I have a fery to catch today to the south island so I'm up at 7am to take a shuttle bus to the ferry terminal. The bus was full of backpackers all heading to the ferry. We checked in around 7.30, boarded, claimed our seats and then had a wander on deck. It was a muggy misty morning in Wellington. Fog hung low over the city centre, obscuring a lot of the city. Not far away close to the docks sat the local Westpac rugby stadium. Last night A super 14 rugby match was underway as we arrived into town. Had we got into town a little earlier I'd definitely have tried to take in that match. It would be good to see some rugby while I'm here.
The ferry pulled out on time and sailed through the mist out into open water between the two islands. Here the mist cleared away and we emerged into a bright sunny morning with the cliffs of the south island bathed in sunlight. Approaching the south island the ferry entered a narrow channel and for the second half of the journey we sailed through picturesque fjiords to Picton, a small, pretty port and terminal for the ferry.
At Picton a quick transfer from boat to bus and we were on the road south to Christchurch. From Picton to Christchurch it was a 5 and a half hour journey. We followed a pretty valley through some hill country on the way to flat wine country around Blenheim. This area is the centre of the small but growing wine industry in New Zealand. Some 73 vineyards operate in the locality since the first was set up in 1973. Beyond the vineyards the road passed up to a small mountain pass which took us to the coast. We followed the coat road down to the pretty seaside town of Kaikora. For a number of kms on the approach to the town we passed numerous seal colonies swimming and laying about on rocks in the sun. We stopped here for 40 mins and some meat pies and pastries on the sea front made for a pleasant stopover.
From Kaikora it was over two hours. The weather closed in and by the time we arrived in Christchurch there was a distinctly cool, autumnal feel to the place. I had a quick look at the centre before walking out to the hostel. Renowned for its parks and gardens Christchurch is known as 'The Garden City' and has a population of over 370,000. Its the second largest city in NZ and its oldest. It is home to the successful Super 14 team, the Cantebury Crusaders. They have won 7 titles, the equivalent to the Heineken Cup in Europe. This evening they lost away to The Aussie ACT Brumbies in their second match of the competition. Like most of the cities in NZ, Christchurch city centre has a small town feel. The hostel is a 20 min walk from Cathedral Square in the centre yet it is situated out in teh suburbs. After checking into the hostel I'd hoped to have a quick bite to eat and then head back into town to catch some rugby in one of the city bars. However I ended up chatting to a lad in the room and by the time I got some food it was 10.30pm. It had been a long day, I had booked a trip out into the mountains for tomorow, I was tired. I decided to go to sleep.
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