Today was our last in Dunedin and our first in Christchurch. Dunedin is a nice little town with strong similarities and links to Scottish towns. But 3 nights was definitely enough for us and we were well ready for the next leg of the journey through New Zealand.
The bus journey was 6 hours with a mixture of coastal views and the Canterbury Plains providing the window entertainment. The Canterbury Plains were quite impressive with acres and acres of flat and rich land, ‘the finest of land’, being utilised for different agricultural means. The farmers round here don’t need to worry about picking stones!!
Conor befriended some young Kiwi lad about 11 years old who was on his own on the bus. He was dropped off by his Dad at Dunedin and met his mum at Christchurch. He took a keen liking to Conor, drawing pictures and sharing his food with him. For a while we taught Conor was going to adopt him and take him with us for the rest of the journey! But we convinced Conor he was too young to become a father and he said his goodbyes and had to move on with out him! J
Back in Ireland researching New Zealand I discovered a place in Christchurch which we all couldn’t wait to stay in, the Jailhouse. An old prison which was shut down in 1999 was converted to a unique and memorable hostelling experience. The hostel was painted completely white inside and after the front reception was a huge, high ceilinged room with cells left and right and a centre of the floor staircase which granted access to the upper floor cells again lined left and right. It is exactly how you picture an old style prison. Each ‘inmate’ stayed in one of the cells, with some accommodating up to 10 people in bump beds. It was really cool. We were in a 10 bed cell. Luckily we weren’t sharing with anyone like T-Bag or didn’t see any unruly activity in the prison showers!! Unlike its prison days the hostel was empathically cleaned, well furnished, modern décor and equipped with a cinema room and TV room. Luxuries prisoners here wouldn’t have had! If all prisons were like this we would all be criminals!
The next morning we arose from our slumber had showers and set out to explore Christchurch city. A 15 min walk into town and we first stopped not at an historic monument, museum or church but at ‘The Bog’ Irish pub to get a big greasy fry up! Some things never change! Now we were set for the day we journeyed to Cathedral Square, the centre of Christchurch. A magnificent cathedral overlooks the bustle of passers by, businessmen, tourists, kids, locals and market stalls below in the square. The square is buzzing with activity and the Saturday market is on. After a browse around and an ice-cream cone (I think we could be addicted!), we voyaged onwards to the high streets of Christchurch. Strong British influence can be seen throughout the city in architecture, style and design. One thing about New Zealand is it doesn’t hide its British colonial past and in fact proclaims and rejoices in its connections to the British Crown. Mike than left us as he met with another freestyler and his 2 mates to share tricks and freestyle together. Gary, conor and I continued to uncover the city. We admired the Queens Gardens (another symbol of Britain) and watched the gondolas stroll down the Avon River. We took a look around the council buildings before heading onto the Christchurch Art Gallery. Now according to our Rough Guide this gallery is one of the top 30 things not to miss out in New Zealand well I tell ya something, I wish I had missed out on it! Okay it was free so we couldn’t complain but it bore the tits of us! One certain exhibit of glowing pesticide, slug killer and herbicide bottles reminded me off the garden shed at home! There wasn’t much in this gallery that will last with me.
Next up we paid a short visit to the Arts Centre, another beautifully well preserved building from the 1800’s and intelligently converted to peoples modern needs without compromising its originality. We made our way back to cathedral square to Mike to see how he was getting on. He was in flying form as the freestyler he met had the same type of ball Mike used to have, which met its tragic end the other day, and he was able to do all his flicks and tricks again. He wanted to saviour every moment with the ball once again so he decided to stay on while we headed back to the accommodation. Never one to miss an opportunity to see more of the city I took us through the Botanic Gardens on the way home. They were very pretty and contained a variety of flowers, shrubs and trees. All with fancy names that I can’t remember.
Smell ya later,
Tom
The bus journey was 6 hours with a mixture of coastal views and the Canterbury Plains providing the window entertainment. The Canterbury Plains were quite impressive with acres and acres of flat and rich land, ‘the finest of land’, being utilised for different agricultural means. The farmers round here don’t need to worry about picking stones!!
Conor befriended some young Kiwi lad about 11 years old who was on his own on the bus. He was dropped off by his Dad at Dunedin and met his mum at Christchurch. He took a keen liking to Conor, drawing pictures and sharing his food with him. For a while we taught Conor was going to adopt him and take him with us for the rest of the journey! But we convinced Conor he was too young to become a father and he said his goodbyes and had to move on with out him! J
Back in Ireland researching New Zealand I discovered a place in Christchurch which we all couldn’t wait to stay in, the Jailhouse. An old prison which was shut down in 1999 was converted to a unique and memorable hostelling experience. The hostel was painted completely white inside and after the front reception was a huge, high ceilinged room with cells left and right and a centre of the floor staircase which granted access to the upper floor cells again lined left and right. It is exactly how you picture an old style prison. Each ‘inmate’ stayed in one of the cells, with some accommodating up to 10 people in bump beds. It was really cool. We were in a 10 bed cell. Luckily we weren’t sharing with anyone like T-Bag or didn’t see any unruly activity in the prison showers!! Unlike its prison days the hostel was empathically cleaned, well furnished, modern décor and equipped with a cinema room and TV room. Luxuries prisoners here wouldn’t have had! If all prisons were like this we would all be criminals!
The next morning we arose from our slumber had showers and set out to explore Christchurch city. A 15 min walk into town and we first stopped not at an historic monument, museum or church but at ‘The Bog’ Irish pub to get a big greasy fry up! Some things never change! Now we were set for the day we journeyed to Cathedral Square, the centre of Christchurch. A magnificent cathedral overlooks the bustle of passers by, businessmen, tourists, kids, locals and market stalls below in the square. The square is buzzing with activity and the Saturday market is on. After a browse around and an ice-cream cone (I think we could be addicted!), we voyaged onwards to the high streets of Christchurch. Strong British influence can be seen throughout the city in architecture, style and design. One thing about New Zealand is it doesn’t hide its British colonial past and in fact proclaims and rejoices in its connections to the British Crown. Mike than left us as he met with another freestyler and his 2 mates to share tricks and freestyle together. Gary, conor and I continued to uncover the city. We admired the Queens Gardens (another symbol of Britain) and watched the gondolas stroll down the Avon River. We took a look around the council buildings before heading onto the Christchurch Art Gallery. Now according to our Rough Guide this gallery is one of the top 30 things not to miss out in New Zealand well I tell ya something, I wish I had missed out on it! Okay it was free so we couldn’t complain but it bore the tits of us! One certain exhibit of glowing pesticide, slug killer and herbicide bottles reminded me off the garden shed at home! There wasn’t much in this gallery that will last with me.
Next up we paid a short visit to the Arts Centre, another beautifully well preserved building from the 1800’s and intelligently converted to peoples modern needs without compromising its originality. We made our way back to cathedral square to Mike to see how he was getting on. He was in flying form as the freestyler he met had the same type of ball Mike used to have, which met its tragic end the other day, and he was able to do all his flicks and tricks again. He wanted to saviour every moment with the ball once again so he decided to stay on while we headed back to the accommodation. Never one to miss an opportunity to see more of the city I took us through the Botanic Gardens on the way home. They were very pretty and contained a variety of flowers, shrubs and trees. All with fancy names that I can’t remember.
Smell ya later,
Tom
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