Picton to Christchurch

Late post due to all the catching up from lack of internet! This post should have been posted at the end of Thursday, March 30th.

Morning in Picton

No need for an alarm today! We woke up when we woke up, walked to the ferry terminal where the car rental agencies are, and picked up a new car from Avis. My knee needs recovering from the hike. It's probably good to move it a bit, but I'm glad we're taking it easy for the next few days.

I watched a cormorant for a while

and he watched me back.

Driving to Christchurch

The coast road from Picton to Christchurch was knocked out in the earthquakes. There are parts of it where the whole road and cliffside have fallen into the ocean. The recovery effort is immense. This means that everyone doing this drive now takes the inland route, which is not used to the traffic -- there are one-lane bridges. There are teams doing construction on the coast, trying to get that back up and running, and there are teams doing work on the inland route, trying to get it wider and more user-friendly. Where we saw construction, the road was reduced one lane and flaggers were posted at the ends to indicate when you could go. 

First time we're at the head of a line at a construction stop

Another construction stop

Our first pit stop was in Murchison, where cafes that used to have one espresso machine have upgraded to three and drastically increased staffing to deal with the new traffic that passes through town.

Coming up on some fire damage

Fire damage and road work

Stopped in Culverden for an early dinner. Mike likes that their sign mentions their Christmas fair held one day a year.

Red Post Cafe, Culverden

Coming up on some intense fog

In the fog, passing Frog Rock.

Vineyard in the Canterbury region have protective netting

Christchurch

Christchurch! That's the Fanfare sculpture by Neil Dawson.

Checking-in

Our room

Kitchenette

The shared "patio" which is just the walkway in front of all the rooms.

After we settled in, we took a walk around town. It was already past 8, and kind of misty, but we wanted to stretch our legs and explore a bit.

Lots of street art

New Regent St

Cathedral Junction - the tram comes in here, but it feels like a little indoor mall

Isaac Theatre Royal - a restored 1908 theater

Cathedral repairs - The Chalice is also by Neil Dawson

Food trucks

Christchurch Art Gallery

Cook 'n' with Gas Bistro

I like that little guy up top, pondering things

Canterbury Museum

Victoria Clock Tower

Hungry gnome at the Victoria Street food container precinct

After a good walk in the mist, we're back at the hotel and ready for another night of sleep without alarms. Tomorrow is our big rest day! I'm happy for it. And so is my knee.