New Zealand, new land. Neither Erich or I had been to New Zealand before so we were both really excited especially having heard so many great things from different people. We landed into Christchurch to begin our tour of the South Island to begin with. Prior to leaving I had told Erich that Christchurch was devastated in the earthquakes in 2010 and 2011 and was still a lot of rebuilding work talking place. Despite knowing this We were both shocked to see how much devastation and destruction. The city centre looks deserted, derelict and yet in many places you can see the “new start” and rebuilding taking place.
We walked the streets for hours just taking everything in and negotiating the diversions with the large number of traffic cones which corner off so many parts of the city. It must have been terrifying and devastating to the people of the city to have experienced and still be affected in so many ways by those earthquakes. Still everyone we met was so friendly and welcoming. They wanted to talk to us and even invite us to their homes it was really wonderful.
Our second day in Christchurch the weather was great and after buying a couple of freshly made sandwiches from a French bakery we headed to the top of the gondola in the sunshine for a walk around an extinct volcano crater. With views over Christchurch, the port and all surrounding suburbs it was amazing even if we did get a little lost in the complete wrong direction on our hike… Don’t ask!
In the afternoon we went to the Botanic gardens in Christchurch which are are probably the biggest and most beautiful gardens I have visited. It was perfect timing with the rose gardens at their best and the gardens looking astounding. We walked and sat and took in all the sights and smells for hours as well as enjoying one of the best fruit mix ice creams ever, check out the grins!
We went on from Chridtchurch down the cost with our next destination on Dunedin. On route we stopped at a few places including the Moeraki boulders. We were looking forward to seeing these for some time and despite of beginning to rain as we arrived it did not put us off. Rain coats on and cameras in hand we walked to the beach to see the wonders. Dinosaur eggs, malteesers, meteorites or whatever you describe them as you can’t help but be surprised when you see them scattered over the beach either whole or split in pieces, magical!
We refreshed Erich with a beer then set off for Dunedin.