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Christchurch, New Zealand (Aotearoa)
43° 31' S 172° 37' E
Aug 02, 2005 09:16
Distance 347km

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Christchurch

Text written in: English

Today I would spend most of the day travelling across the island to Christchurch. I expected to leave the mountains behind me but they seemed to always be there in the distance - even when you get across to the East coast. The early part of the journey was a bit treacherous with an early frost and thick fog in places. The sun soon shone through though and it was another pleasant journey. The mountains were an ever presence in the distance but the foreground soon gave way to fairly flat, open farmland. I saw lots of harriers and a few kestrels again and also passed deer farms as well as a few llama/alpaca farms. It seemed really strange seeing such animals here but brought back good memories of Bolivia and Peru.

 

 

I arrived in Christchurch mid to late afternoon so wasted no time in taking a wander around. I crossed over into the main pedestrian area through Remembrance Bridge, a wide concrete archway. I then walked one block to Cathedral Plaza where they have Christchurch Cathedral. I later discovered that Christchurch was actually settled by 600 Oxford scholars intent on creating a new Jeruselum. There are many streets named after English towns and cities - Oxford, Manchester and Gloucester. I even passed through Malvern, Winchester and Chertsey on my way to Christchurch, it was quite bizarre. Apart from the cathedral, the square is also home to a number of attractive old buildings, a cable car stop and an unusual sculpture that looks like a huge lattice work vase decorated with the leaves of native New Zealand trees.

 

 

I continued another few blocks to Victoria Square, where there are statues of Queen Victoria and of Captain Cook. There are also a couple of attractive fountains and a Pohpoh (similar to a totem pole but Moari in origin). The river Avon runs alongside the square and I followed it for a short distance past some Victorian style buildings and a number of weeping willows. It's a very English country scene! What a shame I didn't have any longer to explore.

 

 

I had enjoyed my time in New Zealand immensely. The scenery is spectacular and so diverse - I think the only type of environment I didn't see was desert. The people too are amazingly friendly with the Moaris particularly keen to ensure you have a good time as well as learning all about their culture. Theirs is another group with a written language which makes the culture that much more accessible to visitors. The younger generation seem to be particularly proud of their heritage and keen to see the knowledge and customs retained for future generations to come.