New Zachland: My Twilight Zone

Christchurch has to be my favorite city so far. There are other days and places that have surpassed it, but as a city it's my most fondly remembered. Getting there was a long drive, but apparently it was to prepare me for my days of endless driving in Australia. We drove up the east coast, through the alps. We stopped for a view of Mt Cook or Aoraki (cloud piercer in Maori). The name of the lake we stopped in front of escapes me, but it was formed by the Tasman glacier and the waters were a milky, icy blue. The is caused by the "rock flour" that is chisseled off of stone as the glacier receeds. I've been seeing water like this all over the south island and it's truly remarkable. This is where I saw two of Zach's many New Zealand twins. When I first arrived in Wellington I counted three people who could have been mistaken for Zach in a line up. Over the past two months those three have become nine! Lake Tekapo was our lunch stop, another glacial lake, watched over by a small church where the driver offered to marry any of the passengers. (I think he meant he would perform the ceremony, but it may have been a proposal.)

What was meant to be two nights in Christchurch ended up as five. I fell in love when we drove up to the Cathedral in the afternoon and I caught a first glimpse of Cathedral Square with it's performers, artisans, food stalls. My hostel was right across from the art centre of Christ's College and next to the Botanical Gardens and Canterbury museum. The tram passed by my window each morning, rumbled on like a reminder of my St. Kilda childhood. I spent a lot of time inside the Cathedral, climbing the 134 steps to the lookout, mesmerized by the stained glass, and just thinking. It was a great place to relax and wind up my time on the south island.

The last day I took a day trip to Akaroa, which was meant to be a French colony, but the British rushed down to plant their flag as the French sailed in, so it became a French settlement instead. Relaxing and charming day trip.

From Christchurch we had a quick drive up the coast to Kaikoura. It's a small town set on a bay with mountains jutting into the sky all the way up to the water. Upon arrival we drove around to one of the largest seal colonies in New Zealand. There were countless seal pups swimming through the seaweed and diving off of rocks. I got up early the next morning to watch the sun rise from the Pacific off the hostel verandah.

The following morning we drove up to Picton, where I caught the ferry back to Wellington. It was so heartbreaking to be leaving the south island. It is truly an amazing place. As we pulled out of the lush Marlborough Sounds there was a glimpse of tiered and towering rocks reaching from the sea and in the distance the Kaikoura peninsula where the Southern Alps rose like the broad shoulders of kings. A beautiful last sight.

I'm in Wellington visiting with Gwill for a few days. He finally bought his ticket to London. Exciting! He'll be leaving in a couple weeks. Tomorrow I'll be heading north to sunny, warm days.