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3/13/09
This blog is going to cover our last three days in beautiful NZ. When we left Dunedin the first thing we had to do according to Al was walk Baldwin Street, the steepest street in the world. Now it was cold, windy, and had been sleeting but walk we did.
At the steepest part the gradient was 1 to 2.46. Needless to we where no longer cold.
Then it was on the road to see the Royal Albatross and again the weather was in our favor for the more windy the more the birds will be flying. Their wing has a joint that will lock like our elbow does so they can soar for long periods of time. There where 3-4 up flying and several sitting on their chicks to keep them warm and safe. The chicks where 5-6 weeks. This is the age when the parents will fly off for food and leave the chick alone for short periods of time. Before this age and before they are hatched the parents take turns staying with the the egg and chick at all times. So Dennis, the birds that we have seen that we know of are the Kea, Falcons, Black stilt, Oystercatcher, Albatross, and Stewart Island Shag and a Brown Robin.
The Moeraki Boulders are huge round stones on the beach on the way to Christchurch. They where apparently formed 60 million years ago by the gradual accumulation of lime salts around a small center. They weigh several tons and are about 14 feet in circumference. We arrived late and the tide was coming in so as we walked out we played cat and mouse with the water. At one point a big wave came in and we had to jump onto the bank to avoid getting wet. I'll just say some of us jumped and landed better than others. The way back to the car a bird was resting on the beach and let us walk by with no concerns. Al got some good pictures.
Next stop was Oamaru. The buildings where from the 1880's and made of local cream colored limestone. This time in history Oamaru was financially sound due to a gold rush and the buildings reflect this influence/affluence. Again our timing was poor as most places of business where closing so our time was short here. Most places close no later than 6 pm usually 5 is more like it. Oh, the restaruants close their kitchen from 2:30 until 5:30, so we were ready to eat most days around 3, and had to wait.
Dinner was in Timaru at the Garlic and Ginger. The meal was fantastic and we where the only ones there in the restaruant. Our waiter, one of the owners, stated that the prior night each table was full. We didn't leave here until 7:30 and had two hours to go in our drive. The MP3 player helped the miles not seem so long.
Our gracious host at the B&B moved us from the Smithy, a disconnected out building on the horse farm, to a room inside the house due to cold temps and storms. We where so grateful for her thoughtfulness. She had turned on the heat in the room and the heating pad on the bed as well so when we arrived all was warm. We are at the Huntingdon Grange and would highly recommend staying here. It was wonderful.
Our first day in Christchurch we headed to City Center to Cathedral Square. It is considered a public speaking area and one such performer is The Wizard. He is an immigrant from Australia. He wears a black robe and pointed hat like a witch would wear. He stands up a step or two on a ladder and will discuss multiple topics. According to our host he does not come everyday now so we where lucky he was there today. We also heard the NZ Army band and enjoyed them as well. We strolled along the Avon river, watching people taking rides in Punts and looked at the venders booths along the way.
Now that we where hungry, yeah right, we went to the Waipara Springs winery for drink and food. We had cranberry, chicken and brie pizza and have since found that is common here. Plus a chicken salad with yogurt and chili sauce for dressing and of course wine.
Then back across town, our final stop was the Christchurch Gondola. It was windy now and I was a little concerned. But no worries, the wind was at 60 km and can be 80km before they stop running (we did not want to walk down). The view was nice but I was ready to head down before the winds picked up. From here it was back to the house to do laundry.
The second day in Christchurch brought improved weather with temps around 18 C but still windy. I'm not sure where the time went today. We started at the mall that is nothing like ours but even the parking garages in NZ bring on an adrenalin rush.
Allen hadn't had his fill yet and to challenge himself more we went to the Adrenalin Forest. There are six pathways and 100 challenges up to 20 meters high and almost 2kms in length for the whole park. Once the harness was on we where given instructions on attaching ourselves to the red cable with the carbinars and then how to zip line. I thought we would also be attached to a person on the ground but found out that was not so. This was basically a self-guided journey along the challenges and again we where the only ones at the forest. Once we got started the man running the place went back to the office.
I lasted for Level 1 and Al carried onto Level 5. He did such a fantastic job and it took about three hours. He made it look so easy I almost went back to gear up, yeah right. He was tired and hungry so off too lunch and just in time before the early closing.
Our hosts invited us to join them for a drink and conversation so we went back to the house and had an enjoyable evening. Now that I am caught up it is time to pack and sleep.
In the morning I am going for a dual harness racing experience just down the street from where we are staying and then to the Antartic Center. And then to the first of three big silver birds to make our way home, guess that will be the end of our blog for this trip. Will load some pictures of the harness racing trip, and the Antartic Center when we get back to Lawrencville.
Blessings to all of you.
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