New Zealand 2009 - Tales of the Camera Sherpa - Part 17 & 18

Friday morning we awoke to cold and dark weather again. In fact it was the coldest to date with the high not getting above 44 degrees. There was also a cold wind off the ocean which made it seem even colder. We drove north from Dunedin on our way to Christchurch, our final destination. Our big event of the day was the stop and Fleur's Place that I wrote about last. We did stop at a place called the Moeraki Boulders which were these interesting perfectly round rocks on the coast line (resulting from a complex geologic process. But it was just too cold to spend too much time on the beach.

We also had a long drive to Christchurch. There was one other interesting site along the way, the town of Omauru which has some great late 19th century architecture. But the bulk of the drive was through the only boring countryside that we've run into in New Zealand. So at least if we were having the bad weather we weren't wasting the drive.

We stayed at another really great bed and breakfast located in hills just outside of the city. Though we didn't see it until late the next day, it had an awesome view of the city, the ocean, and the Southern Alps. We were the only guests and we sat and drank wine with the hosts for a number of hours before turning in.

On Saturday the morning broke with it still be cold and wet. We went into downtown Christchurch which has some nice buildings and a great botanical garden but it was too wet to walk the garden. After grabbing a bite from a street vendor, we decided to take our hosts advice a drive to a small coastal village about an hour and half out of the city. The drive was a bit harrowing because the 'National Cross Country Relay Championship' was taking place on the same road (a typically windy mountainous NZ road). So in addition to dealing with the normal narrow roads, tight turns, and no safety guards, we were dodging runners. Plus we had a yo-yo in front of us for about 20 kilometers who evidently was looking for a particular runner and would literally stop and swerve over each time we passed some one. Its considered polite here to let people by on the narrow roads if you're driving slowly. It escaped this fellow.

We finally made it to the town. I set Wife out for picture taking while settle down with a good NZ beer to recuperate from the stress of the drive. Our luck turned at this point. The bad weather blew out. The sky cleared and it got warm. Wife got pictures of a lighthouse something she had wanted the whole trip but had been unsuccessful in locating. On our drive back all the congestion was gone so the drive was much easier. Plus the sky was totally clear and for the very first time we caught the full horizon to horizon view of the Southern Alps climbing up from the eastern plains - breathtaking. No pictures. Too far away for our cameras.

The day ended with a fabulous meal (I will be making a separate foodie post for this) at a restaurant suggested by our host followed by more conversation and drinks with them.

Tomorrow, is the long flight home.