The South Island Journey: Christchurch

This was my first view of the South Island from the plane. Up until that point, we had been flying through clouds. The woman next to me, a native, nudged me, and pointed out the window. Have I told you how much I love Air New Zealand? If all airlines were like them, I'd enjoy traveling. It wouldn't be like taking terrible medicine. While they are always great (legroom, shoulder room, food,) for some unknown reason, we got bumped up to business class for the Auckland-Christchurch flight. It. Was. Wonderful.

Anyway, the image is of the New Zealand Alps. We expect to see a lot more of them as we tour around. But! Our first two nights were scheduled in Christchurch, where we had booked an Airbnb in Bishopsdale, a neighborhood (suburb? town?) about 10 minutes from center city, Christchurch.

Christchurch building facade only

I had read a good bit about the lingering effects of the 2010-2011 earthquakes and all of their various tremors, but I was still unprepared for the evidence of that devastation all these years later. Some older buildings only had their facades left, with vast rubble areas where they clearly intend to rebuild.

Museum Encouragement

The Art Museum had a neon sign installed that read "Everything is going to be alright". Large lots of rubble are spread throughout the downtown district.

Christchurch cleanup ongoing

Mural, downtown Christchurch

Christchurch building support

Mural 2, downtown Christchurch

I don't want to sound too negative, though. The longer we stayed, the more we saw that was encouraging. Painting murals on the sides of building walls in cities is, of course, not unique, but I thought two of these murals were absolutely beautiful.  I find that in general, New Zealand's botanical and feminist aesthetic is very much in keeping with my own.

We also had a lovely chance meeting and engaging conversation with a couple over breakfast at Black Betty's Cafe.  They suggested that we check out The Cardboard Cathedral, which was a couple of blocks from our cafe. It is officially called "The Transitional Cathedral", and was built as a grass roots endeavor when the city's Anglican Cathedral was once and for all destroyed by the 2011 earthquake. It is heartbreaking.  I've included an image of the original structure prior to it's destruction. It reminds me of the National Cathedral in DC, though on a smaller scale. The transitional cathedral actually does have cardboard in it's construction. . .those tubes running along the inside of the roof are those cardboard concrete molds.

Anglican Cathedral, Christchurch, 2006

Transitional Cathedral sign

The Transitional (Cardboard) Cathedral

Anglican Cathedral wall 2018

 When we returned to the city the following day, we decided to walk through the Botanical Gardens. It was late afternoon, and raining on and off, but what a find those gardens are. You all know that I've been doing tours of Botanical Garden throughout Oceania, and these are the absolute best so far. I can't wait to go back to them. They are well maintained, have a conservatory from the last century (how that made it through earthquakes is a mystery to me), well labeled plants, and this fountain. . .the only image I have of the gardens so far. I'll show you more as it all unfolds.

The Kindness of Connections, Part 2

Our last two days in Auckland were all about the Edens. First Mt. Eden, and then Glen Eden. The latter is a western suburb of Auckland, accessible by rail. So John and I completed our tour of the public transportation systems of Auckland by using rail transport on our last full day there. CityBus, Bus, Ferry, Rail. Check X 4.

Why Glen Eden? A high school friend of Sarah's (J) lives there now. He married a local (L), and made the move to New Zealand. We connected with him via Sarah, and he and L were so generous with their time. We trained out to Glen Eden, where he picked us up at the rail station and drove us to his home.  J and L live in a beautiful wooden house, sequestered in an extremely private bush setting. L has her own studio: Enter brief moment of envy. Then we all went to see the surrounds. The bush trails are currently closed due to Kauri dieback disease, so they took us on a coastal walk.  And of course,  it was spectacular. We walked along a beach, scrambled over rocks studded with mussels (I'm always worried about crushing them), and found ourselves on a rise over looking this area where the sea comes crashing up a crevice. Video. Sorry, again, if it takes a while to download.

We had lunch at a place near the beach, and headed back home in time to finish up packing. The shuttle arrives at 6a tomorrow morning for the flight to Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand.


One last slightly irresistible note.  I know I've waxed on and on about the exotic bird life (and the flora) in Oceania. But one inescapable fact remains: The English Sparrow wins the prize for most ubiquitous, and presumably most adaptable of all of the bird species. We have seen these little guys everywhere we go, be it tropical or temperate, wet or dry. And honestly, I find them rather beautiful. Varying shades of brown and gray, layered and layered.Subtle. I think if they weren't so common, other folks might find them beautiful too.

English Sparrows are Everywhere.

The Kindness of Connections. . . .

Mt. Eden caldera overlooking Auckland

Those of you who know me well know that I'm a bit of a pessimist about my own species. Dogs: That's another thing entirely, but humans? They are so often disappointing. I realize that being a middle class white kid in the US was an amazing stroke of good fortune, but still. I witness enough to become pretty disheartened, try as I may to stand up to those self-satisfied negative forces.

On the way up Mt. Eden

So imagine my pleasant surprise and ensuing humility when I've been treated so extraordinarily well by folks who barely know me. Or don't know me at all. John's colleague, who had us over for a wonderful family dinner, had suggested we hike up Mt. Eden, which is not far from where we live in Auckland. Her schedule ultimately didn't allow her to join us, but we decided to take her advice, nonetheless. On John's last day of work at the U, he took the afternoon off and we took the bus to Mt. Eden, to hike up the mountain that neighborhood is named for. I could have taken a hundred pictures on the way up, but I'll only bore you with 2. Even now, in my dotage, I can't resist and older home. And the views were spectacular.

On the way: I can never resist an old house

View from Mt. Eden. . . Auckland, West the Tasman sea

View from Mt. Eden. . .Auckland,East the Pacific Ocean

Mt. Eden is an extinct volcano, so it has a very obvious caldera, which is lushly overgrown with vegetation. A really cool thing about it, though is that you can see where the two oceans come ALMOST together. And of course, after the hike down, we found a great pub and had a meal. Hike. Eat. Drink. Repeat.

Kauri, Cows and Coming Home

Along the road to Opononi

Storm clouds on the way

On the way up. . .a fishing boat

Sun breaking through on the way

We headed back to Auckland, planning a day of traveling through lands exotic, while staying a night on the Western Coast of the North Island and then heading back to our place in Auckland. It's so hard to do the scenery justice with a photograph here. It surrounds you with it's lushness; some wild and fecund, some pastoral. While there are sheep in abundance in this rural landscape, cows dominate the domesticated animal population here; mostly dairy, but also some beefs. We headed directly across the North Island on Route 12, heading to Opononi and Onopere. And yes. The names are hard to retain. I kept calling the first Onaponi ("own a pony"), because that was something my little brain could hold onto. These two coastal towns pretty much run together. They don't feel especially touristy, and are lightly populated this time of year, which is early winter in the Southern Hemisphere. [I still have a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that it's early summer in Boise.] There is a nice hike up a hill and to the end of a peninsula that overlooks the sea on one side, and the coastal hills behind.
 The views all around really are staggeringly beautiful. I'm running out of adjectives, aren't I?

It's hard to decide what to include, and believe me, I've culled the herd considerably. Smile. I did include the image of John looking very noble indeed at the top of the hike, and I'll include several smaller ones that you can click to enlarge if you feel so inclined.


John's allergies on this trip were alive and well. It is such a humid climate, so rife with plant life. I guess we shouldn't be surprised. This has definitely nixed any notion of emigating to New Zealand, though, even if they would have us.

After this hike, we headed back south, along the coast and then further inland where we drove through the last virgin Kauri forest, called the Waipua Forest. It is a primal place, dark and verdant. The road is beyond winding, even though it's a major route, and it is full of green, brown, water and birdsong.  The oldest tree in New Zealand lives there, and you can go see it. It is only developed enough to let folks see it. No gift shop. Just parking along the road, and a path going to it that starts with cleaning one's shoes. Again. An earnest attempt to slow the advance of Kauri die-back disease, but my horticultural heart quakes at the notion.  I can only think American Chestnut. American Elm. Sigh.





This tree has a name. Tane Mahuta, the largest living Kauri tree in the world. It is also the oldest, thought to be between 1250 and 2500 years old. Big spread, but it's not like you can count the rings.

After leaving this deep dark place, we came out into more pastoral environs. We were on the road for a few minutes when we had to stop, because a herd of dairy cows were being moved down the road. It was the biggest herd I have ever seen. . .maybe a hundred individuals, all in various stages of lactation and/or pregnancy. John was a little freaked, but I kept telling him to "just hold still". They aren't a violent lot, which is good, because they ARE very large.

Steadfast readers, forgive me if this post has been over long. You would not BELIEVE how much I did NOT include regarding this trip, but I realize that it's still a bit much. I'll reward you with a final photo of an image that is real. I did not Photoshop the rainbow in. I have never seen a complete rainbow, or one that was so fat. Must be a southern hemisphere thing.

Rainy Day Greens

Rainy Day in Plum Tree Cottage

 No Blues, thank you very much. It is SOOOO green up here. John and rented a car and drove from downtown Auckland to Russell, in the Bay of Islands New Zealand yesterday. It reminded me of Pennsylvania, John of Ireland. However, The Rain is spectacular. I'm an East Coast girl. I thought I knew rainy days. This came down in buckets for hours. Fortunately, our lovely Airbnb hosts had the foresight (and the room) to upgrade our studio to an apartment, and I'm glad they did. It has been lovely watching and listening to this rain from the broad windows of this sweet place. We ARE going to venture out soon. Can't stay inside All day. Or can we?

Rainy Day at Plum Tree Cottage 2

The view from this spot above the bush (the Kiwi name for the sub-tropical jungle here) could not be better. It stretches over a vast array of exotic flora, complete with songs of birds we don't recognize, down to a wide sweep of the bay. We had good weather for the drive up yesterday, so we hiked in a couple of different places. We ate dinner at a local place that Pete, our host, tells us has not only been recently restored, but the owners have taken a great deal of civic responsibility in a sort of rebirth of the citizenry here. More on that tomorrow.

Roadtrip view

So. To retreat a bit. Walk backwards into the future. We drove up to The Bay of Islands. The scenery gets to be ridiculous, it's so beautiful. One gorgeous vista after the next. Once out of Auckland, it's rolling hills with trees on the tops and sheep and cows grazing peacefully. Think an English landscape from the 1800's. But darker and lighter greens, and more stark outlines. Kiwi's are justifiably proud of their agricultural products, and by the look of it, many are raised in this part of the country. We didn't see a lot of row crop agriculture, but we did see a ton of sheep and cows (dairy and beef) grazing. We also didn't see any CAFO's, though at least one New Zealander told me that they are starting to come in. Their butter and milk is amazing, as you might imagine.

Roadtrip view2

Dogs Say Always stop for a hike

First view of Mangawhai Cliffs walk from the Parking Lot

The beach with rocks and seawall. Dogs allowed

So! My plan was that we drive for a couple of hours (even the Route 1 State highway here narrows to two lanes pretty quickly), then go over smaller roads for a hike. This is an old habit from having dogs in the car with us. You always get out for a hike at some point. I chose Mangawhai Cliffs walkway, mostly because it was a good length (1.5-2 hours our of Auckland), and promised to be easy-to-find. I'm always concerned that these well publicized places will be over-run with tourists (what a snob I am), but that hasn't happened since we've been in New Zealand. There are other folks there, of course, but non of the thoughtless bus-full-of-selfie-taking-crazies, or the tourist-weary workers in restaurants and shops. Such a relief. This turned out to be a wonderful hike, again full of ridiculously beautiful vistas. The hike up to the cliff was not trivial either, even by Rocky Mountain Standards, so we had a decent workout before heading into Russell.

I'll close this post with some of the views from the hike. It's still pouring. Thank you, Patient Reader, for giving me a lovely task while I enjoy this Shelter from the Storm.

From beach to cliff climb

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There be cows here.

Ridiculously Beautiful

View from the top