Christchurch and Arthur’s Pass

Posted on 28 March, 2012 by junosword

On my arrival back on the South Island, I took the bus straight down to Christchurch to spend the weekend with Bek, a friend I made in Dunedin last year.  The bus passed through some incredible scenery on the way south, and through Kaikoura, a renowned whale and dolphin watching spot in New Zealand (although in the half hour stop the bus made, I failed to spot any!).

Once down in Christchurch, Bek and I spent the Saturday driving out to Arthur’s Pass (or technically beyond, to the Otira Viaduct).  The drive follows pretty much the same route as the Tranz Scenic train, and it is billed as one of the greatest rail journeys in the world, although I’m glad we drove it – the scenery was just as fabulous and we got to stop off at various places en route.

First stop was Sheffield pie shop, which proclaimed it had the best pies in New Zealand, a country that has an unrelenting love affair with pies, and certainly the venison pie that we shared was delicious!  Second on the itinerary was Castle Hill, an outcrop renowned for its bouldering, and there were various groups out while we were there.  We had a nice wander around, climbed the hill (but not the boulders!) and spent a lot of time dodging the bees that buzzed incessantly round us, sure that our blue tops were flowers and therefore very attractive!

The next break was at Cave Stream, a very pretty stream and a cave that went right through the cliff – you could follow it for 20 minutes and come out the other side.  We didn’t – the lack of suitable clothing and torches was a bit of an issue – but we did walk up the stream as far as the entrance and watched a few other people attempt the start!  I even did my best to keep smiling for the camera rather than frantically swatting at the sandflies that were landing on my legs – what we go through for good pictures these days…

We then drove on to Arthur’s Pass, which was lovely, but not quite as scenic as the rest of the drive had been – the concrete railway station rather spoilt the effect!  We ate our sandwiches there and then headed to Otira Gorge, where the road crosses a viaduct that is marvelled at as a very impressive feat of engineering – it certainly is, and it came complete with New Zealand wildlife – no kiwis (I suspect I will leave New Zealand without seeing one of them) but plenty of keas, very inquisitive birds which will peck at anything they can see!  Often its the black tubing around car doors, but we were lucky thankfully!  Our route back then took us past the historic Bealey Inn, where we stopped for some gorgeous cakes, and over a little bridge which had some fantastic views.

On the Sunday, Bek drove me up into the hills outside Christchurch for some awesome views over the city and out to the Southern Alps we had driven into the day before, and then insisted I had to see Container City.  I have to admit I was slightly mystified and more than a little sceptical – why on earth did I want to see a pile of shipping containers?  They aren’t usually near the top of any tourist itinerary anywhere…

I saw the point when she got me there.  Container City is what is left of the centre of Christchurch – squished in between the cordoned off area and the River Avon, it is a street that has become an upmarket shopping area, but the shops are all made of (earthquake-proof) shipping containers as the buildings are all unsafe and unreliable.  It is another example of the resilience of the people of Christchurch and their determination to keep going and carry on – amongst all these buildings with ‘Dangerous: Do Not Enter’ signs on them, beside areas cordoned off for demolition, surrounded by all these car parks (it took me a minute to realise the umpteen car parks had grounds of gravel and walls alongside them with clear beam and floor marks on them, and that they had in fact been buildings not much over a year ago), is one oasis of a street, with brightly painted, attractive containers, topiary animals and flower arrangements, a symbol of life and vitality among the rubble of before.

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