Kaikoura and Christchurch (June 7)



From Abel Tasman we had to back track to Blenheim and then headed down to Kaikoura on the east coast. As we hit the coast line much of the drive reminded me of the Okanagan with the dry, grass covered hills and all the vineyards. Since this area is in the rainshadow of the mountains running down the center of the South Island it stays quite dry. In fact we left a rainy Nelson area only to find sunshine out on the east coast.

Kaikoura is a popular area to come and see whales, most famous are the sperm whales, but humpback whales and Orca whales also visit the area. We looked at the cost of the whale tours and decided we would wait until our return visit on the way home (and see if we still had any money left). We instead took a walk along the peninsula walkway out at Point Kean and then walked along the rocky shore. Here we came across a large seal and I wouldn’t have even known he was there if he hadn’t warned us with a bark.

After staying the night in Kaikoura we drove to Christchurch and went to visit Kiwi Dave’s sister, Nadia, and her husband Daryl. They have Fin who is 10 years old and Paige who is 8 years old and Bree was very excited about getting to spend some time with other kids. We spent the afternoon visiting and while we were sitting in the house an aftershock hit. It is a very strange feeling, not so much shaking as rolling. Russ was outside and at first did not notice it until he saw the car moving. I thought Bree might be scared so I went to the room where she was playing with Paige and asked if she had felt the house move. She just looked up and said “Don’t worry mom that was just an aftershock, they happen all the time.” Obviously Paige had filled her in and Bree was not that concerned.

Daryl is involved with the West Coast Breweries and is also an owner of the West Coast Bar and Grill which is located in Christchurch and he graciously offered to take us to dinner. Russ and I both had a sampler tray of their beers and my favourite was the pale ale, which is quite a hoppy beer. It was also wonderful to have a nice dinner out for a change and Bree was happy playing with Paige and Fin. Unfortunately Russ had just started to come down with a bug and was not feeling all that well but he still enjoyed the wonderful meal.

We stayed at the Christchurch Top 10 Holiday Park which is massive. There were lots of construction workers staying there and it is only about a 10-15 minute drive to the city center. The next day we went down near the city center and it was incredible to see the streets that were all wavy (bumps and dip) from the pavement moving. We did not go right up to the Central Business District which is still cordoned off as they work to remove buildings and secure the area.

Daryl dropped off Paige and Fin in the morning and Russ and I took all the kids to the Onarawa Wildlife Center. This ended up being a great deal as the kids were only $5 each and there was a lot to see. We spent the first hour at the adventure play ground because they had the best flying fox (zip line) that we had seen yet. Once the kids got over their initial fear they didn’t want to stop. Then we went to watch the tiger feeding. Later we were able to help feed the giraffes and there was even a baby giraffe, only 5 months old. There were also rhinoceroses, lions, zebras, water buffalo and a variety of other animals. By the time we had lunch, hit the playground again and then made a brief visit to the gift store close to five hours had past. We took the kids back to the Holiday Park and let them play on the jumping pillow until it was time for them to go home. Bree and Paige were begging for a sleepover but finally settled on playing for a while after dinner before saying good-bye. Paige lent Bree a stuffed dog to take with her on her travels and we will return it when we come back through Christchurch on our way north. It was great to meet Nadia and Daryl and I think two days of kid play time was what Bree (and Russ and I) needed!