Christchurch/Lyttleton Friday 2.1.08
Airline reservations for Sunday, check. Car rental return verified, check. Guest laundry located, check. We are all set to get on with our day so it is the ever-popular yogurt bar and a little fruit for breakfast and we’re off to Lyttleton.
Lyttleton is actually the port for this part of the world, and if you saw the movie “8-Below” when the folks are looking for an Antarctic boat in a bar in Christchurch, it is probably in Lyttleton. (Mary of course says the bar was probably in Toronto where they were filming, but I insist that it would be a long trip from Toronto to Antarctica.) It is a hard-working port with ships being loaded and unloaded and piles of containers and acres of logs stacked up waiting to be moved out. This is the seagoing access point for this side of Antarctica and for a great deal of money you can hop a ship and visit a new continent. Antarctica, check.
We drive out around the harbor with great views back to the land side. We have a choice to make a turn left to Akaroa or right back to Christchurch and (in spite of the Coach’s discouraging words) we turn left to Akaroa. The sign says it is 59km (which is about 37 miles) so figure an easy 45 minute drive followed by lunch. About an hour and a quarter later with the low gas light on, we are on top of a mountain and we can finally see Akaroa on the ocean below us.
Akaroa is the first European settled city on the South Island where the French had landed in order to claim New Zealand for the Homeland. Unfortunately they found out that the treaty of Waitangi had been signed five days before and there were Union Jacks being planted all over both islands. If only they hadn’t stopped for dinner. The town still maintains some French influence in architectural style and has a quaint harborside business district. We grab lunch at Ma Maisson on the water (Mary the prawn salad and John the Spiced chicken sandwich) and if there is a common fault among Kiwi chefs, it is not knowing when a dish is done. The Italians are noted for their simplicity of ingredients and style and the Kiwis would be at the other end of the spectrum. If five ingredients are good, wouldn’t eight be better?
We now know that it is a bit longer drive back to Christchurch than we had imagined and we still want to head to the Antarctic Center near the airport. Fortunately we breeze through town in spite of some Friday rush hour traffic and get to the center about 4:15. It is 34-degrees C (about 93F) so we are very happy to get into the air-conditioned display.
This is one of the top attractions in NZ and one would expect it to be equally popular among locals and tourists alike. They have great exhibits detailing the history of the exploration of the south pole, recreations of the existing buildings at the international base, a real live blue penguin swimming and breeding area, and many other animal, vegetable and mineral displays. They do the south pole experience where they put you in a cold room with a coat and boots and crank up the wind to freezing conditions. It is 17.8 degrees F and the wind is blowing at 25 mph for a wind chill of two below. The fellows were anxious to see how impressed we were with the conditions when we came back out and we told them it was a warm winter day back home. They quickly moved on to the next people. The Antarctic Center is located at the Christchurch airport because this really is the international access point for the base on the ice. There is a huge US facility (United States Antarctic Program - Operation Deep Freeze) across the road on airport grounds and the C130s they use for travel back and forth are parked there.
When we come back out at 6:15 the temp has dropped 27 degrees F and the wind is roaring out of the south (meaning that it’s cold). We hustle back to the hotel and decide to eat in tonight. The restaurant is bright and noisy so we opt for the bar. Mary gets a fish and chips and our bartender Kerri lets John order the roast of the day (leg of lamb with about 10 different vegetables) from the dining room menu. The bar is dark and quiet and we chill out inside while it starts to rain outside. Plenty of chores to do tomorrow, so off to bed.
Today’s local headline: Man Fakes Death Christchurch Weekend Press (Wife collects $1.2 million life insurance)
Airline reservations for Sunday, check. Car rental return verified, check. Guest laundry located, check. We are all set to get on with our day so it is the ever-popular yogurt bar and a little fruit for breakfast and we’re off to Lyttleton.
Lyttleton is actually the port for this part of the world, and if you saw the movie “8-Below” when the folks are looking for an Antarctic boat in a bar in Christchurch, it is probably in Lyttleton. (Mary of course says the bar was probably in Toronto where they were filming, but I insist that it would be a long trip from Toronto to Antarctica.) It is a hard-working port with ships being loaded and unloaded and piles of containers and acres of logs stacked up waiting to be moved out. This is the seagoing access point for this side of Antarctica and for a great deal of money you can hop a ship and visit a new continent. Antarctica, check.
We drive out around the harbor with great views back to the land side. We have a choice to make a turn left to Akaroa or right back to Christchurch and (in spite of the Coach’s discouraging words) we turn left to Akaroa. The sign says it is 59km (which is about 37 miles) so figure an easy 45 minute drive followed by lunch. About an hour and a quarter later with the low gas light on, we are on top of a mountain and we can finally see Akaroa on the ocean below us.
Akaroa is the first European settled city on the South Island where the French had landed in order to claim New Zealand for the Homeland. Unfortunately they found out that the treaty of Waitangi had been signed five days before and there were Union Jacks being planted all over both islands. If only they hadn’t stopped for dinner. The town still maintains some French influence in architectural style and has a quaint harborside business district. We grab lunch at Ma Maisson on the water (Mary the prawn salad and John the Spiced chicken sandwich) and if there is a common fault among Kiwi chefs, it is not knowing when a dish is done. The Italians are noted for their simplicity of ingredients and style and the Kiwis would be at the other end of the spectrum. If five ingredients are good, wouldn’t eight be better?
We now know that it is a bit longer drive back to Christchurch than we had imagined and we still want to head to the Antarctic Center near the airport. Fortunately we breeze through town in spite of some Friday rush hour traffic and get to the center about 4:15. It is 34-degrees C (about 93F) so we are very happy to get into the air-conditioned display.
This is one of the top attractions in NZ and one would expect it to be equally popular among locals and tourists alike. They have great exhibits detailing the history of the exploration of the south pole, recreations of the existing buildings at the international base, a real live blue penguin swimming and breeding area, and many other animal, vegetable and mineral displays. They do the south pole experience where they put you in a cold room with a coat and boots and crank up the wind to freezing conditions. It is 17.8 degrees F and the wind is blowing at 25 mph for a wind chill of two below. The fellows were anxious to see how impressed we were with the conditions when we came back out and we told them it was a warm winter day back home. They quickly moved on to the next people. The Antarctic Center is located at the Christchurch airport because this really is the international access point for the base on the ice. There is a huge US facility (United States Antarctic Program - Operation Deep Freeze) across the road on airport grounds and the C130s they use for travel back and forth are parked there.
When we come back out at 6:15 the temp has dropped 27 degrees F and the wind is roaring out of the south (meaning that it’s cold). We hustle back to the hotel and decide to eat in tonight. The restaurant is bright and noisy so we opt for the bar. Mary gets a fish and chips and our bartender Kerri lets John order the roast of the day (leg of lamb with about 10 different vegetables) from the dining room menu. The bar is dark and quiet and we chill out inside while it starts to rain outside. Plenty of chores to do tomorrow, so off to bed.
Today’s local headline: Man Fakes Death Christchurch Weekend Press (Wife collects $1.2 million life insurance)
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