Ryan went for a morning swim in the chilly lake to test out his new goggles – he had all of Tekapo to himself because no one is mad enough to go for a swim in the morning, or really, at any time of day. He tells me it was refreshing! I decided against the morning swim and made fried eggs instead like a good wife. We had a five hour drive to Hanmer Springs today but we knew it would be a scenic one and because of a fully booked campsite we had treated ourselves to a night in a hostel, with a real bed and real walls (oh the simple things) Steak and wine was on the dinner menu and we slept even better knowing it was raining outside! Glad we weren’t camping!

The next morning was a short trip in to the village to Hanmer Springs, a popular spa with natural hot pools. After our daily morning coffee, we headed to the pools and began our relaxing day. Thinking about it, we have barely had a ‘do nothing day’ on the whole of our New Zealand adventure. Don’t get me wrong, nothing we have done has been very taxing but it was just lovely to enjoy the sunshine and do very little. It was a hot sunny day and we moved from pool to pool and then enjoyed our own spa pool for half an hour. A picnic lunch of sardines, stale bagels, tomatoes and sweet chilli sauce, we lay around some more. It was a great setting and as the kids were back to school, it wasn’t overly busy.

 

Later in the afternoon we drove to Akaroa, a couple of hours away, stopping to taste wine on the way (obviously) to break up the journey. A nice vineyard and very yummy wines which we tasted about seven of, we were sold on the Rosé as it was top of the range so we bought a bottle and planned on sipping that later on in the sunny evening. We had a nice wander around the vineyard to stretch our legs before getting back in to the car and continuing our journey back towards Christchurch. With my hay fever at its peak (cue loud sneezing which Ryan loves) we stocked up on food supplies and antihistamines and arrived in Akaroa shortly after. It was a gorgeous french village, which Ryan was very pleased about and the main reason for our trip here was to swim with dolphins the day after next. We drove through the town on the way up to our campsite and as it was late decided to pitch our tent and crack on with dinner. Our bottle of rose accompanied a yummy meal and we were back in our tent with wonderful views over the harbour.

After a night of sneezing and sniffing, we woke up, drove down in to town for our daily coffee and headed up the hill for a walk up one of the peaks. In our flip flops (jandals/thongs – whatever they are called) we trekked through the grass whilst Ryan enthusiastically read the information leaflet tripping over everything because he wasn’t looking where he was going. We soon reached the view point at the top and the views across the bays were gorgeous, the sea so greeny blue.

We wished we had brought a picnic with us so we could hang out up there a while longer, so we just sat for a while, admired the view and the not so pretty cruise ship, whilst listening to the wildlife.

I was by now in need of sugar (mid afternoon) so dragged Ryan down the hill and back in to town. As we had missed out on pancake day, it seemed only fair, whilst in a French village to have a crépe but much to Ryans dismay the savoury crépes were off the menu, so we settled for chocolate, chantilly cream, banana and almond, which was absolutely fine with me. They did not disappoint and were worth the pancake day wait! Scrummy! Topped up on sugar we climbed the hundred or so steps back to our campsite, thirsty for cider and read in the sunshine until we were hungry once again.

This was our last night camping in our trusty Warehouse tent and we felt a little sad so we decided to cook on our gas stove for the last time (even though there was a fully functioning kitchen) and ate out of our plastic bowls. Camping has been amazing and I proved to Ryan I could do it. From the first day in Warehouse where he had to check about four times if I was happy to go ahead with the camping purchases, as it would mean committing to being in a tent for six weeks! A little unsure to start, I am definitely a camping convert and have loved life in our little tent.

Our last nights sleep in the tent was less good as our air beds had packed in so we pretty much slept on the floor, but ah well, they had been a well spent $25 and it was time to pack up our troubles for one last time and go dolphin swimming!!

We were extremely excited about this trip as it was something we had both wanted to do for the duration of our NZ adventure. We would be swimming with Hector dolphins – rare, tiny dolphins that are native to New Zealand and actually endangered and protected by the department of conservation. At about 1-1.5 metres long they have mickey mouse ear shaped fins and silver backs. We had chosen a small family run tour because of great reviews and we really wanted a great experience with the dolphins and with only eleven others on the boat with us, we were looking forward to a much more personal encounter. I am sure the other tours are great but with 30+ people and limited viewing space, this was definitely more our thing!

Within 15 minutes we saw a Hector on his own swimming around the boat, he was very clear to see in the gorgeous turquoise water and he hung out with us for while before we moved on to find some pods further out. We all helped the captain and his right hand man by looking out for dolphins and pointing them out when we saw them, so he could move the boat in their direction, we also saw fur seals, albatross and were on the look out for penguins (they were a bit shy though)

It was a while longer until we saw other pods (generally between 3 and 7 hectors) A couple were playful and bounced through the water, but others were busy feeding and didn’t seem to want to interact with us, which was fair enough and as part of the DOC advise, its best to just let them carry on and only interact with them if they feel up to it. Just seeing them from the boat was amazing and we all leaned over the edge to watch them weave from side to side – it was incredible to be so close and they are so elegant. On the first occasion we jumped in and about ten hectors came close by, but unfortunately they all dived in to the deep waters and swam under us, they obviously weren’t feeling playful today or maybe it was the donkey noises that one of the swimmers was making that put them off! The crew told us to tap our masks with our snorkels and make noises to attract the dolphins, which was hilarious in itself, it seemed the more entertaining you were, the more the dolphins would want to come and see you. Back on board, we moved on to find other dolphins, communicating with other local boats to see where the dolphins had been seen.

We saw one, two, three, moving around together in front of the boat, either side and playfully moving alongside us for a while. We jumped back in soon after when a couple hung out with us and one swam straight passed me, which was amazing to see! The crew weren’t convinced that we had had the best ‘swimming’ experience that we could have possibly had and even though we had an amazing 3 and a half hours of viewing and seeing the dolphins in the water, we were refunded $50 of our money. It seemed the family run company wanted us to have the best experience we could and if the viewing wasn’t up to their standard, they didn’t want us to feel short changed. Well, if we weren’t broke, we would have let them keep the money but funds were coming to an end, so we welcomed it.

Next stop was Christchurch and we would be spending our last few days here before leaving New Zealand. We had arrange to meet Annie and stay with her for the first night and we were looking forward to seeing her as it was a few years since we had worked together. We arrived at her lovely house and dumped all of our belongings, had a nice catch up in the garden and planned to go to the ‘Night noodle market’ in town and after a quick freshen up, we headed through the construction clad city. It was hard and still is difficult to work out what you make of Christchurch. Five years on from the major earthquakes, there is building work everywhere and new buildings coming together. You can imagine that the city is going to be completely new and buzzing when it is complete, with a lovely park surrounding the now smaller city. There will be no skyscrapers and buildings will be limited to five or so stories, which will be different and interesting compared to all the other tall cities out there. It was amazing to see stand alone buildings that had survived the earthquakes and a lot had been covered in wall art, which was pretty spectacular and a great way to make something of a large concrete space.

 

The Night market had started some days ago and had 20,000 people turn up on day one – about 17,000 more than they expected but tonight was a little quieter. Opera going on in the background, there was a row of food stalls with large queues, the problem is, we didn’t know what we were queueing for and so we copped out and opted for curry instead! Sitting, eating our curry and having a drink, we caught up with Annie about everything. It was lovely to see her and be around a fellow short person!

Cup of tea, some chocolate (because our bodies craved it) and a really good nights sleep in a bed with a duvet – again the simple things!
Greeted by scrummy pastries and OJ in the morning, we sat in the sunny garden and ate brekkie and planned what we would do today. Although there wasn’t a lot to see, we were interested at looking around the city and so we decided to go to the cathedral and see…. Annie told us that Christchurch was designed in London (hence all the English references everywhere) so we parked on Manchester street and went to see the cathedral – it was sad to see the devastation and it seemed they were still unsure what to do with it. You couldn’t go in, one because it was unsafe structurally and two because of the pigeon poo which is toxic (you learn something new everyday)

We went to look at the temporary cathedral which was made out of cardboard with metal structures and managed to peep in to the main area (as there was a strange flower show going on) to see the cardboard cross amongst other things. A very interesting building which would probably remain for a couple more years. We headed to the Restart mall – a shopping area made up of containers, which is moved around when new areas are built. A great area of cool and quirky shops and a good chance to purchase each others valentines day cards and little gifts for the following day. This was all quite difficult doing it on the sly though.

Having a sugar low once again, we picked up some ice creams (to my horror, there were no actual ice cream shops, but I let them off) and topped up on sugar again before going back to Annie’s to sort out our camping gear before moving on to our Airbnb in Richmond. Didier who was crewing for a friend on the coast to coast event, arrived home early and we met him whilst unloading our car. Annie and Didier are fellow campers, so we passed on a lot of our supplies to them which was good! They planned on giving the tent and sleeping bag to a school or something as they didn’t really need it, but it was much better than chucking it away as I am sure someone would have put it to good use. They got left over jam, barbecue sauce, tin foil and some other bits and bobs so everyone was happy. We said our goodbyes and planned to meet the following day for lunch.

Before getting to our Airbnb, it was time to think about our job (back to reality) and we needed uniform. Two lots of black trousers for Ryan, nothing for me and some cheap sushi and we headed to Richmond. The Airbnb was lovely and we had an ensuite – it was positively luxury!!!! No need for a head torch to go to the toilet for the next two nights! Bliss! Sushi, cheese and biscuits and another great nights sleep!

A lazy morning of packing our bags followed by clearing the car and we were off to meet Annie and Didier for brunch at the old post office building – a big old brick building that had survived the large earthquakes. It was a very quirky cafe with a sewing machine that dispensed water and tubes above your head that delivered your food. We both had our beloved cabinet food and sat outside in the hot sunshine grilling Didier with questions about the earthquake and Christchurch in general. The food was yummy and the coffee was as yummy as ever, and then something happened that none of us expected – a rather large earthquake.

I forget what we were chatting about at the time, but Didier just said ‘this is one’ and after a second or two, after we had realised what was happening, we all ran towards the arch of the doorway and gathered there with others until it stopped. It felt like a lifetime but was actually only about ten seconds, Annie explained the earthquakes they have had in the last year or so are over before you realise what is going on, but this one didn’t stop, the rumbling sounds carried on and the worry set in whilst everything continued to move. You didn’t know when it would stop, what damage it would cause and if you were safe (crazy to think how much can run through your mind in the space of seconds) The rumbling was the most disconcerting sound – it sounded as though buildings were falling down around you but it was just the sound of the earth moving.

It was all very weird, so weird, too weird and that is still the only word I can use to describe it because usually the one thing you can rely on, is that the earth does not move beneath your feet. Everything else is on the move, from people to animals and things in general, but the concrete, the ground that you stand on does not rattle or move side to side, that is one thing we are relatively sure of in our day to day life which is why it was so weird.  Although it was a life experience, it wasn’t one I wish to relive and it shows just how vulnerable we are, because you can’t do anything nor run away from it, like you can with a fire or most other things, it is all around you and you are in it. We also saw how strong the Christchurch folk are, carrying on with there day to day life just after another quake and that is what you don’t see on the news – people still driving around town, doing their food shops, going for a beer and although it seemed odd to me, they are just carrying on because when this is what you are used to, you have to.

We left the cafe as we had finished our food anyway and had a little walk around, feeling a bit dizzy and odd and trying to understand the recent events. Didier looked on ‘geo net’ which gives live updates on earthquakes (great website) and it seemed we had been in a 5.7 quake, 15 km east of Christchurch and 15 km deep.

Didier is an engineer and is currently working on many post earthquake buildings, so he was definitely the right person to be with and it was just nice to be with Annie and not be on our own. They told us aftershocks were a certainty this afternoon but they were small and we would be fine (slightly on edge)

We had quite a bit to do as we were off to Sydney early the following morning, so we wandered around for a while and then said our byes and headed to the shops for my uniform. A few shops had closed, for the safety of the staff I guess, but most things carried on as normal, we went for a drink and checked online to see if there had been damage around Christchurch. Some liquefaction had happened on the coast, a couple of buildings had minor damage, and a few chunks of cliffs had fallen in to the sea but no one was hurt and the city carried on.

We emailed parents to let them know we were fine as we knew the news would be all – SEVERE EARTHQUAKE IN CHRISTCHURCH !!!! CLIFF FALLS IN SEA !!!! BUILDINGS EVACUATED!!!! but everything was fine and they would all be asleep anyway.

After picking up an easy dinner, we finished packing our bags and chilled in our room. We felt three aftershocks between 3.2 and 3.7 and although it was quite nervy and strange that the house moved, it was fine. There were actually around 50 aftershocks that day but most were under 3 and would not be felt. I must admit I was quite on edge for the rest of the day and when we facetimed my parents they had only just woken up and hadn’t even read the email! They were shocked but intrigued and we chatted for a while about how weird it was – put it down to experience they said and a great one for the blog!

Alarm set for 3am ready for our next stop and with only an hour of sleep, we were up and on the move again. Norman was delivered to the Apex car rental park and ride and we hazily waved bye before heading to the airport ready for our Australian adventure.

New Zealand has been absolutely incredible and we have so much love for this country. If it weren’t so far away, we would definitely live here because it is just so amazing and around every corner there is something even more fascinating. The people are friendly and everything is SO laid back. The news is about 2 minutes long and mainly about sheep and goats and you just feel so relaxed and safe.

I would recommend everything in New Zealand to everyone – it is a place that you absolutely HAVE to see and yes it is far away but really it is only a day and you would not regret it for the world. We have made so many unforgettable memories, met lovely people and just completely fallen in love with this country.

From camping under the stars, to kayaking the Marlborough sounds, cycling around the vineyards, eating way too much ice cream, drinking too much wine, getting eaten alive by sandflies, holding your breath whilst using yet another composting toilet, sneezing for the fifteen time during the night, bickering about navigation, laughing whilst speaking in the Kiwi accent for days on end, packing and unpacking your backpack, experiencing an earthquake,  cliff jumping into glacial lakes, almost killing Norman on endless gravel tracks and many many other amazing memories – New Zealand we will be back!!!!