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Christchurch, New Zealand.
Well hello again,i'm back in front of the buttons again.Currently here in Christchurch on the south island of New Zealand in the south Pacific.It's a little breezy and a little chilly but then i'm no lenght really from that big lump of ice called the Antartic.At times it's to be expected.
I could be mistaken for being in an very english town of great heritage importance,Christchurch is lovely.All the place names could have you mistaken for being in Britain or Ireland.Just goes to show the influence all those immigrants from two islands on the very edge of Europe had on this country many years ago.They made their vogage in big old ships over a period of three months sailing the seas to reach there future.
Central to the city of Christchurch is Cathedral square where the cathedral still composes itself in this city that is awakening fast to new development.The cathedral is majestic,nothing can take it's place,the tramway sweeps around it and still keeps it's authenticity and former appearance.A lot of old colonial style buildings here with the art gallery and it's modern architecture standing proud in it's design amongst all these ageing buildings surrounded in part by the shallow waters of the Avon.You can even take a gondala and be punted around at your leisure on it's slow flowing waters,i thought i was back in Shrewsbury when i passed the old boat house earlier today.The Botanical gardens are by far a great place to stroll in amongst the old trees and gardens wonderfully cared for an maintained,a very enjoyable walk in the midday sun and wrapped up like on a spring day when the air all around feels fresh.Christchurch is a very pleasing place to be,easy to feel at home here.Not for long i'm heading up the coast to Kaikora pennisula tomorrow for a start and then see what way the wind blows hopefully not to much of a south easterly breeze.
The other little bit of the south island was just Mt.Cook,it was only where Sir Edmund Hilary did all his training for climbing the beast that is Mt.Everest.(I had my photo taken with him in the carpark,a highlight of my trip).I got the chance to visit the Mt.Cook National Park and do a little bit of treking with my big cousin Richard whom i hadn't seen in about eleven years.Amazing to have come all this way to have breakfast with him and walking Scully every morning,it took me back to Summer holidays when Richard would visit us at home on the farm.He immigrated afew years ago now but still travels with an Irish passport.He meet his wife here who is from Yorkshire and still has held onto her accent.All his girls have Irish passports,we meet for the first time and got to part with big squeezy hugs that all cousins deserve when you wouldn't see them for awhile.Now i know a handful of some of the millions of people who have Irish passports but don't actually live in Ireland.
I'm finding it a little difficult to comprehend that the last eight months did happen and i was to all those far flung places...............
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