Flights, Family, Ferries, Family and Food

 Flights, Family, Ferries, Family and Food.

A flying visit to see these two.

Part 1 of the map for this post

FRIDAY 24 OCTOBER 2025 - FRIDAY 21 NOVEMBER 2025 

I’ve done it again, left it a whole month before adding to our blog but you may have picked up from the title of this post that a lot has been happening in the last month. The weather has improved and we have covered quite some distance, with or without The Beast. 

Grabbing the window of opportunity that the weather gave us we bolted down one of the only roads still open in the Tasman / Marlborough area and managed to get back to Motueka. When we stayed in Motueka earlier in the year we were at a campground a bit out of town so this time we splashed out and stayed at the Top 10 in town. We joined the Top 10 club when we first started our trip and this guarantees you a discount at their campgrounds which are all held to a very high standard for their facilities. They have three levels of membership, bronze, silver and gold so the more you spend the more you save. We have worked our way up to silver and we are not that far away from achieving gold. We wanted Motueka to be a very relaxed time and with nice facilities, being close to town and the sun finally making an appearance it seemed things were coming together. We went for walks, had an exquisite lunch at The Smoking Barrel in Motueka, read relaxed and slowly sloughed off the effects of some really nasty weather. We even saw a Bunya Bunya tree which looked remarkably like an elephant's leg!

Before we headed back to Nelson we did need to sort out our next COF (Certificate of Fitness) for the Beast. This is like a WOF but more intense because of the size of our motorhome. We got our last one in Greymouth six months ago but they noted some things Dave needed to work on and we knew these would be checked before we stood any hope of getting another one. Dave had ticked off all three things back in May so we had our fingers crossed that nothing else would be picked up. This would be the first COF since NZTA had changed the rules for motorhomes which meant this one would be for 12 months. We went to the VTNZ in Motueka and it was one of the best experiences we have had for renewing a COF. The guy who took the Beast through its paces was so super friendly and chatty while still being extremely thorough and best of all the 12 month COF cost the same as the six month one! Brilliant! 

Feeling smugly street legal we headed back to Tahuna Beach Holiday Park in Nelson. We had booked this next stay quite a while ago as we would be overnighting in The Beast and then catching a bus to Nelson airport to fly back to Auckland for a week. Laura and Jono were off to a wedding in Sydney and we would be on Grandparent duty. Talk about excited!! The Beast would be staying at the holiday park, connected to power and safe for just $15 a night. What a fantastic service offered by this campground. Using our Bee Cards to bus to the airport we boarded our Air New Zealand flight to Auckland where we were picked up by Laura.

When we got home to Clevedon we walked around to Laura’s friend's place who had collected Vincey and Millie from school and daycare and I wish we had video-ed their reactions when they saw us. I guess our reaction to seeing these precious kidlets again for the first time in nine months was worth capturing too - but we didn’t.

Luckily we had a couple of days before Laura headed to Australia to learn the routines and the ‘do’s and don’ts’ we would need for the next couple of days. (Jono was already in Australia for the stag do). 

Both the school and daycare are within easy walking distance and with the beautiful weather we really enjoyed the pick up and drop offs each day. While the kids were at school / daycare we set about getting organised for the afternoon’s entertainment and keeping on top of laundry etc but we did get to walk to the lookout at Camp Sladdin in the Clevedon scenic reserve. 1000 steps straight up!!

The view after climbing 1000 steps

While we were in Auckland I also took the opportunity to visit with the team at Albany Senior High School. After spending 17 years with some of these work mates we had a lot to catch up on and I spent so much time talking that I never took ANY photos. I was spoiled with cake and Jo even made the effort to come over for a visit from Rangitoto College. It was special to be back for a visit and while I am loving retirement I do miss the company of the ASHS team!

Of course we arrived in Auckland with gifts for the kidlets but while we have been on some of the South Island beaches I had diligently been collecting some choice “Hopscotch Stones’ so we made sure we had pavement chalk to be able to introduce the kids to the joys of Hopscotch. I drew one out for Vincey but Millie decided that she wanted to draw her own one and for a three year old she did a damn fine job of it!!

Millie with her Hopscotch

We had forgotten how full on it is with littlies but we so enjoyed just spending time with the kids again. Dave got to take Vincey to Scouts on one of the nights and we also got to attend a three year olds birthday party. Dave was absent for some of the party as Jono’s Dad, Wayne, invited him out for a quick fish in the morning - an invitation too good to refuse! They only caught a few snapper but Dave was delighted to get the opportunity to spend some time out on the gulf again.

"Thank you for inviting us to your party, Kees"

All too soon the week had raced past and while the kids were sooooo good for us and did not ask when their parents were coming home they were pretty God damn happy to see their folks again. It was sad saying good bye but at least we knew we would see them again soon, at Christmas time.

Flying back to Nelson we packed up the Beast and headed back to Picton for our ferry crossing back to the North Island. The road to Picton took us through Havelock again, only this time The Mussel Pot Cafe  was open for business and it would have been rude not to have checked it out. When we were last in Havelock it was closed for the winter season so we were delighted to finally get the opportunity to taste what were billed as the best mussels in New Zealand and they did not disappoint. 

It was an early start for us to make the 7:45 am Bluebridge ferry crossing as we had to be at the port at 6:00 am. We had chosen this crossing time so we could try out Bluebridge’s newest ferry, the Livia, but we were pleased we had decided to go on the early crossing as the wind was supposed to be getting up later in the day. Although it was raining it was actually a really good crossing and it felt good to have the Beast back in the North Island. 

Again we chose to stay in a Top 10 campground and this one was in Lower Hutt. With Wellington buses being free to Gold Card holders in non peak travel times we headed into Wellington city centre as we were both keen to see the Gallipoli exhibition at Te Papa. It is called “The Scale of our War” and the models made by Peter Jackson are HUGE. There were these neat models of the Gallipoli Peninsula that used lighting to help you understand the futility of the battles that we fought there and the magnitude of the loss of human life. Absolutely worth a visit if you are in Wellington.

The next day we hit the buses and headed to the Queensgate Shopping Mall to top up the pantry. The mall was much bigger than we thought and we were wandering around getting our bearings when this man approached Dave with his arms open about to hug him. It took us both a few seconds to realise it was Dave’s brother, Mat, from Kati Kati who we also hadn’t seen since February. So unexpected but such a cool surprise. Mat, and his wife Sandy, had flown down to Wellington that day to celebrate Sandy’s birthday with her twin, Paula and Paula’s husband, Kevin. Paula and Kevin quickly invited us to their house that night for the bbq dinner they were having AND offered to come and collect us. We spent a very relaxed night in Wainuiomata with great company and great food and were very grateful to Sandy’s niece, Angela and her partner, Nick, for giving us a lift back to the campground.

Back row: Mat, Dave, Kim, Angela, Nick

Front row: Paula, Kevin Sandy

Unfortunately I caught some weird virus that put paid to any more sightseeing in Wellington and by the time I was feeling better it was time to head off to Martinborough. BUT we will be back next year.

It is a fairly quick trip from Lower Hutt to Martinborough as you head over the Remutaka Ranges. Lots and lots of people had mentioned the Takaka Hill to us but no one pre-warned us about the Remutakas. It is another ‘interesting’ road that involves climbing, twists and BIG drops - the sort of road that Dave loves driving on and I hate. It was actually a very uneventful trip and the wee town of Martinborough certainly made up for it. Such a classy little town with loads of wineries, restaurants, boutiques and a real butchery. We tried some lamb and beef from the butcher and it was so much tastier than the meat you get from the supermarket. Who knew that female sheep are tastier than males??

We had stunning, hot weather in Martinborough so it seemed ideal to enjoy a shaded lunch at Poppies vineyard. We had not realised that Martinborough was such a gastronomic area of New Zealand but we left this wee town a few pounds heavier!

So much rain!!

 Soooooo much RAIN!

Spring weather at Nelson Lakes National Park

Map showing some of the road closures during the spring storm. 

WEDNESDAY 8 OCTOBER 2025 - THURSDAY 23 OCTOBER 2025 (Only 6 months till my next birthday!)

As we had already done the trip from Christchurch to the top of the South Island via the east coast several times we wanted to map out a journey that took the road less travelled. At this time of year your planning has to take in several factors like weather and road conditions and you have to have a Plan B in case those factors conspire to thwart your Plan A. To give ourselves time to work on our Plan A we didn’t travel very far when we left Akaroa and headed for Spencer Beach which is just a little north of Christchurch. This campground is huge and as we approached it we couldn’t quite work out why because there didn’t seem to be a lot in Spencerville but looks can be deceiving. The campground is only a short forest walk away from a l-o-n-g, white sand beach. It is right beside a large forestry area that is riddled with mountain bike tracks and recreation areas. It is across the road from a large wetland area that has boardwalk paths to explore and it has an adrenaline junkie type park as a neighbour. Best of all though, it was SUNNY!! We were treated to a couple of unique bird experiences on our first trip to the beach seeing a New Zealand Bellbird (Korimako) as we headed along the forest walk. Then, as we strolled down the beach we encountered the Lesser Spotted Dick as apparently there is a very active nudist group here who all cluster around a flag with a bear on it proudly announcing “Bare it ALL”. You will be pleased to know that Dave resisted the urge to join them. LOL.

Spencer Beach

For the first time in ages we (as in Dave) got the bikes down from the back of the Beast and not only could we explore some of the paths through the forest but we also got to hoon along the beach. I say hoon, but there was a strong head wind so it was more of a frantic peddle. 

For the next stage of this trip we were hoping the spring weather was going to cooperate as we wanted to head back to Hanmer Springs. We had already booked a DOC campsite in  the Nelson Lakes National Park so we were counting on Lewis Pass, the most direct route, remaining open. Going against my need to be organised we hadn’t pre-booked any other campground because if the weather didn’t treat us well we needed to factor in time to make the longer trip to the Nelson Lakes via Kakoura and Blenheim. As we headed away from Spencer Beach we drove through Kaiapoi passing a rather interesting sculpture. Actually Kaiapoi looked like an interesting spot to spend some time as it is nestled in between several lakes and rivers - so we bookmarked it as a place to return to when we come back down again next year.

Sculpture on the way to Kaiapoi

The last time we were in Hanmer Springs it snowed so it was a welcome surprise to arrive in sunshine, warmth and spring blossoms everywhere. We re-kindled our love of PJ’s pies and Baileys gelatos and finally got a photo in the hot pools.

We did get some rain and we were keeping a very close eye on the weather and road conditions which suggested Friday was going to be our best bet to get through Lewis Pass and the suggestion was correct. We had a very calm, uneventful trip through this most northerly of the three alpine passes - there were some windy bits but compared to the weather that was about to hit in this area we could not have timed it better. We arrived in Murchison in fine weather but battened down the hatches for the first of the impending atmospheric river of rain that was predicted to hit.

And boy did it hit. We woke to reports of Lewis Pass being closed because it was missing chunks of the road and the wind in the South Island was playing havoc with motorhomes, trucks and trailers and trees which had all been blown across highways. When we were at the Riverside Holiday Camp in Murchison in March we were walking out on the river bed to pan for gold. With all the rain the South Island has had this year the Buller River was now quite a raging torrent. In between the rain we got to explore the paths beside the river and also keep an eye on the state of the roads between Murchison and Nelson Lakes National Park.

As we already had a booking at Kerr Bay Campground at the Nelson Lakes it was with some relief that the weather on Sunday was okay for travel. It was only a 45 minute trip but we were heading up to Alpine lakes so we knew we would be gaining elevation and therefore the wind could prove problematic. Luckily it was a very pleasant drive with only one brief gust of wind that was strong enough to be a concern. We arrived in Kerr Bay in sunshine. 

It may have been sunny but the temperature had dropped considerably. We knew there was more rain and wind coming so rugged up and made good use of the many excellent tracks around the lake and up to the village. We found a very respectable Alpine Lodge in St Arnaud and enjoyed a quality lunch there - what a surprise!.

Once again we got a very noisy night of rain and woke to find the lake level had risen dramatically and another lake was forming in the campground. Still all this inclement weather has given me this opportunity to update the blog but I do wish summer would hurry up and arrive. If we had still been in Hanmer we would have been stuck as the Lewis Pass Road is still closed and State highway one from Kaikoura to Blenheim is also closed. Spring weather has been more trouble than winter was.

Tomorrow, all going well, we will head off to Motueka. As I type this the road we need is open with no warnings on it AND then, hopefully, this patch of weather will just be a memory.

Akaroa at Last!

 Akaroa at Last!

Beautiful Akaroa Harbour

MONDAY 29 SEPTEMBER  2025 - TUESDAY 7 OCTOBER 2025

After three busy weeks in Christchurch it was finally time to head off again but before leaving we finally got to catch up with Robyn and Derek in West Melton. Robyn and I worked at Albany Senior High School together and quickly turned from work colleagues to great friends. I had stayed at their gorgeous house before on Girls’ weekends but it was the first time for Dave to catch up with them, probably since their wedding! The other first for us was that this would be the first time since we left Auckland in February that we would not be sleeping in The Beast. We spent two relaxed days talking, checking out the local area, talking, exploring further a field, talking and generally just soaking up the Claxton’s hospitality. They did take us to another fabulous South Island Pie shop in Darfield and their local eatery, Two Fat Possums. Obviously we were doing way too much talking as I hardly took any photos but I did manage to get one with Robyn and a photo of their dog Maisey - sorry Derek!

Thanks Robyn and Derek for a restorative couple of days and we really hope to catch up with you in your motorhome in the near future.

How many times have I mentioned in this blog that we would be visiting Akaroa shortly?? It is a place that has been on my bucket list for quite some time.  I had visions of strolling down La Rue while eating a fresh croissant and finally we were heading there. Although the roads were  steep and twisty the views were spectacular. 

We were staying  at the Akaroa Top 10 Holiday Park which is on a hill that looks down on the town but luckily it has a track with a million steps that leads down to the harbour.

We wandered down to the town to do a quick reccy of the place and didn’t manage to pass the Akaroa Fudge Shop without purchasing some of its sugar rush goodness. We also checked out Blackcat Cruises as this would be our best chance to see Hector’s Dolphins. We knew that we had a couple of days of really rough weather coming so booked a cruise for the next day which looked like our only window of opportunity.

Friday didn’t dawn a brilliant fine day but it was calm and the wind was from the right direction to allow the boat to get out of the mouth of the harbour which is where the dolphins play. We hugged the coast as we slowly made our way out to the Pacific ocean stopping to see spectacular coastline like Elephant Head Rock - which actually looked like an Elephant’s head!! We also spotted two of the smallest penguins in New Zealand, the White Winged Penguin. 

Once we were out of the bay it did not take long for us to spot a lone Hector’s Dolphin. Surprisingly these dolphins are not as social as their larger counterparts and often hunt and swim alone - even baby ones! The other interesting fact we picked up is that they can hunt on their backs if they are trying to get flounder or blue cod off the sea floor. They send out a stream of clicks and then interpret the echos that come back to them - clever!

We did see more than one dolphin but they were always flying solo. We also  got to see more seals and, for the first time for me, we also saw some majestic Albatross gliding effortlessly around a nearby fishing boat.

As we re-entered the bay the boat captain pointed out the current automated light house that now stands on the point and told us the story of the original lighthouse. The mechanism for the lighthouse came from Scotland and operated from 1880 to when it was replaced in 1977. In 1990 when the lighthouse was decommissioned and moved to its current place on Beach Road the Scottish company asked for all the workings to be sent back to them. The locals, thinking quickly, stashed the mechanism somewhere safe and just waited out the communications from the Scottish company who eventually gave up and sold the machinery to the locals for $1. It has been renovated and is within easy walking distance of the town.

We did get two days of bad weather and in fact on one of those days it rained heavily for the whole day so we both made progress with our books and my knitting grew some. As we still had some exploring to do we extended our stay at Akaroa for two days so we could cash in on some fine weather. We did manage to walk down La Rue eating fresh French pastries and enjoyed some time at kerbside cafes overlooking Arakroa harbour. 

This was one part of New Zealand that I had really, really wanted to visit and it didn’t disappoint. The road in was not as bad as we had been told and this little French settlement really cast its spell over us. From here we will meander our way back to Nelson passing through some places we have already visited and some new places. The itinerary is still a bit vague but we have had to buy a new 2025/2026 fishing license for one of the places we want to check out. Fingers crossed that we get there AND maybe even catch something this time.

Spring is So Nearly Sprung! - Part Two

Spring is So Nearly Sprung! - Part Two

The Christchurch Chronicles Continue....

I had read somewhere that the seaside towns of New Brighton and Sumner had both suffered quite badly with liquefaction after the 2011 earthquake and while Sumner had made a great recovery, New Brighton was still a bit of a ghost town. As both of these towns are only two buses away from Papanui we waited for some fine days and went exploring. We had driven to New Brighton when we left Christchurch last time but only walked along the beach and out on the pier. As we arrived by bus this time we were able to walk past all the closed down, boarded up shops, the supermarket and pubs. The shops that are open did not look like they enjoyed much foot traffic. It is quite sad.

In comparison, Sumner is thriving. The beach, shops and eateries were busy and well patronised. As we walked around the coast we discovered that the next beach around was called Scarborough Beach - just like where James and Bec live in Perth. Of course we had to take a photo of that sign to share with them. We stopped for lunch at a place called The Beach Bar which is right on the sand. As we were shown to our table I thought some kid had left a water pistol on the table, then I noticed that all the tables had water pistols on them. Having experienced in Nelson the exuberance of the seagulls to get to any food left on a table before the serving staff could clear it we were pretty sure that these water pistols were “Seagull Repellents”. Just after we sat down the people at the table across from us got up to leave and the table erupted with seagulls fighting for the last chip - oh yes, we could see the advantage of having water pistols primed and ready to go on every table.

Our next bus trip was back into Christchurch city so we could go to Quake City, the museum dedicated to the February 2011 earthquake. The very best part of this exhibition was sitting and watching the video of some of the survivors telling their stories and what they were doing at 12:51 pm on 22 February 2011. There were school teachers, policemen trapped under the courts with dangerous criminals to deal with, lawyers trapped on the third floor of collapsed building, Mums trying to get to their children, rescue workers trying to free people trapped under rubble - the stories were just about ordinary people who suddenly were thrown in to the most horrific scenario you can imagine and how many of them became heroes. As Aucklanders, we may THINK we know what Christchurch went through but after seeing this museum I have realised we have absolutely no idea how much this city has suffered. HUGE respect!!

The nice thing about being in Christchurch without COVID is being able to catch up with family. My Great niece, Sophie, who got married here the last time we were in Christchurch is a ‘bit of a shopper’ so I contacted her to see if she would like a girly day out. Even though I had my Gold Card poised ready for a bus trip Soph picked me up and we headed to the shops. Although I didn’t get all the things on my list, it was a great morning just catching up and wandering through malls I hadn’t visited before. Although it was one week early, I did manage to shout Sophie to a birthday lunch. 

Erron also got in contact again and we arranged to meet in the city for dinner. The exciting thing about this dinner was we were going to be introduced to Erron’s new lady, Bianca. We bonded with Bianca very quickly. Not only are Erron and Bianca good together but she is super friendly and super chatty so she instantly felt like one of the family. We went to the Kaiser Brew Garden for dinner and  I managed to get a photo of Erron where he isn’t flipping the bird - at last!. As you would expect they serve steins of beer which may have been the  undoing of Erron and Dave. The next morning though, Erron still went for an 8k run around Hagley, Bianca and I enjoyed a very springish walk through the park and Dave remained in the motorhome feeling a little bit poorly.

While we were at dinner Erron suggested that we should check out the Airforce Museum in Wigram which turned out to be a very easy bus trip away involving two buses. The entry is free to New Zealanders and it is full of anecdotes and memories from real people. It took us ages to see everything, reading the stories and experiencing the interactive exhibits. The planes on display were very awesome and we would love to come back when they have added one of New Zealand’s original C-130 Hercules to their collection.

We have had a mixed bag of weather while in Christchurch and have watched the trees in the holiday park go from completely bare to well on their way to green. We have made full use of our Gold Cards on the buses and had public transport adventures most days. One of these took us to the magnificent Margaret Mahy Playground which is huge with some challenging but safe equipment and heaps of water play. Oh to be a kid again. We also found a rather charming pub called The Church Brew Pub so thought I would leave you with some photos of our day in church.

Spring is So Nearly Sprung! - Part One

 Spring is So Nearly Sprung! - Part One

Spring in Hagley Park

TUESDAY 26 AUGUST 2025 - SUNDAY 28 SEPTEMBER 2025

Our last few days in Nelson passed with more bus trips, walks along Tahuna Beach and I finally got the photo I had been wanting to get of an Air New Zealand plane passing over the Beast.

The only hiccup during that last week was when we tried to get a prescription sent to the Richmond Pharmacy in Nelson and our doctors emailed it to Richmond Rd pharmacy in Auckland - Third world problem, I know! We finally left Nelson on Tuesday 2 September 2025. On the morning we were leaving Dave noticed that our Road User Charge (RUC) was about to run out so we called in at an AA before we left and bought another 5000 kms and headed to Picton. We left in sunshine, travelled through rain and arrived in sunshine. Rather than stay in Waikawa Bay again we chose to stay in a Tasman Parks holiday park which was closer to town this time and booked in for three days. Tasman Parks is an Australian company and although they are big in Australia, they are slowly buying out the Top 10 campgrounds in New Zealand so their presence here is expanding. 

After setting up our site we took a walk into town and found a quiet little place that served Kilkenny beer - so Dave had to have one as a salute to the Tuesday night boys!

Our campground was just across the road from the Picton marina which provided a lovely route for us to take into town so we meandered our way along the coast to the port. Part of this was so we could suss out where the Bluebridge ferry leaves from - for when we cross back to the North Island..

Just up the road from our camp we noticed a sign for the Tirohanga track that led up a hill and would afford a glorious view of Picton Harbour. The track was a little ragged in places and was another good stretch for our achilles but the view from the lookout was worth it especially as the Interislander was just docking. We could even see our campground from the lookout.

We decided to stay another night in Picton as the forecast was for severe rain and wind and as we would be heading along the coast road to Kaikoura in a large motorhome that is not aerodynamically sound we decided to play it safe.

The Saturday dawned much finer and far less wind so we set off for a beautiful coastal drive to Kaikoura. Having only seen one or two seals on our way up this coastal route we were delighted to see absolutely HEAPS of seals all along the coast. There was even a large nursery pool of babies playing and practicing their swimming skills. Unfortunately in the places that there were seals there was nowhere to pull over and take photos and, of course, where there were stopping bays there were no seals so no photographic evidence, sorry. 

As we had already pre-booked our campground in Christchurch we only had two days in Kaikoura instead of the three that we had planned on so we made good use of the beautiful spring weather continuing to explore on foot.

The really neat thing about Kaikoura is you can be sitting in the Pier Hotel, right beside the sea enjoying a pint in the sun and right there in the background are snow covered hills. The weather this time around was much sunnier and it was very cool to see families at the mouth of the river whitebaiting - such a Kiwi thing to do!

With the sun shining we hit the road for Christchurch for a three week stay to do all the things we couldn’t do last time because we had COVID. We chose to stay in the Tasman Holiday Park in Papanui again as it is super central and has bus stops right outside both of its entrances.

Now that we have our Gold Cards and consider ourselves platinum level bus users we headed off on a big adventure to Lyttleton. We had to catch two buses but Mr Google is so clever he tells you which bus to catch, which stop to get off at, where to walk to catch the next one and how many stops before you reach your destination. When we got to Lyttleton Port it was super windy and before committing to taking a ferry across to Banks Peninsula we went for a quick walk around the town. As we walked we had a stern talk to ourselves and decided not to wimp out ( Yes, okay it was just me wimping out!). So we headed back to the wharf to catch the ferry which is also free to Gold Card holders. The harbour itself was quite sheltered which made the short trip to Diamond Harbour very pleasant indeed. When you get off the ferry you can do a coastal walk but we chose to walk up the steep road and head somewhere for lunch. At this stage the sun was glorious and the wind had disappeared which was perfect for consuming pizza and a pint, sitting on a leather couch in front of the bifold doors. 

One of the bus stops on our doorstep has a bus that takes us directly into the main bus depot in Christchurch city and we are making good use of the number 27 bus. So far we have used it to go and check out The Riverside Markets which are right in the centre of town and, while they do sell some fresh produce, it is actually more like a food hall on steroids with an amazing variety of countries and food styles represented. The markets are within easy walking distance of Cathedral Square, Ballantynes and the Earthquake memorial which is beside the Avon and lists the names of the 185 people who lost their lives on 22 February 2011.

With the sun still shining we hopped on the 27 bus again and headed to Hagley Park. The last time we were here it was the end of autumn and Christchurch is trying so hard to show us what she looks like in spring. Yes, there are a gazillion Daffodils out and the trees are so close to erupting in foliage and flowers. As you walk around Christchurch city you can still see the damage of that frightful day in February 2011 with parts of some buildings open to the public and other parts still being propped up and closed off. In some cases the buildings are just left completely empty. Mostly though, Christchurch has picked itself up and done a damn fine job of regenerating itself. From Hagley Park we were going to head to Quake City which is a museum about the 2011 earthquake but we got way laid by an environmental protest march - “Keep our fossils in the soil - no more coal and no more oil;” - ahh well, we can always bus in and see Quake City another day.

Dave sooooo loves it when I try to do one of these arty farty shots - LOL

Next on the ‘to do list’ was to organise a catch up with our nephew, Erron who is in the army in Christchurch and is living in Rolleston. When we met up with Erron in Tekapo he mentioned a neat walk we could do in Christchurch that would take us out to Godley Head. With the weather looking a bit ‘iffy’ we donned wet weather gear and waited for Erron to pick us up. The first part of the trip was to follow the coastal road, then we headed inland slightly and up. The last part of the trip was a narrow road with stunning views out to sea and caused me only mild anxiety! The Godley Head WWII coastal defence battery sits atop sheer 120 metre-high cliffs. Built in 1939, it is ranked in the top ten New Zealand coastal defence heritage sites.Godley Head was the scene of a military defence operation, one of 44 New Zealand coastal defence batteries established during World War 2. Godley Head’s “counter bombardment battery”, as it was titled, was primarily to protect facilities of the Port of Lyttelton from enemy warship attack and to provide a safe haven for shipping. Once the Japanese entered the war, the battery was also to assist in the defence of Brighton Beach from the Spit to the Waimakariri River mouth against potential enemy landings. During the peak year of 1942, over 400 personnel manned the battery, while total numbers to run the entire operation exceeded 1,000. Members of the NZ Army and Navy were based here, including 150 women of the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC’s). It was a 24/7 operation. All of that, and not one shot was fired in anger. Not only was it a lovely coastal walk but to be amongst that much history was pretty cool too!

As you can see the sun came out while we were at Godley head which made the afternoon even more spectacular. Erron took us back to his place where we met his lovely flatmates and then we all headed down to one of the local Rolleston pubs,The Rock, to watch the All Blacks and the Warriors. Luckily the company and the food was so good as both games of footie were shite! The buses in Christchurch run a lot later than the ones in Nelson and as Rolleston is quite a trip from Papanui and given that there was a bus stop right outside the pub we insisted that we would bus home. It was another easy trip to the city bus depot and our faithful number 27 bus was waiting for us to take us home. So easy and so free!!

And that will teach me for leaving it for a whole month without posting anything because Blogger is hiccupping badly when I try to publish our Christchurch Chronicle in one hit. Sooooo this is part one and part two is right behind it.