The journey to and through Aotearoa - Heading north of the south
Monday 26 June, MOER it's frosty this morning, a bit concerned re: the roads, but a weather check tells me it should be fine from 10am. Bags were already packed from the day before, so I check out of my lovely apartment, load up my trusted steed South and off we go. Destination Christchurch in 2 days. The distances and the roads down south are very different from up north, you can drive for many a minute before you come across another car and even further before you come across a filling station so best you make sure you fill up before you journey on especially if you dont know where you are heading. But cows and sheep decorate the landscape most frequently.
My first stop enroute was #MountCook or #Aoraki. From afar you see it, this decapitated hill. Decapitated because in 1991 there was a huge rockfall/landslide that shaved a good couple of meters from the top. It was a little over an hour's detour from the path to Geraldine, but it was part of the plan to go there, so i detoured. I was intrigued, because from afar it looked like something worth seeing.. OOOH EH EH!! I wont lie when I got there I was a tad bummed, I don't know what I was expecting, but there it was still a little ahead of me, a whole lot closer, but to get the full experience i would have to climb up or helicopter etc... and you all know I ain't about that life. Not he upside though there was a Sir #EdmundHillary museum there too, but i didn't go in, Ain't nobody got time for that. I had a journey of ahead of me. Into South I hopped, strapped in tight, a tad underwhelmed, but still chuffed I had made the detour, on my way back i saw a sign that read glacier view and Blue Lakes, i was like but I'm here I may as well make this little detour worth the detour ...so i took a shot left. Within a fair few minutes I was in a parking lot, but no glacier or lake in sight. Haaibo, whats going on here. I see cars, but no people. Oh over there is a sigh...shit i have a 15 minute walk. No worries, i need the steps for my Vitality points. How hard could it be? I NEARLY DIED i tell you!! The walk started off pretty easy. They were clever. That initial part was a facade, it is like a gentle slope to keep you going and then BOOM the bullshit starts, when the bullshit happens you are like i can't turn back now I'm like halfway(it's actually not even halfway, I'm nowhere, just hoped it was halfway) into it it can't get any worse....but it did!! Ok I exaggerate a little, but 15minutes truly felt like 50, heart was beating in my ear, lungs burning but there was the little engine in me that kept saying i think i can i think i can (along with the voice that was saying shit Yaw you are a fat, unfit, tart at the moment, what happened to you :))...when i got to the top...picture Rocky running up the stairs, the sound track da na naaaaa, da na naaa...that's exactly how i felt, but that feeling was punctuated with by the glorious views from up top. This punctuation was no easy comma or a full stop, no it was a bold and emphatic exclamation mark...two of them. Man, what glorious a sight, the glaciers not so much, but just the view from atop, the lakes, well worth the walk, I took it all in for a few minutes and then made my way back down. The route down was a speedy 5-7 minutes and we were off again.
Next stop on the route was the majestic #LakePukaki and #LakeTekapo with my scheduled place of rest intended to be a town called Geraldine about a 2 hr drive from #Christchurch. It was such a beautiful day and the drive was pretty easy, coupled to that when i checked the weather forecast it said that snow was on its way, so i decided to power on straight through to Christchurch. So let me tell you a story about Christchurch.
When i got to New Zealand, I went through my phone to see who I knew here. So in 2012 i think it was, I was on one of my solo voyages and staying in a hotel in Rome. At breakfast, i heard this couple speaking in accent all too familiar even though it was a little diluted. I approached them and they were South African, Dr, John and Rose Robinson who were living in Christchurch. They left SA about 30 odd years ago John was born in Umtata, what are the chances, we parted ways soon after our meeting and they said to me if i was ever in Christchurch i should swing by and say hi. I rang them to tell them that I would be in town and they insisted i come and stay with them, how lovely was that. They had a lovely home a few minutes out of town in an area called #Woodend, it is farmlands, but the ocean is maybe 2km away from the house. It is nice and peaceful out there. They were fortunate to be out that way because they didnt suffer any damage from the quake in 2010. Wow what a lovely couple i tell you. I am a complete stranger to them and they totally opened their home to me.
The first day I did what had become customary, I drove through town to see the old #LancasterPark AKA #JadeStadium. So sad to see the devastation on the one hand and the brute force of nature on the other. I then went to the new #AMISTadium, home of the #Crusaders. I was fortunate that Mr. Peter Maddock was more than willing to give me a private tour of the facilities, changing rooms and all. That stadium was up in 100 days, seats 17k odd people. It is meant to last 5 years and it has been 5 years so now they have to decide what next. Pretty innovative how they put things together to get this 'makeshift stadium' operational. They had extra seating that was in Auckland due to the World Cup, got their flood lights from the old #Carisbrook stadium in Otago, they put together 13 containers and used some of the high class finishes from the refurbed Jade Stadium (done for the World Cup prior to the quake) to kit it out. It was a pretty decent job i tell ya. 👏👏
I was told about a beautiful piece of earth called Akaroa that i needed to see. As usual i heeded the advice and was it worth it? The road wound up and down through painting-like backdrop of hills, valleys and ocean, with my journey ending at this lovely seemingly fishing town called Akaroa. It was an overcast day with a slight chill in the air. I went for a stroll and took rest on a lovely blue bench overlooking the water and mountains afar. I whipped out my book read a chapter and realized that unless I want to get pneumonia I best gets to stepping. I headed back into town hoping to see me ol mate Timmy B, but he had some work commitments so i did a little mini walking tour of Christchurch by street lights :). I didnt really know too much, but i was told to look for the container mall, which was quite a concept that came up more by necessity not design. Quite a smart thing that and pretty funky too. Then i went to the #CardboardCathedral which is a makeshift church because the old cathedral was pretty hurt by the 2010 earth quake.
Wednesday 28th was an easy day, had a feed in the morning with John and Rose, gave them a little something that i picked up which they seemed to like and i was on my way. Tim had told me he had time in the morning so i made my way to him at his one business. Very interesting concept i tell you. We had a good catch up and he offered me a trial treatment in one of his pods. What a pretty cool experience, 60 minutes of just me, my thoughts and floatation. We chatted some more and then i headed to the airport. Filled up the rental, returned it and waited for my flight to Hurricane land...#Wellington.
My first stop enroute was #MountCook or #Aoraki. From afar you see it, this decapitated hill. Decapitated because in 1991 there was a huge rockfall/landslide that shaved a good couple of meters from the top. It was a little over an hour's detour from the path to Geraldine, but it was part of the plan to go there, so i detoured. I was intrigued, because from afar it looked like something worth seeing.. OOOH EH EH!! I wont lie when I got there I was a tad bummed, I don't know what I was expecting, but there it was still a little ahead of me, a whole lot closer, but to get the full experience i would have to climb up or helicopter etc... and you all know I ain't about that life. Not he upside though there was a Sir #EdmundHillary museum there too, but i didn't go in, Ain't nobody got time for that. I had a journey of ahead of me. Into South I hopped, strapped in tight, a tad underwhelmed, but still chuffed I had made the detour, on my way back i saw a sign that read glacier view and Blue Lakes, i was like but I'm here I may as well make this little detour worth the detour ...so i took a shot left. Within a fair few minutes I was in a parking lot, but no glacier or lake in sight. Haaibo, whats going on here. I see cars, but no people. Oh over there is a sigh...shit i have a 15 minute walk. No worries, i need the steps for my Vitality points. How hard could it be? I NEARLY DIED i tell you!! The walk started off pretty easy. They were clever. That initial part was a facade, it is like a gentle slope to keep you going and then BOOM the bullshit starts, when the bullshit happens you are like i can't turn back now I'm like halfway(it's actually not even halfway, I'm nowhere, just hoped it was halfway) into it it can't get any worse....but it did!! Ok I exaggerate a little, but 15minutes truly felt like 50, heart was beating in my ear, lungs burning but there was the little engine in me that kept saying i think i can i think i can (along with the voice that was saying shit Yaw you are a fat, unfit, tart at the moment, what happened to you :))...when i got to the top...picture Rocky running up the stairs, the sound track da na naaaaa, da na naaa...that's exactly how i felt, but that feeling was punctuated with by the glorious views from up top. This punctuation was no easy comma or a full stop, no it was a bold and emphatic exclamation mark...two of them. Man, what glorious a sight, the glaciers not so much, but just the view from atop, the lakes, well worth the walk, I took it all in for a few minutes and then made my way back down. The route down was a speedy 5-7 minutes and we were off again.
Next stop on the route was the majestic #LakePukaki and #LakeTekapo with my scheduled place of rest intended to be a town called Geraldine about a 2 hr drive from #Christchurch. It was such a beautiful day and the drive was pretty easy, coupled to that when i checked the weather forecast it said that snow was on its way, so i decided to power on straight through to Christchurch. So let me tell you a story about Christchurch.
When i got to New Zealand, I went through my phone to see who I knew here. So in 2012 i think it was, I was on one of my solo voyages and staying in a hotel in Rome. At breakfast, i heard this couple speaking in accent all too familiar even though it was a little diluted. I approached them and they were South African, Dr, John and Rose Robinson who were living in Christchurch. They left SA about 30 odd years ago John was born in Umtata, what are the chances, we parted ways soon after our meeting and they said to me if i was ever in Christchurch i should swing by and say hi. I rang them to tell them that I would be in town and they insisted i come and stay with them, how lovely was that. They had a lovely home a few minutes out of town in an area called #Woodend, it is farmlands, but the ocean is maybe 2km away from the house. It is nice and peaceful out there. They were fortunate to be out that way because they didnt suffer any damage from the quake in 2010. Wow what a lovely couple i tell you. I am a complete stranger to them and they totally opened their home to me.
The first day I did what had become customary, I drove through town to see the old #LancasterPark AKA #JadeStadium. So sad to see the devastation on the one hand and the brute force of nature on the other. I then went to the new #AMISTadium, home of the #Crusaders. I was fortunate that Mr. Peter Maddock was more than willing to give me a private tour of the facilities, changing rooms and all. That stadium was up in 100 days, seats 17k odd people. It is meant to last 5 years and it has been 5 years so now they have to decide what next. Pretty innovative how they put things together to get this 'makeshift stadium' operational. They had extra seating that was in Auckland due to the World Cup, got their flood lights from the old #Carisbrook stadium in Otago, they put together 13 containers and used some of the high class finishes from the refurbed Jade Stadium (done for the World Cup prior to the quake) to kit it out. It was a pretty decent job i tell ya. 👏👏
I was told about a beautiful piece of earth called Akaroa that i needed to see. As usual i heeded the advice and was it worth it? The road wound up and down through painting-like backdrop of hills, valleys and ocean, with my journey ending at this lovely seemingly fishing town called Akaroa. It was an overcast day with a slight chill in the air. I went for a stroll and took rest on a lovely blue bench overlooking the water and mountains afar. I whipped out my book read a chapter and realized that unless I want to get pneumonia I best gets to stepping. I headed back into town hoping to see me ol mate Timmy B, but he had some work commitments so i did a little mini walking tour of Christchurch by street lights :). I didnt really know too much, but i was told to look for the container mall, which was quite a concept that came up more by necessity not design. Quite a smart thing that and pretty funky too. Then i went to the #CardboardCathedral which is a makeshift church because the old cathedral was pretty hurt by the 2010 earth quake.
Wednesday 28th was an easy day, had a feed in the morning with John and Rose, gave them a little something that i picked up which they seemed to like and i was on my way. Tim had told me he had time in the morning so i made my way to him at his one business. Very interesting concept i tell you. We had a good catch up and he offered me a trial treatment in one of his pods. What a pretty cool experience, 60 minutes of just me, my thoughts and floatation. We chatted some more and then i headed to the airport. Filled up the rental, returned it and waited for my flight to Hurricane land...#Wellington.
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