Arai-te-uru, the waka (canoe) which brought the ancestors of the Ngai Tahu people to Aotearoa
Moeraki Boulders


They have hard shells but the stone inside is crumbly.  A bit like Maltesers.

At Matakaea some 19 kilometres away, are the Katiki Boulders which contain the bones of Mosasaurs and Plesiosaurs. 




I can just imagine them emerging from this giant egg which then calcified.
























No comments:

Post a Comment

Thanks for reading my blog.

  The Aztecs were spiritual people and among their pantheon of deities was the goddess Mayahuel who gave birth to 400 rabbits which she fe...