From Christchurch, Claire and Canterbury to Sun, Surf & Sand

What a whirlwind week it has been!  As I mentioned last post, my friend Claire from Northfield came to visit me for a few days on her way to Australia and we were busy seeing the sights of Dunedin and Christchurch.

We began our week in the Botanic Gardens exploring some of the further reaches I hadn't yet seen.  The extent of the garden is pretty impressive, there are numerous individual gardens dedicated to particular species of plants and specific regions around the world.  We visited the aviary, a garden of South African plants, a valley of ferns and some truly magnificent trees.  Claire was especially impressed by the gardens, having taken plant morphology at St. Olaf she was well equipped to appreciate the genetic relationships and kept telling me about similar plants in the U.S..

The next day we took a bus to the foot of Mt. Cargill (named after one of the founders of Dunedin) and climbed it for panoramic views of the city.  It was a little overcast but it was still beautiful and allowed us to get an excellent sense of our place in the city and surrounding harbors.  My favorite part of this hike was that it took us past the Organ Pipes-an outcrop of columnar basalts formed when the peninsula was still volcanically active.

The next day we visited the Cadbury factory with Jeff, a friend from Macalester (who also accompanied us to Mt. Cargill).  This was a truly unique experience as it is the only Cadbury factory in the whole world that gives tours.  During the tour we picked up lots of chocolate but unfortunately no pictures.  Photography is not allowed in the factory (think Willy Wonka's secrecy) so we had to satisfy ourselves with photos in front of the Cadbury delivery trucks.  Afterwards, we hit up the factory shop where we made a number of delicious purchases including a bar of dark chocolate with coffee, Irish cream, orange and hazelnut fillings in each square.  Heaven!

  

Next up on the schedule was a trip to Christchurch where we stayed for three nights and two days.  The first day we spent our time checking out the city itself.  Our first stop was Cathedral Square, home of the famous Christchurch Cathedral.  The front of the cathedral itself was undergoing repairs so I'll substitute this internet photo for one of my own.  We also encountered a small flea market here but it was nothing compared to the arts fair we saw next on the grounds of the old university.  Christchurch is home to Canterbury University where chemist Ernest Rutherford used his gold foil experiment to demonstrate the existence of an atomic nucleus.  His old laboratories now are now the workshops of fine craftsmen, including a group of spinners and knitters who make beautiful hats, sweaters and scarves out of wool from New Zealand's many sheep.  

Right next to the old University are the Christchurch Botanical Gardens, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

 

 

 

Next, we rented kayaks and went boating on the Avon river.  This was an interesting experience because our visit coincided with the kayaking leg of the Speights Coast to Coast, a triathalon of running, biking and paddling from the East to West coast of New Zealand.

As if all that wasn't enough, we also visited the Christchurch Museum of Art.

 

 On our second day in Christchurch we rode the gondola hoping to catch views of the harbor and out towards the Southern Alps.  Unfortunatley, it was rather cloudy, but the time we spent waiting for it to clear wasn't wasted.  Many a hand of gin was played!

For Claire's last day we decided to get a group together and go to Tunnel Beach.  Claire, Peggy (another Mac student), Louis, Jeff and myself all piled onto the bus and spent a beautiful afternoon on a beach accessible only by a tunnel through the rock.  The tunnel was constructed by Mr. Cargill (the founding father) so that his daughter could have a private beach to herself, away from the riff raff of Dunedin.  Supposedly she drowned on her first visit.  Fortunately, We avoided all mishaps (the water was too damn cold) and simply enjoyed the scenery. 

Well, my last bit of news is that next time I write I will be including pictures of my NEW flat!  That's right, I'm moving one street over tomorrow for a bigger room, a quieter street and a much much nicer kitchen.  Can't wait!

Miss you all,

Allison

Abel Tasman National Park

This Sunday I returned from a week spent hiking the Abel Tasman Track at the northernmost tip of the South Island.  The map shows the route we hiked from Marahau in the South to Wainui Bay in the North. 







To get to the Abel Tasman we traversed the better part of New Zealand's East Coast by bus.  Between the two of us we had a total of 14 bus tickets and I'm pleased to report that we didn't miss a single one (although a water bottle and a book were left somewhere in there)!  While riding that many buses was rather exhausting, driving was an excellent way to see the landscape of New Zealand.  Because there aren't any interstates here (it was two-lane roads the whole way) you really experience relatively unadulterated scenery as you drive along.  From the idyllic pastures of the farms around Dunedin, to the rugged coastlines and seal colonies of Kaikoura to vineyards and orchards of the Marlborough district it was all beautiful.  The only downside was that many of the roads involve a tremendous number of switchbacks leaving me feeling rather queasy.

The first night on the road we spent an unremarkable night at a hostel in Christchurch but the following night we camped in the small seaside town of Marahau where we saw people riding horses in the surf as the sun went down.  Marahau is where most of the water taxis and kayaking outfitters who take tourists along the Abel Tasman Track are headquartered.  Both of these modes of transport are very popular allowing people of all levels of fitness (but only high affluence $$$) to access the track.  While I was very happy to walk, I think kayaking would also have been fantastic, it was so hot (around 80 F) and the water always looked tempting! 

The track itself was everything we were promised: each day we swam in turquoise waters, ate dinner on beautiful sandy beaches and saw the stars of the Southern sky at night, all in perfect weather.  Unfortunately the sandflies were also as promised.  Despite the application of 95% deet and a strange roll-on sort of bug-spray Louis picked up we both got bitten up terribly and will be reaching for the anti-itch cream for some time.

One of the more unique elements of the Abel Tasman was that it involved tidal crossings which could only be accomplished within a few hours of low tide.  This meant that on several occasions we had to get up quite early in the morning (allowing me to take this picture of a spectacular sunrise), but it also ensuring that we had plenty of time in the afternoons for swimming and reading.

I have to admit some disappointment at not meeting any more really interesting people on the trail.  There were a few groups that seemed promising (including a large group of college students from Winona State University in MN) but the most significant conversation we had was with a group of older trampers from the US (Louis heard them call us nice kids.) 

Our last few hours on the trail were spent discussing all the food we wanted to eat once we got back to civilization (the hot dogs of Chicago and the bratwurst's of Louie's Finer Meats were both explicated in detail).  A number of different options were discussed but ultimately we ended up eating Italian (with some local wine) and topping it off with ice cream.  While I went for the homemade Maple Walnut, I suggested that Louis go for the "Hokey Pokey" flavor.  Having "experienced" this uniquely New Zealand flavor on my previous visit (it was awful) I suspected that its totally artificial sponge toffee taste would appeal to him.  It did, and he is now hooked on the stuff.

Our way back we spent another night in Christchurch and I dragged us out to see the Royal Botanic Gardens at night.  We couldn't see much in the dark, but I'm hopeful that when Claire (a friend from Nfld.) and I visit again next week we will see them as I remember them.

On that note: Claire is coming to visit me tomorrow!  I have a number (read: a ton) of rather exciting activities planned including a picnic in the Dunedin Botanic Gardens, a hike up Mt. Cargill for views of Dunedin and some exciting columnar basalts, a tour of Cadbury World, a walk up the World's Steepest Street, a day touring in Christchurch, a trip to Banks Peninsula to bicycle the caldera, a trip to St. Clair Beach in Dunedin, a day trip to see Larnach Castle and the Yellow-Eyed Penguin Colony and a day hike to Tunnel Beach. Whew!!!!  The next post is going to be full of crazy excitement.

Can't wait!
Allison