Two Days in Christchurch

Saturday 30th October: We met with my Auntie Anne’s sister, Irene today for coffee. We had not met Irene before but had heard much about her from my Dad. We got on fine and time went too quickly as always; we had a firm deadline as we were booked to go to Lyttelton (on the Banks Peninsula) for a harbour cruise followed by a Gondola ride. After a walk, much chatting and a coffee we went for our shuttle bus from Cathedral Square. By this time the sun had come out and it looked like our decision to delay this trip from the previous day (cloudy and damp) had been the right one.

It was a 15 minute bus ride to the harbour where we boarded a small catamaran for our harbour tour. The main objective was to spot some of the very rare Hector dolphins and we were blessed with our first sighting as we emerged from the inner harbour; we then had regular sightings throughout the trip, as well as spotting other wildlife and learning something of the geography and history of the area. Lyttelton is where the first settlers arrived, with the first ship in being the Charlotte Jane (cross reference to earlier post re where we are staying!). We stayed on the upper deck throughout the tour, though this was rather bracing at times and one of us was showing signs of having caught some sun by the time we returned two hours later!

On from here we had a short ride to the Gondola which takes you high above the town and gives spectacular panoramic views. Visibility was good, though the brisk breeze was not conducive to staying outside for too long. We returned from the Gondola on the local bus which gave us sights of a few more of the suburbs of Christchurch.

Sunday again dawned clear and showed promise of a good day. We were already booked on the Transalpine Railway journey; 4.5hrs through the Southern Alps from Christchurch to Greymouth. This journey is really quite something, climbing to Arthurs Pass at 737m above sea level (where it was really quite chilly!) and then dropping down through the 8km Otira tunnel and back to (almost) sea level at Greymouth. We had an hour for lunch before reversing the trip and seeing the views from the other direction. With snow still on some of the mountain tops and ice fed rivers the scenery really was quite something.

A shuttle bus home from the station saw us back in time to do most of the packing before dinner as tomorrow we pick up the campervan which will be our home for the next six weeks as we tour the two islands. It may be a while before the next posting as we will be reliant on getting an internet connection somewhere convenient!

Moving on to Christchurch

Thursday 28th October: An early start today as we had to be checked in on the Ferry for 0745 and there was a risk of ‘traffic’. Of course, as it turned out we had a smooth journey and were there in plenty of time. The Interislander Ferry was an old cross-channel one, The Pride of Cherbourg, and in one place they had not even painted out the ‘Portsmouth’ emblazoned along the bow! The crossing is 3 hours, but only about 30 minutes of that is crossing the Cook Straits, the rest being amongst the outlying islands (mainly as the South Island is approached) and harbour entrance. The crossing was forecast as being ‘moderate’ but was in fact like a millpond and the scenery as we approached South Island was spectacular.

Lunch in Picton and then onto the train for the 6 hour Transcoastal journey to Christchurch. We have three ‘scenic’ rail journeys in New Zealand, each increasing in ‘wow’ factor compared to the previous. Not surprisingly (if you note its name) this journey hugs the coastline for much of its duration and includes long periods where you can spot seals to one side and snow-capped mountains to the other. The open carriage at the back of the train gave some great opportunities for photographs, though it did not make a stable base for capturing ‘perfect’ shots – very grateful for digital photography and the ability to take plenty of shots and throw through rubbish away before others see it!


We arrived in Christchurch at 6.30pm and hopped on the shuttle bus to our hotel. This is the one which we booked purely based on name; The Charlotte Jane Bed & Breakfast. It’s not quite what you might think of as a B&B but is a Boutique Hotel; rather nice and ridiculously expensive had we booked it direct (rather than only being ‘quite’ expensive as we booked it through booking.com months in advance!). We’re looking on this as a few days of luxury before the campervan expedition starts on Monday!


Friday awoke grey but dry and then turned a bit damp in the afternoon. We explored Christchurch mainly on foot, including the beautiful and extensive Hagley Park which has the river Avon flowing through it. We walked along the river amongst the ducks and chicks (it’s spring here) until we came to the boats for hire which lured us onto the water. There was an option of a punt ride (passive), kayaks, Indian canoes, or rowing boats, the latter two being traditionally built in beautiful local timber. We opted for some rowing and Mark got his upper body exercise for the day!

We then found Cathedral Square and wondered around a few shops, booked a bargain outing for tomorrow which includes a harbour cruise to see dolphins and other wildlife and the local gondola ride to the top of the Ports Hills where there should be fantastic views from the rim of an extinct volcano – the forecast is for better weather than today and we hope they are right....

And some photos from Wellington....

Sinagpore photos

Out of sequence but here are some pictures from Singapore.....

New Zealand - the first few days

The trip from Singapore to Auckland went well with a smooth transfer at Brisbane and full bio-security screening to check our luggage for any items likely to impact on the biological stability of New Zealand. This included inspection of walking boots (packed and squeaky clean!), checking of medication lists and all foodstuffs. The bus was waiting as we exited the airport so we were quickly on to our 40 min journey into the city and the bus dropped us off a few paces from our hotel. Having been up for 27hrs at this point we grabbed a quick shower, dinner and bed.... we were in New Zealand!

Friday 22nd October: Our first full day in New Zealand; an early start with breakfast at 0630, a short walk to the station and onto the Transcenic Overlander train to Wellington. The journey is 600km and takes 12 hours; not an ‘express’ and slowed further by lengths of single track leading to waits at passing points. The early scenery was non-spectacular (great views of the suburbs of Auckland)but as the journey progressed so it got better and better, with spectacular engineering demonstrated at the spiral tunnels and snow laden mountains in view as we passed through National Park. We arrived in Wellington on time and were met by Heather (my Auntie) and Denis; I hadn’t seen Heather for over 40 years and only knew Denis from my Dad’s tales of his time out here some years ago. A very rapid bond was formed and the start of five days of fun in Wellington began!

The next day saw a lazy start (we had a sleep deficit to catch up on!) then out for coffee, sort out an NZ SIM card, get some cash and do some shopping. A bite of lunch back at base and then we were taken on a ‘mini-tour’ of Wellington including all the major locations in the city, Mount Victoria, the cable car to the Botanic Gardens and superb views across the harbour, the Rose Garden (but a little early for the roses) and hot houses.

The following day (Sunday 24th) was Family day! Mark’s two aunties (Heather and Anne), two cousins (Niki and Tania) and six of their children (Trent, Jasmine, Summer, Tai, Kartjia and Declan), plus Denis’s daughter Tracey, Heather J and Denis himself.... a day of much fun, catching up, photographs, eating and drinking. (Auntie) Heather had arranged an excellent spread which was contributed to by other (adult) family members and enjoyed by all, especially the desserts! The only disappointment was that nobody had a camera ready to capture Jasmine licking out the bowl of chocolate dip!

Once the last of the visitors (we don’t count!) had departed a decision was made to catch the last of the daylight with a walk by the local lagoon – fading light and the red tinge to the sky made an excellent end to a great day, meeting some relatives we had not seen for 25 years and others we had only heard about.

Monday we visited the waterfront in Wellington itself, including a walk along the wharf, a ride on a four person crocodile bike and coffees at Te Papa before visiting some of the exhibitions there. We then took in a number of museums showing the history of Wellington and the Maori culture. Lunch was fitted in at the excellent Wellington Brewing Company which colour coded each menu choice to indicate which of the beers was best suited to each dish – it seemed foolish to do other than follow their guidance....

Another couple of days here and then we’ll be catching the ferry to the South Island before heading to Christchurch on the train. They have been having more aftershocks (up to 5!) in the last few days, so we may well have an ‘interesting’ experience there!

Singapore

After a smooth journey from home to Singapore this continued with the shuttle bus dropping us off at our Hotel at about 0930 where our room was ready! We made the most of this and grabbed a quick shower before 4hrs shut-eye (despite the pile-driving outside where they are working on the MTR upgrades)..... then we became tourists!

Our hotel is right by ‘Little India’ so that was our starting point– a plethora of shops and an array of bright colours which seems to be a theme for Singapore. We had more offers to make a suit (which we can ship home for you Sir....) than we could possibly use but we declined those and found the Star Cafe where we had a late lunch/early dinner for less than £10 for the two of us. The temperature was 33 degrees this afternoon, and quite humid.

We then walked via Albert Street through Bugis Street market with its hundreds of stalls, bright colours, and opportunities to exceed the capacity of our suitcases, through to the Suntac Centre, past the Singapore Flyer (just like the Millennium Wheel) and the harbour. A walk along the river gave us views across to Merlion Park, the science centre which is constructed like a lotus flower, and the skyscrapers that are the centre of Singapore’s business community. After a riverside beer/coffee (you can work out who had which!) we then strolled back to base past Raffles City, back through the market to Sim Lim Square (home to many tricycle rickshaws) and into Albert Court and our hotel.

Tuesday: Slept well but were awoken by the pile-driving outside, however, this was 0845 so can’t complain! Our room is right by the road and the traffic hardly stopped all night (and no double glazing!) so we asked at reception and have been moved to a room a bit further back from the road and without the vast expanse of glass that we had in our first room.
A relatively late start saw us on the MTR and down to China Town on another warm day. This was more ‘organised’ than Little India but far more “hello sir, where are you from..... .....I can make you a very nice suit sir...”. Again it was an array of bright colours with more places to eat than I have seen anywhere. We had lunch here in a Thai restaurant where Heather’s fruit salad was just as spicy as my beef tenderloin curry!

After lunch we wandered past the Mariamman Temple and to the waterfront... where it started to rain. We sheltered under a canopy outside the One Fullerton Hotel where we got invited in to sit in the rather posh lobby while we waited for the rain to stop! The young concierge gave us a brief history of the recent and ongoing development of the hotel and then jus left us to read the coffee table books on ‘boys toys’ (luxury yachts) and expensive jewellery. When the rain stopped we wandered off for a look at the Merlion, take a bumboat tour on the river and then a journey on the MTR back to our hotel.

The evening saw us on an excursion to dinner and a ‘night safari’ at the Singapore Zoo. Dinner, the ‘night safari’, fire-eating display and ‘fishing-cat walk’ were all good with a range of animals being spotted as we went round, even if the fishing cats have got lazy and wait to be fed! The door-to-door service was spot on at the end of a long day and we expected to sleep well...... so much for expectations!

Wednesday: All packed ready to fly on to Auckland tonight. Before that we plan an MTR ride to Clarke’s Quay and perhaps pop in to the Long Bar at Raffles.... then we’ll leave the 30+ temperatures behind as we head into the next phase....

Not long now.....

Just one more day at work and then we need to start packing!

The final bits of the jigsaw have pretty well come together, with the bookings for the excursions at Queenstown now sorted and the bike trail (you just knew they'd be some cycling in there!) finalised.

48hrs and we'll (hopefuly) be at the airport...... gulp!