16 December 2024 -New Zealand- South Island -Christchurch

We woke at a reasonable time and it was raining!!. We had breakfast and packed and got ready to depart for Christchurch. We later heard that there were no whale trips or Albatross trips the whole day so we had been lucky with our weather. Kaikoura is such a lovely place it must be on your list if you come to NZ.  

We drove in the rain to Christchurch which took about 2 hours 45 minutes and we drove through the hills/mountains and through some beautiful scenery. There was lots of farmland with cattle and sheep and rolling hills. There is a wine growing area called Waipura which has about 3 % of NZ’s production. We did not stop due to time issues and we still have wine from Waiheke to drink.

We drove on and the weather dried up and we came into Christchurch and drove straight to our hotel which was on the outside of the centre. We took the car back to the car hire company and had a snack.

We decided due to the shortness of time to take a hop on hop off tram round the city which was good and very informative. The nearest stop was not far from our hotel and before long we were on a 1921 tram going round the city where the driver provides a good running commentary. See picture of the day.

Christchurch is the second largest city in NZ and suffered badly as  result of earthquakes in 2010 and 2011. The 2011 was the most devastating and basically 11,000 buildings (80% of its buildings) have had to be replaced and at that time 185 people died. In short the whole of the central city has been rebuilt and looks like new. There is building work still going on now. The tram took us past all the central areas and we passed the cathedral which is still being renovated although they have now run out of money. The University is still being rebuilt. There were lots of new shops, office blocks, hotels, a new library and conference centre. They are building a new stadium which will host rugby and other sporting events and concerts etc.  There are over 120 parks in and around the city and it is the greenest city in NZ and is often called “the garden city”. It is really a city in transition.

After we had done a loop we walked around the university and a bit of the botanical gardens. We decided to have supper at the Creators Cottage a Spanish restaurant which was good.

We had an early night as we were getting the Trans Alpine Train tomorrow.   

Stormbird

I have yet to her from my insurers but the yard have begun to expose everything and I await a report from a surveyor I have appointed who is going to inspect the damage. I have everything crossed.

Opportunity Year Two

In year two I will be going from New Zealand in early January 2025 across to Sydney and up the Eastern Australian Coast, Indonesia and then through Bali, Singapore and on to Thailand to end year two about the end of November 2025. I will need some more crew.

If there is any interest do email me at  hine.nick9@gmail.com  

The blog will continue as we continue the journey. If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog then do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com