Christchurch

Christchurch Art Centre

We rode from our hotel down to Kaikawa for our lunch stop. On the way, we stopped at Oahu Point to see a colony on New Zealand fur seals sunning on the rocks. The town of Kaikawa is a small tourist town, the starting point for whale watching tours. Mike and Peggy took the tour and saw 8 whales and several hundred dolphins as well as three species of albatross.

After lunch, we travelled the coast line road to Christchurch, a beautiful city of about 325,000. We took in the Arts Centre, filled with craft shops and outdoor vendors. Then we walked the botanical gardens, largely an open air park with some concentrated planting areas scattered through the park. The town center itself has the Avon river running through it with many a 'punt' poling or kayak rowing. Cathedral square in the town centre was a clean, beautiful square with lots of flowers. Of course, it was the last day of the flower festival in town. Dinner at the Copthorne hotel was one of our best - green shell mussels, salmon, and apple strudel. It was an early bed night since we have an early start on the train tomorrow.

Chalice and Cathedral