Christchurch
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Rudy
28 Maart 2015 | Nieuw Zeeland, Christchurch
We moved to a much nicer camp spot just outside Christchurch in South New Brighton. Much more relaxed and clean. The next day we drove back into Christchurch to visit the town centre. It was destroyed by consecutive earthquakes in 2010/2011. The heart of the old City is destroyed. Rebuilding has slowly started but several building are still strengthen by large beams. What is to happen with the cathedral is still unknown. After visiting the (again free) Canterbury museum with a large Maori and Antarctica section we went to the botanical gardens. These was started in 1850’s and the planted trees are already very large due to the good soil and mild winters. Everything grows quicker and larger in NZ, even the people as can be seen from the picture of Rudy with his 2 cousins, David and Peter, (sons of his immigrated (1951) uncle Felix Knoef, his mother’s brother). We stayed at David and Marianna’s house for the night. David is a trained cook so we enjoyed a fantastic evening meal, joined by David’s sister Julia, before settling down to watch the less appetising cricket match of NZ vs. AUS (NZ lost big time). It was great to tell our family stories and hear those from our immigrated family members. Before bedding down we noticed that the back door of the camper could not be closed. Only the next morning were we able to remove the stuck spring mechanism so it can close again. Since the day was already half spend David took us out to his favourite Dimsum restaurant. We have never had such good Dimsum snacks. It was truly the best restaurant in town. Thereafter it was on the road again following the coastal SH1 to Kaikoura (198 km).
The idea was to go out with a boat to watch the whales. Both at the booked 10:30 and the alternative 12:15 trip was cancelled. Apparently the whales were spotted beyond the reach of the excursion boat. Thus no whales. We amused ourselves, while waiting, with a coastal walk spotting fur seals before driving up to Picton (183 km). We stopped at Ohau (on the SH1) to see more seals sunning themselves and the pups having a great time in the pools in-between the rocks. In Momaranuit we finally, before leaving the South Island, found a campsite along the Queen Charlotte coastal drive with a direct view of the sound from the camper!
Tomorrow afternoon we catch the ferry back to the North Island. We had a great time here on the South Island on both the West and East Coast. The lifestyle here is so relax that we are even thinking of moving here to live. Jamaliah tending the garden and Rudy fishing and hunting.
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29 Maart 2015 - 13:07
Lisz:
Leuk om jullie weer te volgen! En ben je in Christchurch (en omgeving) nog familie tegen gekomen? Maar misschien zijn de nakomelingen van de broertjes Knoef inmiddels wel verspreid over heel Nieuw-Zeeland.
Goeie reis verder.
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