Breakfast in the hotel restaurant was very good - a wide selection for the buffet and a great view of the mountains through the huge full-height windows at the end of the restaurant. A great start to the day.
The first stop on the bus was to get a group photo at the Lake Pukaki Visitor Centre. This location offered an ideal photo opportunity with the lake and mountains in the background. Next to the visitors centre building, there was a statue of a ram.
Initially Karen had suggested that we leave our cameras on the ground in front of the group so that she and Malcolm could take photos on each one. She soon realised that this would take too long and they took a photo with Michael's camera (the biggest and most sophisticated camera in the group) on the proviso that he would send it to everyone else.
The next stop was for morning tea at Tekapo which is a small tourist town on the shores of Lake Tekapo. On the way into town, Suzy noticed that there was a Peppers Resort on the hill overlooking the lake.
In the distance on the edge of the lake, there was a small stone church. This turned out to be the next stop on our tour. We were only back in the bus for five minutes before we stopped outside the Church of the Good Shepherd.
The church looks great from the outside and inside there is a large glass window at the front of the pews that overlooks the lake. With a view like that, it would be hard to concentrate on the church service.
About 150m away, there is a statue to McKenzie's dog. McKenzie was a legendary local outlaw. This area is named after him.
The bus stopped for a lunch break at Geraldine. This town was bigger than many that we'd stopped at. After walking a block or two, we stopped at the Country Cafe where I ordered a Hawaiian burger - a tasty chicken burger - just what I needed. The cafe has a nice layout and a good atmosphere - partly because of the large skylight in the centre near the counter.
A popular tourist spot in Geraldine is the shop containing the giant jersey and the 1066 medieval mosaic museum. Both of these are recognised in the Guinness book of records.
We reached the Christchurch city centre by 3pm. The bus dropped us off so we could explore the earthquake effected areas in the centre of the city. The central area has been labelled the Restart Mall. Nearby we saw the city's main cathedral that was badly damages in the earthquake. It is fenced off and braced by steel structures to stop it collapsing even further.
They have cleared away a large area in the central city to build an instant city using shipping containers. Clever idea. Suzy, Peter and Yolanda all bought ice creams. The girls browsed the shops while Peter and I chatted to some of the locals.
The first stop on the bus was to get a group photo at the Lake Pukaki Visitor Centre. This location offered an ideal photo opportunity with the lake and mountains in the background. Next to the visitors centre building, there was a statue of a ram.
The next stop was for morning tea at Tekapo which is a small tourist town on the shores of Lake Tekapo. On the way into town, Suzy noticed that there was a Peppers Resort on the hill overlooking the lake.
The church looks great from the outside and inside there is a large glass window at the front of the pews that overlooks the lake. With a view like that, it would be hard to concentrate on the church service.
About 150m away, there is a statue to McKenzie's dog. McKenzie was a legendary local outlaw. This area is named after him.
A popular tourist spot in Geraldine is the shop containing the giant jersey and the 1066 medieval mosaic museum. Both of these are recognised in the Guinness book of records.
They have cleared away a large area in the central city to build an instant city using shipping containers. Clever idea. Suzy, Peter and Yolanda all bought ice creams. The girls browsed the shops while Peter and I chatted to some of the locals.
The Ashley Hotel wasn't one of the better hotel we stayed at on our bus trip. It seems that the choice of accommodation in Christchurch is still pretty limited after the earthquake. The hotel is more like a motel or block of units.
It has three levels overlooking the courtyard and our room was on level 3. We were grateful that the porters had carried our bags up to our room because there was no lift. The hotel has only basic facilities. The WiFi was slow and unreliable. The room had a heater but no air conditioning.
Karen and Malcolm gave farewell speeches. The group gave them a rousing send off. It was also a good opportunity for us to say goodbye to our fellow travellers. We were back in our room by 9pm.
No comments:
Post a Comment