The day had arrived in which Rachel would be leaving us. Sadly, she had to return home for university exams which were fast approaching. We enjoyed our morning on the campsite together as a group along with the company of a new feline friend we had made. We did try and convince this cat to come with us in the van but she didn’t seem as on board with this as she walked back out to go follow some birds. Her loss (also Katy’s gain whose allergies would probably not forgive that particular decision).
We got to the airport and said our farewells. A member of the group was leaving and it would no doubt feel like something wasn’t quite right for the rest of trip. We were sure we would just send her photos of everything so it felt like she was there (and you know, make her well jell).
Next stop we pulled into was a car park in the middle of Christchurch. This had an odd feeling to it. We were parked in what looked to be a levelled site. Right next door appeared to be destroyed foundations which had turned into a seagull reserve filled with hundreds of the load squeaking birds.
We headed by foot in towards a cathedral. The front entrance to this building appeared to have been demolished and the whole site was surrounded in semi-permanent hoarding. Posters attached to the fencing informed us of the restoration plans for the Cathedral and the timeline for opening. What had happened to this place?
We noticed a scenic tramway behind us just as a tram was pulling in. For a small amount we could get day tickets on the tram and have a tour around the city (kind of like the hop-on hop-off buses you see in many cities). We got on the tram and began a little tour of the main central area.
The guides opening lines informed us that Christchurch was very susceptible to earthquakes. After hearing about all of this it occurred to me that it is a wonder that anyone remains, or that businesses deploy resources in, the area. In my mind it would make more sense to move to city to a new location which carried less risk to its citizens and operations. Yet I guess I’m understanding the human factor in this and that some people would want to stay in the are they know as home.
Note: On further research it appears that the earthquakes have affected the population numbers of Christchurch. Once the second most populous city in the country it is now the third since the last major disaster of the 2011 earthquake
After a while on the tram we decided to get off an explore what looked to be a quaint little street on foot. We spotted a table at the cafe just become vacant and we jumped straight in to enjoy ourselves a sparrow’s lunch (definition: A little portion of food to tide you over, much like a what a sparrow would enjoy). Of course, this is a statement used in complete irony as what was actually ordered was a smorgasbord of delights that we tucked into.
After we had finished lunch Michael had spotted a load of electric scooters nearby, all of which could be rented through the use of an app called lime. We all got on it and within minutes were set up with lime amounts and an electric scooter each. We did a quick tour of the streets and came across the 185-chair memorial. This middle of city unofficial memorial remembers the lives of the 185 people who died in the 2011 earthquake.
Continuing our scooting about we stumbled across a small scooter park. Eager to mess around we rode the scooters across the jumps and had a good laugh. Quite how the companies hadn’t geofenced this area off is beyond me as the temptation to mess around is far too high!
Heading back into town, Michael, Brendan and Jayne were keen on going to the museum all about the earthquakes of Christchurch. The rest of us decided this wasn’t to our taste and so jumped back on the tram and headed towards the farmers market. Inside we enjoyed a selection of more food (why not? Seems like today was going to be a cheat day) as well as pack up some of the local wares for us to enjoy in the vans.
We finished up out time in Christchurch with a pint at the famers market and then made our way back to the van. Michael and Jayne were due to meet a friend our travel down at the next town along, called Ashburton. We were clearly not invited (perhaps due to the embarrassment we could easily provide) so we popped to the supermarket to pick up a few staples for dinner that evening (at a cheaper cost than the farmers market. There was only so much we could spend there). We picked up supplies that would make for big pasta meal and also a stir fry (this may seem unimportant, but the stir fry would become a recurring joke so hold onto this nugget).
After an hour or so Michael and Jayne returned and we got back on the road to get out to Timaru. We hadn’t yet confirmed where we were going to stay this evening but were going to perhaps try a freedom campsite. Our logic flowed that if we, in our non-self-contained van, were parked to the bugger self-contained van and used their facilities that it shouldn’t be a problem and we wouldn’t get a fine.
As luck had it, when we arrived into Timaru, the free camping area we had hoped to get to was full. This combined with a lack of confidence in our free camping plan for Katy’s and my van meant we quickly called around the local campsites. One just down the road was still open and still had space so we drove down.
We turned up and Brendan was about to pay for 6 adults in our van until I quickly reminded him that Rachel was now flying home. Her departure a few hours ago had not quite settled in yet and it still felt like we were a full complement of 8.
The owner of the site told us we could go see the penguins come to shore around dusk back in the town. Given we had just driven a long way, we weren’t in the hummer to get behind the wheel again and also assumed we could see penguins at a later point in our journey. I will state now that this is a decision we came to regret as penguins would not be seen on our trip, but not without trying (as you will find out later).
Jayne and I cooked up a storm of spaghetti dishes and we powered through our on-board drinks. Jayne mentioned that a bell tower in Dunedin had gotten back to her about ringing the bells in the church. This was exciting for Jayne, an ardent bell ringer of late who relished the change to ring some of the most southern bells in the world. One downside, the bell ringing would take place at 9 am and Dunedin was several hours away by van.
Determined to help her see the mission in, we decided we would stop the drinks and get up early to drive the vans down to Dunedin. This meant setting alarms for 5:45am and getting on the road asap. Because of this we packed up and went to bed pronto!