The journey from Kiakoura to Christrchurch was very scenic and again there was very little other traffic on the road. As we were passing fields lush with deep green grass it suddenly struck me - where were all the sheep? Famous for its lamb and large sheep stations - where was all the lamb? We had seen lots of cows, even some alpacas but very few sheep and now I come to think of it, I haven't seen lamb on a Menu. I will be disappointed if I go back home without having eaten some NZ lamb.
For once our accommodation in Christchurch was in the city centre but it was difficult to determine exactly where the centre was. Following the earthquake in 2011 there must have been quite a lot of devestation because the damage to some buildings is still apparent and there are still a lot of building works going on.
The plan was to go on a transalpine rail journey from Christchurch to Greymouth but when we priced the tickets we decided it was too expensive - a little over $460 return but that wasn't for the whole journey as we only wanted to go to Arthurs Pass and back. When we realised there would be a 4 hour wait in Arthurs Pass for the train to return we decided to give it a miss. It was then that Steve decided to drive to Arthurs Pass even though I had suggested the train trip to give him a rest from driving, Unfortunately the weather was dull, miserable and raining but Steve was determined to get to Arthurs Pass. This involved climbing through the clouds, (literally) to get to the top of the mountain and down the other side. After driving through the cloud and starting to go across the plateau it stopped raining and the skies began to clear. It was strange to see white fluffy clouds with the top of the mountains peeking through. The scenery in the Pass itself was breathtaking and I think Steve secretly enjoyed driving through the twists and turns even though the car is not a porche. He now informs me that he would be happy to have his golf here but I'm glad thats parked up at home going nowhere
For once our accommodation in Christchurch was in the city centre but it was difficult to determine exactly where the centre was. Following the earthquake in 2011 there must have been quite a lot of devestation because the damage to some buildings is still apparent and there are still a lot of building works going on.
The plan was to go on a transalpine rail journey from Christchurch to Greymouth but when we priced the tickets we decided it was too expensive - a little over $460 return but that wasn't for the whole journey as we only wanted to go to Arthurs Pass and back. When we realised there would be a 4 hour wait in Arthurs Pass for the train to return we decided to give it a miss. It was then that Steve decided to drive to Arthurs Pass even though I had suggested the train trip to give him a rest from driving, Unfortunately the weather was dull, miserable and raining but Steve was determined to get to Arthurs Pass. This involved climbing through the clouds, (literally) to get to the top of the mountain and down the other side. After driving through the cloud and starting to go across the plateau it stopped raining and the skies began to clear. It was strange to see white fluffy clouds with the top of the mountains peeking through. The scenery in the Pass itself was breathtaking and I think Steve secretly enjoyed driving through the twists and turns even though the car is not a porche. He now informs me that he would be happy to have his golf here but I'm glad thats parked up at home going nowhere
Dont eat the lamb. They send all the good stuff abraod. We never had any good lamb, try the venison!
ReplyDelete