Christchurch (and around), South Island, New Zealand 4-5 Dec 2008

We flew to Christchurch and stayed with a friend in Kiapoi (about 20mins north of Christchurch City) for a couple of nights. I’ve not seen Rachel for four years and in that time she’s got married and had two little boys. Her toddler, Lane, kept us entertained and while we couldn’t really understand what he was saying we got the general gist. He did have a great word for helicopter though (his Dad is a helicopter pilot) and simply said “dub-dub”.

Euan was determined to see a kiwi and, as it turned out, we picked a fantastic place to see them. Willowbank is the sort of place I’d never have normally visited – far too touristy but I was pleasantly surprised. We beat a busload of Singaporeans and had peace and quiet. It’s one place where you’ve a great chance to see kiwis right up close and not behind glass as they often are in zoos. We had a kiwi fossicking around in the mud and stones within 2m of us and watched him stick his skinny long beak into the dirt, levering up rocks, hearing him snort and snuffle through the nostrils in the end of his beak. Very cute and much larger than I remember. By the look on his face when we came out of the dark, I think Euan was pretty sold.

We also saw a possum, unfortunately looking rather cute in his house (they’re nocturnal) and I did warn Euan that they’re not cute at all but an awful pest and that if we saw them on the road, we would definitely be swerving to hit them. What we’ll never see in the wild is a Tuatara, what is referred to as a living fossil. Tuatara have been on this planet, unchanged, for 200 million years and this Willowbank had a few that were out and about in highly protected and alarmed enclosures.

There were various other animals and birds and in direct contrast to the super aggressive frilly-feathered geese there were these ducklings that seemed intent on waddling along after Euan…

and then there was the wallaby with the hind legs of its baby hanging out of its pouch.



She was pretty chilled and sat around chewing leaves that we fed her but then she slowly hopped down a hill and the baby fell out!



He tried his hardest to get back in but couldn’t get his long skinny hind legs to fold up again. His very laid-back mum just carried on eating and didn’t seem at all perturbed to have lost her baggage.



The following day we drove around the Banks Peninsula that, from the air (we saw it on a postcard), looks like a cogwheel. It was formed by two volcanic eruptions and there are many small bays that radiate out from the centre. Banks Peninsular was nearly claimed by the French but the British beat them to it but the area still retains some French names such as Duvauchelle. Had the French arrived a few years earlier the South Island may well have become a French colony! How cool would that have been?!

Akaroa (meaning Long Harbour in Maori) is a small town and the site of NZs first French settlements. This is the first view we got of the harbour.



The harbour was really sheltered and it was a gorgeous day. Climbing the steep surrounding hills gave us a great view but our rental car is possibly the most gutless thing ever, it couldn’t pull a skin off a rice pudding and we were grinding up some of the hills in 1st gear!



We had fish and chips for lunch and sat on the small jetty eating them but not sharing them with the many seagulls that were around



To pay us back for being selfish, they shat on Euans bag



This is one of the quaint buildings in the town



and more views of the harbour





Le Bons Bay looked stunning from up high



and didn’t fail to deliver once down closer



but the water was super cold!



I was enjoying being in isolation in the warm sand



When we were in Africa, we travelled with a Kiwi girl from down South and on one of our long drive days she gave me a long list of things to do/see in the South Island. We’re working our way through the recommendations and Le Bons Bay and Akaroa are both on there.

Back in Christchurch we visited the City Centre but thought it was a bit lacking in character. We made a special visit to the Cathedral, where my step-Dad Pauls Great-Great Grandfather was the first Bishop of South Island and he came to NZ in 1856 from Berkshire (he had previously been a Chaplain at Eton). This chap had 13 kids (8 daughters) so needless to say that there are a lot of Harpers now dotted around the country! There is a Harper Avenue, Harpers Pass, Harpers Park, Harpers Track … the list is seemingly endless. The only thing I’ve found with McLean is McLeans Landfill just outside a grimy grey town aptly named called Greymouth…



At the other end of the cultural scale, we visited a pub and ordered a Monteiths Tasting Wheel, another of Jens great recommendations. A brilliant idea and it was quite good fun doing a self-tasting session! Monteiths was originally a South Island boutique brewery (since been bought out by a larger company).