Christchurch – Travelog

North Island Blues

My alarm didn’t go off (a.m and p.m? Who knows?), but Eduard woke me up about ten minutes later. Had a warm shower on cold stainless steel, ate some yogurt and loaded up the car for the last time.

Another excellent drive, and we stopped a few times for photo opps despite the fact that time was of the essence. Couldn’t help but think of Marley on her bike as we ascended and descended our way through the mountains. It’s tough enough in the Sirlioin (Nicole, the American I picked up in Te Anua originally thought she read “Sirloin” instead of “Sirion” on the back of the rental car, and the name sort of stuck).

Filled the car up in Christchurch, and circled the airport until I found the car rental drop off location. It was something I’d been meaning to do beforehand, but we found it easily enough. It being big and neon green didn’t hurt.

Checked in at the airport, and Eduard and I chatted for a bit. He had 8 hours until his flight, so we said goodbye before I passed security. He had made a nice travel companion. I gave him the cds I’d burned in Queenstown as a parting gift, as he seemed to enjoy what he was hearing most of the time. Or maybe he was just humouring me? If only friends in Canada were so kind.

For some reason I was in a first class seat on the 1 hour and 20 minute plane from Christchurch to Rotorua. I swam about in my seat for a bit, and awaited my foot rub, but it never came. I was offered a cookie, though. Very roomy, regardless – I’ve had great luck on most of my flights – and hopefully my flight to Shanghai in a few short days will be as rewarding.

Shuttled into Rotorua , and checked into the hostel. First thing to hit you in Rotorua is the smell of sulphur in the air. It sits in the base of a (dormant, I hope) volcano, so you’re also surrounded by mountains. Next stop was the tourist information building, where I learned that everything in Rotorua is pretty pricey. I decided to check out the lake (free) and Rotorua museum (not free). I’d just missed the tour (free) at the museum, so I figured I’d get something to eat first and catch the next tour, since I was starting to get a little famished.

The tour was alright, but the museum itself wasn’t overwhelmingly great. The building was really nice (no photos), and used to house many old baths – used for medicinal purposes. Apparently the owners underestimated the staining and corrosive power of sulphur, and gave up on the business eventually. It was a night club for a spell before beoming a museum.

The town of Rotorua simply died at night. I headed back to the hostel and read. Headed to the grocery store and bought some spring mix salad for dinner. Back at the hostel, some Norwegian girls took pity on my eating salad with no dressing and offered me the remains of their pasta. I explained that I was okay with the salad, and was actually eating as much of it as I could now because fresh salad is likely to get you sick if you eat it in Asia.

Met one of my roommates, Fwad, from Pakistan who was in town with his brother (missing in action), read some more and went to bed.

Always Book Ahead

I had hoped to get a rental car out of Christchurch, but everyone in town was fully booked. Seems like New Zealand will require pre-booking for everything. I booked a car for tomorrow morning, and then tried to add another night at my hostel, and found that it too was booked. I called a nearby hostel and managed to get in there, so all was not lost. I headed over there and dumped my bag, then hit the town.

With another full day in Christchurch I figured I’d do a bit of wandering, so I headed off towards a nice rooftop I’d seen beforehand. Ended up at Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, after cutting through what appeared to be a University of some sort.

From there I ventured towards the hills I’d seen on my way to the grocery store. Got close enough to decide that I didn’t really need to climb them. The sky was grey, anyhow, so visibility wouldn’t be outstanding.

Ventured to the art gallery, and had a walk through there. Some nice stuff, but nothing to really wow me. Some of the more modern stuff was pretty nice, and they had one room where you could wear red tinted glasses (like 3d glasses, I suppose).

I’d tried to see the inside of the Christ Church Cathedral a couple of times before, and not had luck, but managed to catch them at a time when there was no show going on, which was pretty handy . Headed in there, and had a peek – then checked out the Church Gift Shop (which church is complete without one, really).

Spent the rest of the day wandering, and occasionally reading. There was a New Zealand guidebook in the hostel book exchange, so I was keen to finish my book so I could make the swap.

Back at the hostel, I swapped my book, and watched what I thought would be about the last 5 minutes of Titanic (the boat had just gone into the water – sorry if I’ve ruined it for anyone), but there ended up being a good half an hour left.

Hey, Lolly

I figured most people wouldn’t be calling people after midnight, and I was mostly right. More annoying was the air hockey table that got some use during the night – although I couldn’t place the racket at the time. Also, every hour or so there’d be an announcement about watching your luggage, which was much (much much) louder than it needed to be. All in all I managed a few decent hours of sleep, and didn’t wake up feeling too bad.

I was up early though – earlier still now that I consider the time difference from Sydney. I grabbed some not-so-good breakfast at the airport lounge, and called a few hostels for rooms. Still booked, I finally managed to get one at the YHA, but couldn’t check in until 10. I read a bit then decided to watch a movie on the computer. “The Ballad Of Jack and Rose”, which wasn’t terribly special. Not Daniel Day Lewis’ finest work.

Caught the airport shuttle to the hostel, checked in, had a shower, then headed to Cathedral Square to check out the, yep – you guessed it, cathedral. There was a small market with mostly jewellery, so I checked that out, and was going to venture further abroad when I joined a small (but soon much bigger) crowd formed around a street performer. He was a juggler/comedian, and pretty amusing, so I watched him for a bit.

Headed down the street towards the royal botanical gardens (every town has to have one, apparently). Stopped en route to check out another market (artist’s work), and then some small artist’s shops in the art centre. Wandered about there for a while, and decided to get some food. Listened to some live music and ate, then finally ventured to the gardens.

The gardens were nothing spectacular, although the Avon river does run through it. They are also part of Hagley Park which is, according to my shuttle bus driver, the third largest municipal park in the world.

Next to the park was the Canterbury Museum, which I figured would be closed, but wasn’t. I foregoed any donation and had a nice walk through there. Lots of stuff on extinct New Zealand creatures, and New Zealand history. Actually much better than I was expecting.

Walking past the market on my way back to the hostel I heard some nice live music that sounded like it might be worth checking out. It was a woman by the name of Hera , that sounded pretty good (although I only heard one song before she ended her set). She had a face tattoo, which was surprisingly tasteful.

Back at the hostel I had a nice (and probably much needed) nap, for an hour or so, then went and grabbed some groceries.. Brought the groceries back to the hostel and did a little New Zealand research to see if I could map out a bit of an itinerary. I think I’ve got a good idea of what I want to tackle.

At night I went back to Cathedral Square and took a few night photos. I stopped at a convenience store on the way back to the hostel, and picked up one of the item’s on Ella’s “Must Do” list – a “lolly cake” . Basically a coconut covered chocolate cake that someone has inserted marshmallow like sweets into. I have to admit it was pretty decent. Different, at the very least.