I arrived in Christchurch and had a quick walk around before dinner and spent the night in a hostel. This is the bus terminal with its wacky coloured benches.
Christchurch cathedral at night. I didn't really have time to take in the sights of Christchurch as had to meet Lucy for the pick up of the campervan.
Once on the road we aimed for the Banks peninsula which was formed by the eruption of two large volcanoes. It is quite a spectacular sight from the air as the postcards prove. Above is Akaroa and its splendid position on the Akaroa Inlet. There was a race by British and French settlers here in the early C19 and due to good fortune the British landed here and erected the flag. However a deal was struck and half of the town has French named roads and half are English. The French influence is retained with pride as you can see from the Tricolor flag flying!
Morning bath at Oamaru, South of Christchurch. The water was icy compared to what I am used to in Australia. I managed about 2 minutes - not much of a bath!
Oamaru was once as busy as Los Angeles due to grain exports. Unfortunately the bubble burst and many left as is the case with so many boom and bust towns. Luckily the old buildings survived modernisation due to this low period and now it is considered to be the finest group of original Victorian buildings in New Zealand.
The old Post Ofice, now council buildings.
Hotel
StPauls Church
Moeraki - home of Fleurs seafood restaurant which was closed for the day! We also forgot to visit the boulders - I think a return visit is in order!
No comments:
Post a Comment