Aug 2007

Christchurch is a very English looking place and although there isn't a great deal to do here, it is worth a couple of days here to chill out. There some great artwork scattered around the city centre. In paticular there was an array of photos down the street linking the cathedral to the botanical gardens (all the towns and citys each have botanical gardens, although wellington has probably the best one) The Cathedral dominates the city centre, creating a large public daimond where the 2 main roads cross. Theres another street car/ tram which circles this area, picking up at the gardens and local galleries. However these are quite local to the centre and is not really necessary. I used this time to relax. After all the Mayhem that awaits at Queenstown was not far away.

I decided to lose the pimp wagon here (the depot was around the corner). Mainly because i'd been told that the train to Greymouth was one of the best rail rides in the world. Also its hard to take photos and steer a car at the same time.
(It had nothing to do with the scrape i made down the side on the first day trying to get out of an underground carpark, where did that collumn come from?)

The train to Greymouth is spectacular, taking me from the east coast to the west coast and passing some of the highest mountains on the island. Although the train journey was cut short, due to repairs being made in the tunnel at Arthurs Pass. However, the coach from Arthurs pass almost took the same route (except going through the mountain), so nothing was missed. Once at Greymouth i hopped on to another bus and headed for Franz Joseph, (nothing in Greymounth worth stopping over for) where there's an impressive glacier trek i'd been told was worth doing.

The coaches here act as excursions buses, stopping at any points of interest and with the drivers giving a running commentry about the history of the area meant that nothing was missed. How they keep track of every river, mountain and bridge name ( in English and Maori) i'll never know

The drive down to Wellington took about 4-5 hours. Passing the Tongariro World Heritage National Park (MORDOR and Mount Doom to Rings fans) and travelling down the famous "Desert Road"This was an experience if not for re-acting the the majority of the film Dual. Truck drivers over here are Stupidly fast, they drive their trucks worse than a Harry Carr Combi trying to get home from Moy!!! One in particular, decided i was Dennis Weaver for the day and was going to drive up close to me as possible and every so often blow his horn as to say get out of the way. I dont think giving him a friendly gesture helped the matter- maybe he mistook my friendly wave for something else. Anyway this went on for 100 kilometers or so, there's not many places to overtake and i was doing the speed limit, so tough on his part.

I drove in to Wellington just after lunch, and first impressions are not what youd think for a capital city. It's a very chilled place. More importantly it has night life, THANK GOD SOMEWHERE WITH NIGHTLIFE. Courtney Place is very lively, lined with bars and clubs ( no bingo), whilst Cuba street is a more chill out place with some excellent restaurant and a very laid back vibe.

Wellington is right on an earthquake fault (they usually have 3 earthquakes a day although most go unnoticed) and is the reason why most of the buildings are made of wood, this helps towards the charm of the place. Particularly on the outskirts were most of the buildings are positioned on hills and mountainsides.

The Main Museum is Te Papa and is excellent. You can easily spend a day there , plus it's totally Free (donations are appreciated). Its more of a natural history of New Zealand than just artwork ( there is at the moment a great exhibition on in the form of a murder mystery, which is great fun)

I went on another Rings tour and is also well worth doing. Since Wellington was at the hub of everything and is the location of the main studios, there's plenty to see. Sets surrounding Wellington include Rivendale and Helms deep which is now revertied back to a working quarry. You even get your photo taken with elf ears complete with bow and arrow, but thats another story. Peter Jacksons home is here and he is god in this town. Another good reason to take the tour is that it take you to

Its also worth taking the cable car up to the botanical gardens for half a day. it's a decent trek up some steep hills - youll need a pint afterwards or two - Dehydration is very common and must be delt with!!

I noticed Ian McKellan was in town next week doing a Shakesphere play ( I keep thinking of the scene from Extras 2). " I play King Lear, but i'm not really a King" I wouldn't be able to keep a straight face.

For anyone thinking of travelling in NZ, i would suggest 4-5 days here, making sure one of them is friday or saturday. nightlife in NZ is not like the UK, so you need to maximise the nightlife where you can.

I took the ferry over to Picton, which has great scenery along the way, (another roll of film required for the journey, thank god for digital cameras) as it meanders through Queen Charlotte Sound. I stopped in Picton for a night, since it was about 5 PM and i didn't feel like driving another 5 hours to Christchurch.

Picton is a tiny but picturesque port, which can be walked around in 10 minutes, most people opting to travel to Nelson which is not too far away.

So another 4 hrs driving down another spectacular coastal road ( rugged coastline to the left, mountain range to the right, winding roads in front! ) and i hit Christchurch.