au revoir, NZ

Headed towards Dunedin (eastern coast) after leaving the Queenstown area on October 16.  Once again, ever-changing scenery and terrain and this time I swear I saw hobbits around all the rocks in the landscape.  Unfortunately we did not stop to take any pictures.

We only spent a night in Dunedin but it was an interesting city with a definite Scottish influence and great architecture.  The railway station was quite beautiful.   The small hotel we stayed at was called The Brothers Boutique Hotel, and used to be the residence of the Christian Brothers, of the Catholic Church.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heading further up the east coast we stopped off at KoeKohe Beach to see the Moeraki Boulders.  They were beautiful, and they looked like they had been shot off a cannon from far off sea.  And the broken up one looked like a smashed up honey dew melon.  You can’t tell from looking at them in the photos but some were encrusted with all kinds of teeny tiny shells and some had lovely green moss hanging from them.  See where your imagination takes you.  Here’s a video if you would like more information:  http://www.moerakiboulders.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We then stopped off at a small village called Oamaru with great old buildings that are slowly starting to get bought up by a trust group and slowly getting refurbished, so lots of independent shop keepers.  We couldn’t believe all of the used book stores and how a small town could support so many.  And Gary just can’t walk by a great old book store, so we had to buy a book each even though we promised we wouldn’t buy anything and that we would just read with our e-reader.  The bookstore we bought our books at was called Slightly Foxed and they even wrapped our books up in the old-fashioned way.  We love supporting independent book stores!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We booked two days in Christchurch and everyone told us not to bother since most of the buildings were ruined during the major earthquake 5 years ago and still haven’t been rebuilt – apparently one big insurance claim headache after another, and then a bit of red tape and politics to go with that.  Any New Zealander we spoke with told us either not to bother or to just spend half a day or as little as possible.  One of the hotel owners of where we stayed prior to arriving in ChCh described it as ‘Earthquake Tourism’, which we both thought was rather negative and grim.  So, because we are who we are we decided to stay two full days and see for ourselves.  Well, we both thought it was a great city – not a beautiful city, but with great beauty – although sad with all of the ruined buildings and empty lots.  Apparently even if some of the historical building were left standing they still had to be taken down due to the uncertainty of the structure.  What I saw in the people was an innovativeness, creativity and a perseverance.  Sure, many people moved away from the city, I’m sure with frustration as well as from having lost their homes or places of work, and some just plain frightened (they had 2 major quakes within a 5 month period, and then constant tremors for 18 months after); but others decided to make a go of it, and I’d say they’ve done a pretty darn good job of it.  If you thought I was excited about shipping containers before, you were mistaken.  I think we have our next house designed now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, over 4000 km worth of driving, with just over 4 weeks in the country and a sense of the NZ culture and landscape, we say farewell, so long, and au revoir!  Although it was a lot of driving and we’re glad to be done with that part, we will miss all the fantastic things we saw, people we met and every single little experience and surprise that came our way.  And although all of the mountains and other beautiful landscape made an impact on me, I think it was Christchurch that made the most impact as far as not being afraid of change and challenges.

See you on the other side of the Tasman Sea.  Thanks for following us through NZ.