Exploring Christchurch
Trip Start
Jun 08, 2011
1
17
29
Trip End
Aug 08, 2011
Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand
Saturday, July 9, 2011
I also visited the willow bank wildlife reserve where I saw a kiwi! I didn't take a photo though, as they are nocturnal so he was shuffling about in a darkened enclosure and it would have ended up being a picture of a black blob on a black background. I also watched a Maori cultural performance at willow bank, which was very touristy, but still, interesting. We even got to join in with the Poi dances, where the women twirl a pompom type thing on a string, apparently this strengthens their wrists and coordination for weaving, although when I tried it it was more about missing the catch and smacking yourself in the face with a pom pom. I got the hang of it in the end, but I don't think they'll be taking me oon as a full time Maori dancer any time soon!
When Joel arrived on Friday he had a go on Phil's bike, of course now he wants one, although he is still too young to be trusted with a bike, he has to wait for his midlife crisis first!
Saturday was a drive with Phil, Alison and family through the rolling hills that reminded us a lot of the landscape in Costa Rica, down to Akaroa, a fishing village first colonized by the french, and still with a lot of french influence (it doesn't have a police station, it has a gendarmerie!) We had a lovely long lunch then took a wander through the village, before jumping back in the car to drive to a gemstone beach, where we collected pebbles for Phil's very cool stone polisher, which turns a boring old pebble into something really beautify, amazing! Sadly it takes a while, so we never got to see if our pebbles turned out, but we saw some others he had polished, many different colors but all bright and beautiful.
In the evening I was lucky enough to be given a ticket to join Alison and the girls at a Stan Walker concert. 'Who?!', you ask?! He won Australian idol in 2009 and is from New Zealand so he's a big deal Down Under. It was fun to take the girls to a concert, although me and Alison felt kind of old as the majority of the audience seemed to be screaming 16 year old girls. Joel avoided the concert with Phil and watched the rugby instead, a much more manly New Zealand pastime.
On sunday we took another drive through beautiful scenery to Hanmer springs, where we got to hang out in lovely hot springs heated by natural thermal springs, so relaxing and heavenly! Highlight of the day had to be when the lady in the shop across the road mistook me for a 14 year old and thought Joel was my dad...hilarious!
