International Antarctic Centre

A day before we were due to fly home, we took some time to visit the International Antarctic Centre at Christchurch Airport.

There's plenty to see and do. There are static displays that all seem to have sled (ski-doo) of some sort in them and others that aren't so static. The 'Antarctic Storm Experience' is essentially a big fridge with a bunch of fans that made us feel like we were in Calgary again (only not as cold). Harry was very interested in the igloo, the sled & the icy slide, but wasn't so keen when they cranked up the storm.

The cente also has a Little Penguin rescue facility. You'd think we'd seen enough penguins on the trip already, but they don't loose their amusement factor.

Everyone's favourite activity was the Hagglund ride. It's pretty rough and tumble but that's most of the fun of it, particularly when you're nearly 3.

One of the more interesting displays is all about the USAF Hercules LC-130 aircraft that do the supply flights from Christchurch to Antarctic every summer. The US Antarctic Program Christchurch HQ is right across the road. There were not one, but three orange tailed LC-130s parked just on the other side of the fence. We even saw one of them take off. Fully loaded it was struggling to climb & I thought if would clip the trees at the end of the runway (in Ashburton!).

So that was that for yet another trip to New Zealand. We have great memories and some wonderful photos to show for it. I wonder where our next NZ experience will take us......

Christchurch

Back in Christchurch we woke to find ourselves surrounded by thick fog. The plan was to do a ticky tour (a Kiwi term for the uninitiated) of Christchurch. The last time we'd been there was 2007 on the way to Canada, long before the two earthquakes had destroyed the city. The contrast of the before and after was dramatic.

Lyttleton bore the brunt of the second, more destructive of the two earthquakes. We took a bit of a drive around and were shocked at the damage. The port is still functioning but frequent earthquakes continue to hamper repair efforts.

The fog was still hanging around when we reached Sumner. It didn't seem to worry the local surfers.

One of the worst hit areas was Redcliffs. The second quake literally shook the face off the cliffs. The clifftop mansions slid down the cliff and into the school at the bottom (below). Many perished including students. The houses left standing at the top of the hill are now out of bounds as it isn't even safe enough for the owners to retrieve their possessions. This one of many very sad stories in the shaky city.

To avoid rock slides crashing into passing traffic, shipping containers full of concrete have been placed as a barrier along Main Road. It's not pretty but very effective.

One of the good news stories is the Restart Mall in the CBD. The city centre was hit hard during both earthquakes and the demolition and re-build process is constant and extensive. In order to stop retailers going out of business (and Christchurch residents the opportunity to shop), shops have been set up in brightly coloured shipping containers that can be easily moved as the demolition & re-build moves around the city. It seems to work really well and is a testament to the resilience of the community.

Oddly, the tram lines through the mall survived both quakes relatively unscathed. This section was a recent extension to the tourist route and designed to the latest earthquake ratings so it isn't necessarily surprising.

That's for New Zealand until next time.........

Orana Wildlife Park

Orana Wildlife Park is an open plains zoo near the airport. I did manage to get some nice animal photos & Harry showed his first signs of his love of animals.

 Meerkats were Harry's favorites.

Back to New Zealand

Nearly two years after the epic around the world trip, we finally left the country again, this time with our ten month old son, Harry. New Zealand isn't exactly a far away destination with an exotic culture, but with a baby, it was far enough for us.
A fair amount of the trip was about visiting Kerri's relatives who were jostling to meet Harry. Consequently, much of the time was spent close to Christchurch.

Wildlife was limited to the ducks.

 There are some great views of the Southern Alps from Summit Road that runs along the ridge between Christchurch & Lyttelton.

 And the views on the Lyttelton side are just as interesting.

 Lyttelton was in the process of re-build after to earthquake that was generated in Lyttelton Harbour that also caused widespread destruction in Christchurch.

Christchurch Gondola and Scarborough

Christchurch Gondola

Today was all about a ride in the gondola up to the top of the same hill we had driven up the night before. Great views, but it was blowing a gale at the top. I managed to take a few nice shots.

Kerri's Mum, Jeanette, came up with us.

I quite like the photo below. It has a whole bunch of different features. Note the sun reflection on the other gondola, the road below us, the ridge running across the shot & the landscape in the background.

Lyttleton Harbour

This was one side of the view from the top of the gondola. I stitched two pictures together for this one. Christchurch was actually started from this harbour until it became too big for itself & city was founded on the other side of the ridge.

The photo below was taken on the other side of the ridge to the one above. It is by no means all of Christchurch, but it is the prettier part by the ocean. The other shots just didn't come out too well because of the haze.

Scarborough Beach

This is one of the other Scarborough beaches around the world. Not a nice as the Perth version as far as beach goes, but quite nice all the same.

There is a clock tower at the beach for some reason. Interesting with the cliffs & houses in the backdrop.

Christchurch City Tour

Today we did a little sight seeing tour of Christchurch. There wasn't a huge amount to see, but we kept ourselves amused for the day. The most noticeable thing was the lack of high rise buildings. It must be the only CBD I've seen that doesn't have a bunch of sky scrapers. I think it's a good thing.

We bought a hop on hop off tram ticket for the day and Kerri did the tour guide thing around the city. The trams only run a loop around the city. They were phased out way back.

The most interesting thing was the little café area (above) that is covered where the tram actually drives through the building. (Well I thought it was interesting anyway.) Notice the egg above the tram.

On the ½ hour the egg opens like a cuckoo clock & has odd little animated scenes with Moa birds, Maori hunters, rugby players and bungee jumpers. There is also a voice over with music.

A very strange tourist attraction, but worth a giggle.

They really love their rugby over here!

This is a talking point around Christchurch for all the wrong reasons (See left of the picture above). It is meant to be a chalice representing something to do with the native flora. Unfortunately the leaves all look like wacky weed & the chalice looks like a cone. No wonder everyone thinks the city of Christchurch is on drugs!

One of the places we did go was to the Museum. It was OK. There seemed to be a big emphasis on the Moa bird and the New Zealand Antarctic mission. There was also a Penny Farthing bicycle that you could hop on (above).

After dinner, Kerri's dad, Pat, drove us up into the the hills above the city. Cities always look better at night. The view was great, but the wind was howling & it was very cold. We tended to stay inside the car as much as possible.

The cold wind that had been at it all day kept us rugged up and huddled together during our sightseeing tour.