Christchurch wasn't our favorite New Zealand destination but the weather was marginal and we were tired so we needed some real inspiration and we just didn't find it.
Christchurch is the main city of the South Island and
In the beach district outside Christchurch we watched a new twist on the
bungy jumping craze. The Bungy Rocket is a ball attached by 2 bungys to 2 towers over 100 feet
tall. We decided to drive over the hill out onto the Banks Peninsula to check
out the small town of Akaroa.
Most were not hand tame like this big guy but you could stroll through the park like setting that is their home. It was an unusual thing to find at a Holiday Park and it wasn't mentioned in any of the guide books we used. |
it is in many
ways a small version of Auckland. It blends old and new architecture but not very
effectively. It has a restaurant district bordering the extensive public gardens
which offers many trendy cuisine's and a near by shopping district with walking streets.
We were one of the few spectators for a parade of Dragon Boat Race participants
which was fun but didn't inspire us to get out to the races.
The public gardens are the main draw of Christchurch and this is where we had
our opinion clouded by the clouds. A colorful park full of manicured flower gardens
just doesn't look the same under an overcast sky. I guess you should check the
weather before you head for Christchurch.
The
ball is loaded with 2 subjects and then the bungys are stretched tight and the ball is
released launching it to over 150 feet. It bounces and spins for close to a minute
before the show some mercy and lower it down. It is a good opportunity for you to
try hurdling through space attached only by a rubber band if you don't think you have what
it takes to jump off a bridge. There is also one of these somewhere in Auckland and
they are probably popping up all over the world. 
It sounded interesting because it is the
only French settlement in New Zealand. It wasn't very French and we didn't think it
was worth the several hour drive but we did enjoy watching a local cricket match. It
was much like our weekend softball leagues but with better uniforms. The hill out
there was pretty steep and windy and we did in our radiator which we finally had to
replace in Dunedin so we decided to get out Canterbury and head for Otago were hopefully
our luck would improve. 
Who's the pig you ask? This friendly guy was one of the inhabitants of
a very unusual zoo at the Pineacres Holiday Park near Kaiapoi about 20 km north of
Christchurch. There were several herds of exotic goats and sheep and also swans and
geese.