In planning this trip I had deliberately left four days unplanned for Wendy- Off-Map Adventures and boy did she come up with some absolute crackers. First of all there was a stop at Kaikaura to see the seals who had all moved further north because of the earthquakes in Kaikaura. Clever seals. But it was a beautiful spot and we had a stroll and a look at the geology and a great lunch at the Pier Hotel.
We had a looked for accommodation in Christchurch before setting out but found it difficult to find, so instead opted for a Motel in the suburb of Sumner Bay, well, I did. Well, Sumner Bay turned out to be this lovely little seaside resort full of people our age who were unable to find accommodation in Christchurch. Only joking, it was a laid back little resort stuck in a time warp but nice enough for a night. It was Valentines Day so we shared the chocolates we had bought in a wonderful evening celebration.
The next day, after reviewing the options on Christchurch we decided that the last thing we felt like was walking around a large city that was still being rebuilt when we could take a cable car to the top of a hill and look at it. So we did that. These are the views of Christchurch from Mount Pleasant:
and this is the view of the even more amazing Lyttleton caldera, a huge volcanic crater.
and finally the view of someone who, given the choice, would not be in a cable car.
Whilst looking at the accommodation options for our Off-Map Adventure we discovered that rooms were even more difficult to come by in Dunedin, our next destination. Wendy, however, discovered that there were rooms to be had just up the road in the Steampunk capital of New Zealand…
To Middle Earth and Beyond 