Christchurch, NZ, 26 Feb 09
We left our lovely chalet at around 10.20am and drove all the way back to Nelson. It took just under an hour and it was a really beautiful drive, again. The whole of that area is quite something. It was even bright today, no rain, yooohoo.
You only need 30mins check-in time for domestic flights here so we had plenty of time to hand the car back at the hire desk, write a few post cards (I'm so behind, I've hardly written any -- lack of sunshine has just killed my mood for post card writing I'm afraid), have a cup of tea (it always makes an English person feel better), etc.
It was only 40 mins to fly from Nelson to Christchurch but Janet was feeling really unwell on arrival. Nothing major, she said, just a bad cold, sore throat, etc. It was, thankfully, our 'car free' day. We had booked a cab to pick us up from the airport and we got to our lovely b&b by 2pm: Eliza's Manor, 4*, very very quaint. They usually hold weddings here and banquets, etc. It does look like a manor with a beautiful wooden staircase inside and large beds in old fashioned style rooms - old furniture, etc. Worth checking it out: http://www.elizas.co.nz
It's in a great location too as it's about 15 mins walk to the Botanical Gardens and 15 mins walk to the town centre. Perfect. Janet decided to join me for a quick late lunch (i.e. home made sandwich in a delicatessen type of shop around the corner) and go back to bed to try and sleep off her cold, whilst I went off galloping to the Botanical Gardens. The lovely lady at reception here told us that they were really beautiful and that some people can be there up to 5 hours as there is so much to see. Well, I knew I didn't have 5 hours to spare but I had allowed about two. I also wanted to spend an hour walking around the town centre too and soak up the atmosphere to try and understand what is about Christchurch that David loved so much when he performed here in 1994. A kind of pilgrimage for a true fan :)
It is also the period of the Flower Festival here and so there are quite a few flower displays all around the town making it all extra colourful. But the Botanical Gardens were the true highlight for me. Some of the best I'd ever seen and I did go a bit mad and took about 150 photos (good job I'd cleared some shots the night before me thought !!!). My mother would have adored this place. They had some begonias that were almost as big as a small plate, all colours, or with multiple colours. They also had a water garden with hundreds of water lillies and all sorts of ferns around the ponds, they had a tropical house with many types of palm trees, a rose garden, etc. all in all probably thousands of species of plants and trees and flowers. It was impossible to see everything in 2 hours so I just stuck to a 'best of' and tried to be selective with my photos... but it was hard to resist so much diversity and colours and shapes. I was pretty awe struck...
I then walked to the town centre from there and strolled around various streets. They have an old tram that goes around the most famous streets, making the city even quainter, a kind of 'sight seeing' tram really. They also have a free bus shuttle service that people can use as & when. And because a shallow river runs through it you can even go punting, as you would in Cambridge, UK. They say that Christchurch is 'the most English like city outside the UK' but I'd beg to differ. The style of houses looks more American than English I'd say. Thankfully the weather stayed dry all day otherwise I could have never taken so many photos as 80% of the park was really an outdoor project. When one member of staff locked the tropical house at 4pm sharp I did ask her 'what is it about NZ that everything shuts SO early ???' and she said 'well, I've been working since 7.30am, so, for me it's a 7H30 day already'... and I felt like saying 'well, do you not have job shares in NZ ? have you not heard of the shift concept ???' but it wasn't her fault so not point having a go at her for the way the country runs ! I still feel it's a poor excuse. I mean, someone could work from 7:30am till 1pm, then someone else could do 1pm till 8pm. Not exactly rocket science... beats me. Janet who works 12 hours in a row in her job (either 6:30am to 6:30pm, or vice versa, was even more baffled than I was ! :))).
But I am glad to say I had a ball today... I did walk for 3 hours pretty much non stop (but for when I took photos) and I felt relieved that Janet was resting instead of trying to keep up with me. She's not as fussed about flowers as I am, just like she enjoys the coastal walks more than I do... but as we said, in general, we're having a great time, mainly because we can share it together (and when we are in the UK we are both so busy that we don't really see each other that often) and because we have the same attitude towards life. Whenever it rains again, we do moan for 5 minutes but then immediately make a point to keep everything into perspective for the next 15mins as in 'it still beats being in the office, we are still SO blessed to be free, healthy', etc. and we even remember our friends who didn't live to be our age or never got to do what we do. We are very good at that, it has to be said :)))
I got back to Eliza's Manor for 6.15pm, updated my blog for an hour (they have a computer by reception that is free access for guests and opened 24H, yippee). Janet felt a bit better by then (PHEW) so we went out for a Thai dinner 3 blocks away and here I am again for one last update from Christchurch before we head for the West Coast. We have to get up at 6.15am to be ready for brekkie at 7.30am and onto the train to Greymouth for 8.15am. It is supposedly one of the most beautiful train rides in the world (The Tanz Alpine, look it up if you can) but as the guide books say 'you will only enjoy the awesome views if the weather's dry'... and the weather forecast doesn't look great for tomorrow, I'm sorry to say, but to be fair, they seem to get it wrong 80% of the time here. Every day we were in Abel Tasman they announced 'clearing or clear days' and we'd have drizzle by noon and rain by 2pm... and for Christchurch, when we left Nelson, they were announcing 'rain all afternoon' and it was anything but. In fact, it's the 2nd day we've had in NZ (out of 10 so far) that has been totally dry from morning to evening. So, I refuse to worry. Voila. Besides, there is nothing I can do about it, so fretting wouldn't change anything. If it's the day that God has chosen to water His plants, so be it... who am I to argue with the Almightly, hey. On this note, off to bed to try and grab at least 7 hours' sleep. We still have to drive to Fox Glacier on arrival. Much more mountainous type of scenery up there. I must say I DO enjoy the hopping around immensely. 2-3 nights is enough for me, then I'm keen to explore some new territory... :) Bisous... x
We left our lovely chalet at around 10.20am and drove all the way back to Nelson. It took just under an hour and it was a really beautiful drive, again. The whole of that area is quite something. It was even bright today, no rain, yooohoo.
You only need 30mins check-in time for domestic flights here so we had plenty of time to hand the car back at the hire desk, write a few post cards (I'm so behind, I've hardly written any -- lack of sunshine has just killed my mood for post card writing I'm afraid), have a cup of tea (it always makes an English person feel better), etc.
It was only 40 mins to fly from Nelson to Christchurch but Janet was feeling really unwell on arrival. Nothing major, she said, just a bad cold, sore throat, etc. It was, thankfully, our 'car free' day. We had booked a cab to pick us up from the airport and we got to our lovely b&b by 2pm: Eliza's Manor, 4*, very very quaint. They usually hold weddings here and banquets, etc. It does look like a manor with a beautiful wooden staircase inside and large beds in old fashioned style rooms - old furniture, etc. Worth checking it out: http://www.elizas.co.nz
It's in a great location too as it's about 15 mins walk to the Botanical Gardens and 15 mins walk to the town centre. Perfect. Janet decided to join me for a quick late lunch (i.e. home made sandwich in a delicatessen type of shop around the corner) and go back to bed to try and sleep off her cold, whilst I went off galloping to the Botanical Gardens. The lovely lady at reception here told us that they were really beautiful and that some people can be there up to 5 hours as there is so much to see. Well, I knew I didn't have 5 hours to spare but I had allowed about two. I also wanted to spend an hour walking around the town centre too and soak up the atmosphere to try and understand what is about Christchurch that David loved so much when he performed here in 1994. A kind of pilgrimage for a true fan :)
It is also the period of the Flower Festival here and so there are quite a few flower displays all around the town making it all extra colourful. But the Botanical Gardens were the true highlight for me. Some of the best I'd ever seen and I did go a bit mad and took about 150 photos (good job I'd cleared some shots the night before me thought !!!). My mother would have adored this place. They had some begonias that were almost as big as a small plate, all colours, or with multiple colours. They also had a water garden with hundreds of water lillies and all sorts of ferns around the ponds, they had a tropical house with many types of palm trees, a rose garden, etc. all in all probably thousands of species of plants and trees and flowers. It was impossible to see everything in 2 hours so I just stuck to a 'best of' and tried to be selective with my photos... but it was hard to resist so much diversity and colours and shapes. I was pretty awe struck...
I then walked to the town centre from there and strolled around various streets. They have an old tram that goes around the most famous streets, making the city even quainter, a kind of 'sight seeing' tram really. They also have a free bus shuttle service that people can use as & when. And because a shallow river runs through it you can even go punting, as you would in Cambridge, UK. They say that Christchurch is 'the most English like city outside the UK' but I'd beg to differ. The style of houses looks more American than English I'd say. Thankfully the weather stayed dry all day otherwise I could have never taken so many photos as 80% of the park was really an outdoor project. When one member of staff locked the tropical house at 4pm sharp I did ask her 'what is it about NZ that everything shuts SO early ???' and she said 'well, I've been working since 7.30am, so, for me it's a 7H30 day already'... and I felt like saying 'well, do you not have job shares in NZ ? have you not heard of the shift concept ???' but it wasn't her fault so not point having a go at her for the way the country runs ! I still feel it's a poor excuse. I mean, someone could work from 7:30am till 1pm, then someone else could do 1pm till 8pm. Not exactly rocket science... beats me. Janet who works 12 hours in a row in her job (either 6:30am to 6:30pm, or vice versa, was even more baffled than I was ! :))).
But I am glad to say I had a ball today... I did walk for 3 hours pretty much non stop (but for when I took photos) and I felt relieved that Janet was resting instead of trying to keep up with me. She's not as fussed about flowers as I am, just like she enjoys the coastal walks more than I do... but as we said, in general, we're having a great time, mainly because we can share it together (and when we are in the UK we are both so busy that we don't really see each other that often) and because we have the same attitude towards life. Whenever it rains again, we do moan for 5 minutes but then immediately make a point to keep everything into perspective for the next 15mins as in 'it still beats being in the office, we are still SO blessed to be free, healthy', etc. and we even remember our friends who didn't live to be our age or never got to do what we do. We are very good at that, it has to be said :)))
I got back to Eliza's Manor for 6.15pm, updated my blog for an hour (they have a computer by reception that is free access for guests and opened 24H, yippee). Janet felt a bit better by then (PHEW) so we went out for a Thai dinner 3 blocks away and here I am again for one last update from Christchurch before we head for the West Coast. We have to get up at 6.15am to be ready for brekkie at 7.30am and onto the train to Greymouth for 8.15am. It is supposedly one of the most beautiful train rides in the world (The Tanz Alpine, look it up if you can) but as the guide books say 'you will only enjoy the awesome views if the weather's dry'... and the weather forecast doesn't look great for tomorrow, I'm sorry to say, but to be fair, they seem to get it wrong 80% of the time here. Every day we were in Abel Tasman they announced 'clearing or clear days' and we'd have drizzle by noon and rain by 2pm... and for Christchurch, when we left Nelson, they were announcing 'rain all afternoon' and it was anything but. In fact, it's the 2nd day we've had in NZ (out of 10 so far) that has been totally dry from morning to evening. So, I refuse to worry. Voila. Besides, there is nothing I can do about it, so fretting wouldn't change anything. If it's the day that God has chosen to water His plants, so be it... who am I to argue with the Almightly, hey. On this note, off to bed to try and grab at least 7 hours' sleep. We still have to drive to Fox Glacier on arrival. Much more mountainous type of scenery up there. I must say I DO enjoy the hopping around immensely. 2-3 nights is enough for me, then I'm keen to explore some new territory... :) Bisous... x
posted by Sylvie at 8:46 AM
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