Trip of a lifetime!

Paul has been talking about going to New Zealand for longer than I have known him – something to do with Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir, Marlborough, Martinborough and Oyster Bay! So when we were already halfway round the world for the rugby we decided to blow the pension and head on south!

It took almost a day to travel the 5838 miles – by the time we got the bus out to Narita Airport, hung around for check-in to open, and got through all that process, which wasn’t straight forward and why would it be for us!

We needed to use a machine to check-in. That went ok but it didn’t print the boarding cards. No problem assured the assistant, you will get them at the desk when you drop off your bags. Join another queue – have you seen the amount of luggage some people travel with? Then lots of questions about where we were going? For how long? When were we planning on leaving? Could we provide documentary evidence of our plans….

Then there was customs and immigration! I only hope that Japan have logged me out of their country.

The flight was busy, the space cramped – the pension didn’t stretch to business class – and it was late! That wouldn’t have mattered only we had a connecting flight to catch with only a two hour turnaround, baggage to pick up, customs and security to clear followed by a hike to the domestic terminal…..

Thankfully the connecting flight was late too and we just made it! An hour and a half later we had great views landing in Christchurch where we were collected by the lovely Tom and delivered to our hotel. We had been on the go 20 hrs – though the clock now said 24 as we have moved further east.

We checked in and headed out for a whirlwind tour of Christchurch. Our hotel is adjacent to Hagley Park and the Botanical Gardens. Though a bit chillier than we have been used to these last few weeks, it is spring time in NZ and the park looked beautiful.

Hagley Park is known as ‘the lungs of Christchurch’. It stretches over 165 hectares and was created in 1855 by the Provincial Government. It was such a lovely space to walk through.

The “stairway to heaven” sculpture in one of the lakes represents the concept of eternity and infinity. Being less artistically aware it looked like an alligator about to eat the ducks to me!

An Edwardian, highly ornate, three tier cast-iron fountain set in large circular pool sits at the Rolleston Avenue of the park. It stands 7.6m tall and is decorated with dolphins, herons, lily leaves and foliage.

Across the road from the fountain is the Arts Centre.

What struck me about Christchurch are the low level buildings and wide streets – also the lack of the hustle and bustle of most major towns. Christchurch’s central city and eastern suburbs were badly affected in the earthquakes of 2010 and 2011. There is a lot of new building and modern architecture in the city centre, sitting next to more classical buildings. There are also many open spaces, reduced to rubble, waiting to be developed. The empty sites between buildings turned in to car parks reminded me of home and how Belfast looked in the dark old days.

Christchurch Cathedral sits at the centre of the city. A sorry site as it waits for stabilisation and restoration from the earthquake damage. The cornerstone was laid in December 1865 and was officially completed in 1904 at a cost of £65572. Today it is estimated to cost $104m to restore and future proof the building from further quakes.

In the Cathedral Square sits a chalice sculpture. A dark band of black pearl granite in six segments surrounds the foot of Chalice making a circle just over 3 metres in diameter. 18 metres high, 2 metres in diameter at ground level and 8.5 metres in diameter at the top, its shape mirrors the spire of Christchurch Cathedral. A perforated network of 42 aluminium shapes represent the leaves of native trees that previously grew in the city area.

Opposite the Cathedral is another significant landmark the former Chief Post Office. Plans were prepared in 1875 for its construction and it was described at the time as the new Government Buildings, to include Customs, Public works, Immigration and the Government Life Insurance departments, as well as the Post Office. The foundation stone was laid on 24 May 1877 and the Post Office opened on 14 July 1879. The Post Office moved to new buildings at the end of the 1960s and in 2001 the building became the tourist centre until the 2011 earthquake. It is hoped that the building can be restored as a hospitality centre. The clock tower is said to be a smaller replica of London’s Big Ben.

Regarded as Christchurch’s prettiest street and rightly so, is New Regent Street. Opened in 1932 it is Christchurch’s only complete heritage streetscape. With beautiful Spanish Mission architecture, and a distinctive pastel colour scheme.

The River Avon runs through the park and city centre and is very pretty.

Crossing it, is the Bridge of Remembrance. A War Memorial erected in 1923 to initially honour the sacrifice made during the 1914–1918 Great War. It also serves as a memorial to those who participated in both World Wars and in subsequent conflicts in Borneo, Malaya, Korea and Vietnam. The arch was structurally damaged in he February 2011 earthquake. The repair work is now complete. The internal cavities of arches are now filled with 220sq m of concrete. The arch is now a rigid structure with the stone work as a façade. 

We had a very comfortable night in a huge king-size bed.

We were enjoying our first cup of tea/coffee around 8am when the fire alarm went off! Just like the old days at work, we sort of waited in hope it would it would stop then decided to scramble in to some clothes, grabbed our wallets and passports before complying with the evacuation process….

Then to top it all off…. As I was opening the boot to lift the luggage out of the taxi at the camper hire company the car started driving itself forward! It was electric car and the driver hadn’t applied the brake properly or turned the engine off! He managed to get it stopped without causing any damage but he was so shocked we suggested he have a WLD (wee lie down)

Two hours after arriving at the hire centre, and feeling like we have signed our lives away we are ready for the wide open road….

Or are we…..

We couldn’t get an outside locker to lock and the dashboard warning lights lit up like a Christmas tree, and not in a good way, so we spoke to member of staff nearby who suggested we report it to the office. As we moved forward to do so, a waterfall cascaded down into the passenger footwell!o

An hour later they decided to give us a different van. An hour after that….

We thought we were off only to discover they hadn’t filled the tank with diesel. Let’s just say the smile was starting to fall off mama bear’s face. Paul says he was smiling on the inside – so far inside it was coming out his arse. The fact that it had been pouring with rain all day and we had skipped breakfast to get the van and do a brunch stop probably isn’t helping!

Now we are on the road heading to Lake Tekapo….