It took a while to get to CHRISTCHURCH, but the spectacular views on the way were a bountiful consolation.
A three-hour ferry ride on the waters of Cook Strait brought us from Wellington to Picton. Out of Picton, we continued on with a five-hour transcoastal train ride traversing what was called the “real New Zealand.” We were treated to picturesque sights crossing the Wairau Plains, over a pass to the coast of the Pacific Ocean that was lapping the rocky shores on one side of the train, past snow-capped mountains on the other side, went under 21 tunnels and crossed 175 bridges, then onto the lush farmland of Canterbury, and across the braided river of Waimakariri. Finally, gliding past well-manicured suburban gardens, we knew that we had arrived.
First stop was the CATHEDRAL SQUARE - a hub of hawkers, bagpipe players, a jazz singer, a mini-bungee-trampoline attraction, chess enthusiasts strategizing their moves using life-size chess figures, and food stalls. Radiating from the square were spokes of streets that were lined with shops, bars, restaurants, and sundry business buildings.
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| Giant chess match at Cathedral Square |
Lording over it all at the center of the square was the CATHEDRAL, a stunning gothic edifice built in 1881. Two large crosses that had slid down the wall of a back room and a scaffolding at the altar area were the only visible signs of damage from a recent earthquake.
All within walking distance were various sites of note. At the CANTERBURY MUSEUM, we viewed intricate wooden carvings, tools, and weapons of the Aotearoa Maori settlers; and saw skeletal remains of the now extinct giant flightless moa bird, dioramas of rare and extinct native birds, marine reptiles, and fossils.
At the ARTS CENTRE, we negotiated interior passageways toward various artist studios where high-quality and equally high-priced New Zealand-made pottery, weavings, carvings, sculpture, and stitched fabric were on display.
A few buildings down was the ART GALLERY, a quasi-Louvre/Crystal Cathedral glass building that was impressively light and spacious, housing traditional as well as quirky-funky/, my-child-could-have-drawn-that kind of art.
To us, the city’s striking features were its expansive stretches of flora and greenery along sidewalks, on house fronts, and eminently at the 500-acre HAGLEY PARK and the BOTANIC GARDENS - the latter brilliantly colored by heathers, daffodils, primula, giant azaleas, magnolias, cherry blossom trees in full bloom, and a host of others. The garden was a crazy patchwork of fountains, several duck ponds, nooks, meandering pathways that had seemed to go nowhere but ended in “secret” gardens, a hidden bower of a giant tree inside of which children hid and swung from smaller branches, and many more areas that we did not explore.
In retrospect, we thought that after braving the prospect of what could happen while staying on the site of a caldera, hearing stories about volcanic eruptions that had formed the areas that we visited, experiencing earthquakes (even if simulated), and valiantly facing some days of blustery weather, do we dare try our luck with an Arctic adventure? Christchurch, after all, was known as the gateway to Antarctica.
As the Penguin Bus dropped us off the ANTARCTIC CENTRE, we knew that there was no going back. How was it? It was a most enticing, exciting, and “ex-chill-arating” experience - seeing 26 Little Blue penguins, known as the world’s smallest penguin. There was just something magical about them - stretching tiny wings in a yawn, wobbling knock-kneed, carrying on with their swimming antics, or taking time out to be hand-fed like babies.
There was the magnificent audiovisual of a seasonal arc from sunrise to sunset, interwoven with stunning shots from a camera mounted on the underside of a helicopter.
The most thrilling of all? - entering an ice crystal cave, being blasted by an antarctic blizzard, riding the steps of an ice shelf, and being blown away by 24 mph winds and frozen to the fingertips by -18 degree Centigrade temperature (do the math on that in Fahrenheit).
But we Zonies survived, rewarding ourselves afterward with the culinary delight of 2.2 lbs. of mussels steamed in white wine, celery, leek, and thyme at the 1920’s styled Belgian Café. With a side of crispy fries served with mayonnaise and a glass of Hoegaarden beer, lunch by the window with a view of the Avon river made for a perfect afternoon.
Tomorrow, on the final leg of our vacation, we’ll be going round circle - back to AUCKLAND to savor its sparkling harbor and off-shore islands, beaches, and wineries! Did we say… wineries??!! Ah, yes. Wine, glorious wine!
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