CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND

                                            A Very English City

     Among the many neat things I did and saw in Christchurch, New Zealand, two unique experiences stand out in my memory.

     One lunch stop was at Mona Vale, a historic mansion perched on the banks of the River Avon. Before lunch we were given a punt ride down the river to a bridge.  A punt is a flat-bottomed long boat wide enough to seat six people two abreast. It is propelled with a long pole by a fellow who stands on the stern, similar to propelling a Venetian gondola. It was a comfortable ride. The fun ride afforded us a chance to view the many mansions  and spectacular gardens along both banks of the river. It was nice to just sit and enjoy the scenery.

     Our formal lunch reminded me of a typical English high tea or a ladies’ lunch. We had smoked salmon, individual quiche, hard boiled eggs and scones. We felt a bit under dressed for the rather formal affair, but we’d not been warned, so our travel clothes just had to do and we just forgot about it. After our leisurely lunch we had plenty of time to  wander the green manicured grounds and flowering gardens, especially the lovely rose garden.

      One evening we walked from the hotel to the corner of the block to catch the restaurant tram. What a unique dining experience!  Similar to  the dining car on a  train, the tram circled the city several times while we enjoyed an excellent lamb meal served with first class service who kept our wine glasses full. The 12 of us were  the only occupants ----our very own dining tram!  It was a different and most enjoyable way to end  a long and exciting day of sightseeing in the most English of New Zealand’s cities.

     With all the English gardens and English street names I had to keep reminding myself that I was Down Under and not in England.

CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND

                                   A Charming Victorian City

        Christchurch stretches from the ocean to the foothills of the mountains and is completely flat. Abel Tasman discovered New Zealand in 1642, Captain Cook sailed there a hundred years later. In 1850 the Canterbury Company, a group of leading British churchmen, sent six ships with 1200 settlers (Canterbury Pilgrims) to Christchurch. Four ships sailed, with the other two following a month later. Property was selling for 6 pounds an acre.

      Christchurch is located in the Cantabury Plain, the flattest area in the country. The Canterbury Region also includes the Southern Alps which are the highest peaks in the country.

       The River Avon runs through the very English city. Christchurch is the largest city on the South Island,  and the third largest city in New Zealand, after Auckland and Wellington. The streets all carry English names.  Churches were the focal point of the whole community, and the center city is dominated by church spires.  The present city is compact and easy to explore, and very walkable. The streets were wide and the city had free center-city tram and bus service

      Our van driver took us up 700 meters over a switch-back paved road  into the mountains. At the summit, we had an excellent view of Port  Littleton, a deep-water, active commerical harbor located in a volcano crator;  on the other side of the road Christchurch stretched to the sea. Seeing many felled trees it was explained that a recent storm blew through the area doing a lot of damage. The road was open again after weeks of closure. Slowly clean up was taking place. The city council protected much of the mountain land. Both New Zealanders and Australians are very outdoor and sports oriented and from the summit we could see many hiking trails. They seemed to be everywhere!

      After a punt ride on the River Avon, with large mansions on each side of the river, we enjoyed a very

‘girlie’ lunch at the Mona Vale mansion. Afterward we wandered the beautiful gardens of the mansion. The weather was warm and quite comfortable.

      Everywhere we went we noted children in school uniforms. This is the norm for all public schools. The children also wear hats, many of them with neck flaps to guard against the sun. People are very sun conscious.

      As we rode and walked the charming city we saw Victorian homes and their lovely English Gardens.  We learned of the country’s favorite ice cream---hokey pokey, and of course we had to try it.    It reminded my buddy of butter brickle, me of pecan crunch without the nuts. Of course we are two ice creamaholics so there was little doubt that we would enjoy the ice cream. Being from opposite parts of the country  accounted for our slight variation on the name, but we both liked  hokey pokey.

     Later in the afternoon we walked about town visiting the Arts Center, museum, arts and crafts center, the Cathedral and the Bridge of Remembrance.

     The Bridge of Remembrance linking Oxford and Cambridge Terraces over the River Avon at Cashel Street opened on Armistice Day, 11 November 1924. It became a pedestrian area in 1977.  The Bridge and its Arch of Remembrance serve as a memorial to servicemen and women of two World Wars and subsequent conflicts in Korea, Malaya, Borneo, and Vietnam. It replaces an earlier bridge over which many thousands of soldiers marched en route from the barracks to the railway station to overseas service. The Bridge of Remembrance was structurally damaged in the February 2011 earthquake. Inspections suggested it was stable and a decision was made to permanently repair the bridge.