Goodbye New Zealand, Hello French Polynesia

I arose today with one thing on my mind…to secure a key to the hotel laundry room and make sure we arrived in Tahiti with clean clothes.  Success. After a delicious breakfast in the hotel I went out for a quick walk along the harbor.  The view from our hotel window was enticement enough.

The Maritime Museum is across from our hotel, with this huge boat in front, but I wanted to walk along the water.

I crossed the bridge to the Viaduct harbor.

On a night in 1966, Tiri, a “pirate” radio broadcasting boat was planning to set sail to begin broadcasting in the Hauraki Gulf.  At that time the radio waves were monopolized by the conservative NZ Broadcasting Corporation and it did not want this boat to be able to go on air.  The crew decided to leave the harbor on a Sunday because the bridge was always left open for fishing boats to access the harbor.  To try and stop the boat from exiting the harbor they began to lower the bridge.  Members of the crew placed themselves under the jaws of the bridge and the closing of the bridge was halted but the mast got caught.  Supporters nearby worked to pull the boat free.  However, police jumped on board and arrested the crew.  At trial the crew was exonerated and a month after their arrest they set sail for Hauraki Gulf to broadcast in international waters.  They continued broadcasting from there for 1,111 days before finally being granted a broadcasting license and becoming land based. I crossed the pedestrian bridge.

As I did I heard a loud splash and realized that there was a public harbor pool complete with a diving board.  I caught the next diver in mid-jump.

As I headed back to the hotel I saw a sign for Hobson’s Pocket Park, a little park at the end of one of the piers.  It had a great view of the land across the harbor.

It also had seesaws that play notes as you go up and down.

I got back to the hotel in time to finish up my packing so Gayle and I could meet our transport to the Auckland airport.  Our flight was scheduled for 3:30 p.m. and we were in a car headed for the airport by 11:30 p.m. We figured we would have lots of time to be bored at the airport.  However, when we arrived there was already a line waiting just to get in line for Air Tahiti Nui’s ticket counter.  We joined the line.  The counter opened at 12:35 and we didn’t reach the front of the line for an hour after that.There were no kiosks to allow you to self-check in.  It was very old school and quite exhausting.  We made it to our gate with only enough time to eat a bag of chips for lunch before boarding the plane.

The flight to Papeete was fine.  We arrived at 10:30 p.m. and were greeted in customs by a Polynesian dancer.

The line was out the door but since Gayle had a cane they skirted us around to a much shorter line.  Baggage claim was a nightmare….an absolute nightmare,  Finally with our bags in hand we went outside to find our transport to our hotel.  We have a flight to Bora Bora in the morning so our travel agent booked us in a hotel 5 minutes from the airport.  We were greeted with leis and told to wait and someone would come for us.  We waited and watched as almost everyone else was picked up.  I got a little hot about it and so finally, we were loaded into a van and delivered last.  I felt old and unseen and pissed off.  But then we entered our room and opened the door to the sound of ocean waves.  We were in Tahiti!!

Auckland

Our plane to Auckland leaves Christchurch at noon.  We returned our rental car to the lot.  It was such a chill process it was hard to believe we had actually done the right thing.  We checked in and turned in our bags, no request to show ID.  We found a place to get something to eat and relaxed.  Then we realized that we were in the regional section and not the international section.  We hurried to the upper gates and went through security screening, feeling like we had made it just moments before boarding began.  Then came the announcement that there had to be an evacuation of a plane on the runway in Auckland and we would be delayed.  They solved the situation within a half hour and we boarded the plane.

We were picked up at the airport and driven to M Social hotel directly across from the Princess Wharf, facing the harbor.  I messaged my friend Jacki and she and her husband, Eric, picked me up within a half hour.  Their family moved to New Zealand two years ago.  They were taking me for some quick sightseeing and then out to dinner.  Gayle stayed in the room to rest.  They took me to Maungawhau (Mt. Eden), a volcano that last erupted 150,000 years ago which now offers 360 degree views of the city and harbors.  We hiked up numerous steps to the top.  It was absolutely stunning.  It was in the 60s and people were enjoying the day.  We looked down into the crater, now covered in grass.

And out to the city.  

Our next stop was to a city park so I could see some pukekos, birds of New Zealand with a blue chest. They look a bit like a small blue chicken.  They were everywhere at this park, we didn’t have to search.

We walked down to the stream that runs through the park in search of swans.  

I was more fascinated by the number of eels swimming below the swans.

Today is a holiday in New Zealand.  It is Anzac Day (Australia New Zealand Army Corp), similar to Memorial Day in the US.  There are observances everywhere at sunrise.  There was one in Christchurch this morning that took place in front of the damaged cathedral and included the prime minister.  There was a sunset observance happening near Jacki and Eric’s home and we went to be part of it.  It began near the parking lot with a bagpiper.  As he played additional songs to stall for time he played the theme from Outlander. 

Then shortly before sunset we followed the bagpiper and a woman carrying a flag with poppies and soldier on it to the point of the park, right above the beach.  At a specific time a trumpeter began to play.  Then he read the Ode of Remembrance and ended with “We will remember them, lest we forget.”  Then in unison the crowd responded with “We will remember them.’  One more trumpet song and a lament on the bagpipe.  It was simple and solemn.  Australians and New Zealanders were slaughtered at Gallipoli.  They remember that history.

Now that the sun had set and it was getting a bit chilly.  We headed to dinner.  Eric and Jacki’s two daughters joined us.  I was curious about what they all remembered from their first visit to New Zealand and what surprised them most after they moved here.  Then the girls headed off for other activities and the rest of us went for a walk.  There are art installations everywhere.  This one changes colors and the eyes actually blink.

Jacki wanted me to see Waimahara, an interactive artwork under a nearby bridge.  It is designed to describe the memory of the stream that flows under this underpass towards the harbor.  Like the stream this artwork responds to the environment by changing light patterns and sound.  A mike, that looks a bit like a pine cone, sits at one end.  You are encouraged to learn one of two songs about water composed for this artwork.  If you sing the song correctly, the artwork comes alive and sings to you.  Jacki had practiced on of the songs that afternoon so I would get the full experience.  She sang the song correctly and it responded.  I wish I could post a video here because the experience was beyond description.

As we headed back to their car we came across this piece of street art.  It memorializes the women gaining the right to vote in 1893.  New Zealand is the first country in the world to give women voting rights.

When I got back to our room I headed straight to bed.  Tomorrow we leave for French Polynesia.

Christchurch Redux

Last night when we arrived there was no parking left in the hotel’s little lot that we thought we could fit our large SUV into.  So we parked it on the street and paid the hour that was left on the street parking with the plan that we would move it first thing this morning.  I went outside this morning so I could report back to Gayle if there was a space available in the parking lot.  We have a large car by New Zealand standards and we have had to park in some tight spots.  Gayle directs while I freak out that I’m going to hit a car.  This morning I decided to overcome my fear and just park the damn car in a tight spot all by myself.  I managed with only one bad interaction with a curb.

I enjoyed my muesli and croissant in the common room of the hotel before heading out to have some adventures.  Gayle stayed behind to rest and save herself for tonight’s rugby game.  We are hoping to minimize her steps.

I asked the woman at reception if I would get a better view of Christchurch and the bay if I rode the gondola or the chairlift. She said, “We don’t have a chairlift.”  Actually, they do have a chairlift.  So I decided to do both of them today and see which one has a better view.  I started with the gondola.  

There is a lovely view in every direction.

You can walk out as far as you dare on this ridge.  

Hang gliders are everywhere.

Sheep dot the hillside.

I spotted the stadium Gayle and I will be going to tonight, with the Southern Alps above it.

I headed over to the Christchurch Adventure Park Chairlift.  It exists for mountain bikers to get their bikes to the top of the hill and ride down.  My Uber driver told me he did it once and he would never dirt bike down the mountain again.  When I arrived I headed for the bathrooms and laughed when I saw that only one is designated for women.  I have entered a man’s world.

Every other chair lift is actually a bike lift.  

The ride up was beautiful.  It was so still. 

Signs dotted the hillside warning of the danger of mountain biking.

Most of the bikers were boys between the ages of 12-16, although there were younger and older people. I only saw one female biker. The bikes were taken up on the lift just ahead of their riders.  As soon as the riders hit the top of the hill they would leap off the chair with their helmets already on, grab the bikes and head off.  

A sign at the top told them which trails were open and which were closed.

I don’t know if this photo gives you enough perspective to see just how treacherous the trail was in spots.

But I had come for the view and it was glorious.  I can’t tell you which one was better.  They were both lovely and I was glad I had checked them both out.

I called an Uber and asked to go to C1Espresso, a restaurant in downtown Christchurch that delivers your food through pneumatic tubes.  I ordered fries and then sat and waited for them to be delivered to the tube nearest me.

I loved the menu.  This was the centerfold. I could tell how C1Espresso feels about the leadership of my country.

To find the toilet in this restroom the bookcase slides open and you decide which Star Wars character best describes your gender identity.  I considered C-3PO since I have had a double mastectomy but went with Princess Leia.

It is a lovely day in Christchurch and I decided to walk back to our hotel.  Business office windows are decorated with shout outs to Christchurch’s rugby team for tonight’s game.  I walked past the Hari Krishna band, the street preacher and the Avon river.  Our hotel is directly across the street from the Art Centre and last time we were here we tried to enter the Great Hall and see the stained glass window but it was closed for maintenance.  I decided to see if maybe it was open today.  It was.  It is dedicated to all those who went to school on this site and served in WWI. It was installed in 1938 but removed after the earthquake in 2011.  Once restored it was reinstalled.

We left our hotel hopeful that an Uber driver could get us close enough to our restaurant for tonight and therefore, the stadium.  Our hopes became reality when we are dropped off directly in front of Pasta Pasta.  While we ate our carbs Gayle read to us about the rules of rugby.  We had already done this but we were left confused.  We had a bit more comprehension when we walked over to the stadium, but not much.  We stopped at the merch trailer.  We each got a beanie hat and scarf.  We wanted to support the Christchurch team and blend win with the locals.

This game tonight is a big deal for Christchurch fans.  The place was packed, every seat was filled. The Christchurch stadium was severely damaged by the earthquake of 2011 and had to be demolished.  The game we were attending was the first game for the Christchurch Crusaders in their brand new stadium. You could feel the excitement.  Before the game began a former player for the Crusaders carried out a stone from the damaged stadium and put it on a pedestal in the center of the field, symbolizing the team’s connection to their history and to the resilience and rebuilding of this city.  It was interesting to Gayle and I that there was an announcement directing us on what to do in the event of an earthquake.

The Crusaders were playing the Waratahs from Australia. I thought maybe we would hear two national anthems.  Instead, Maori performers did a traditional song.  The men blew conch shells.  It felt solemn and sacred.  When the two teams were on the field, the Crusaders team did a warrior chant to begin the game.  It was beyond cool. 

The halftime show was a rapper from Christchurch named Scribe.  People around us all sang along.

The two teams pushing against each other in a huddle formation; 

the way they lifted up one player to catch the ball when it was thrown in from the sidelines; 

and the spontaneous kicking of the ball to try to keep a forward motion were fun to watch.

The Crusaders beat the Waratahs 35-20.  I cheered like I had been a fan my whole life. Gayle and I left a few minutes early to make sure we could catch a ride home.  We found the line of taxis and grabbed the first one.  

Back to Christchurch

Our hotel had an abundant buffet breakfast as part of our room rate.  We took advantage of it and then headed for Christchurch with full stomachs.  However, we couldn’t leave town without first stopping at Baldwin Street, the steepest street in the world.  There are warning signs everywhere not to turn down Baldwin street because it has no exit and you can’t turn around.  I took a photo but it surprised me that it could be steeper than some of the streets in San Francisco.

We have a five hour drive today, without any stops.  But we are driving up the east coast of the South Island and we want to enjoy the ocean whenever we can.  Our first stop was Shag Point.  It was cool to look at the Pacific Ocean to the east rather than to the west.

Shag Point often has fur seals.  I spotted only a couple.

We drove up a steep hill to find the Whalers Memorial Lookout.  We could see the ocean from almost every direction.  

The snow-covered Southern Alps were in the distance.

In the town of Oamaru there is a discovery center that is helping track and conserve the blue penguins.  They are the smallest of the penguins.  These penguins spend the day diving for food and return to burrows on the shore at night.  The center has created boxes all over the property for the penguins and they come and go as they choose.  We knew it was going to be a long day but I really, really wanted to see them.  So we made a quick detour, paid our money and convinced the woman in charge that Gayle was not going to be able to tour their whole property.  So she took us into a small, darkened shed.  We were told not to speak.  We could look down little periscopes and see the penguins who had not gone out to dive for food that day.  It was very cool.  

Directly across from the center was a restaurant overlooking the bay.  We were thirsty and so we went inside to get something to wet our whistles.  We discovered that they also served gelato.  So we had gelato for lunch.  It was exactly the right meal to have while on vacation.

Outside the restaurant was a cement sea wall, dotted with seals.

Reluctantly we got back out on the road towards Christchurch.  We still had over 3 hours of our trip to go.  The rest of the trip was graced with green hills, occasional views of the ocean and lots of cows and sheep.  We finally pulled up to our hotel just before 5 p.m.  We are staying at the Classic Villas, directly across from the Art Centre in downtown Christchurch.  We read the description of the hotel as we traveled today.  It was a glowing description, filled with adjectives like luxurious, scrumptious, 5 star and boutique.  Gayle went into to check us in and came out to say we were on the second floor and there was no elevator. The two women who manage the hotel had to help us carry our bags up the stairs.  I was embarrassed by how much shit I have!

We ordered food and ate in the room. We watched the live feed of the blue penguins coming in for the night in Oamaru. A large seal was stretched out directly in front of the camera and the blue penguins were trying to sneak up the hill behind him and the two other seals on the rocks. It was like watching a game of “Red Light, Green Light” only you get eaten if you move at the wrong time.