Day 40 New Year’s Day in Christchurch

Day 40 New Year’s Day in Christchurch

We breakfasted in our room and met up with the group for our last walk….One member cried off, saying she needed a full day’s shopping in Christchurch before heading  homeward, so Rob gave the speech thanking Nicole for making this such an excellent tour and gave her our group tip.  (Thank goodness Jenny had had the foresight to collect it yesterday!)

Nicole drove us a half an hour south of Christchurch into the Port Hills…where many of the houses and roads suffered earthquake damage as the cliffs collapsed or from liquefaction.  In places, there are lorry containers lining the road to protect it from further rock falls. We walked a 10+km section of the southern coastal walk from Taylor’s Mistake (A lovely little bay…Nicole didn’t know who Taylor was or what he ‘mistook’….) up to Taylor’s battery – gunpoints from WW2 – and the summit where we could look down into Lyttelton Harbour.  This is the only volcanic part of South Island….and it was reminiscent of the dark grey cliffs and beaches we saw first off near Auckland. There were quite a few other people on the path…clearly ‘tramping’ is something to do on a sunny New Year’s Day. It was a really nice walk….possibly one of my favourites of the trip….I think I’m more a seashore than mountains kind of girl……

We returned to Taylor’s Mistake Bay by a quite steep ‘goat track’ that was fun to go down - but would have been a nightmare going up - and had a swim in the Pacific surf….rather fresh, but not as cold as some of the other places we have swum….and watched the surfers and paddleboarders.  Beach activities are obviously another popular New Year’s Day plan….

We returned to the hotel in time to say Happy New Year with our best British accents and have a free afternoon before our last dinner together.  Rob and I just chilled….we have a full day exploring Christchurch tomorrow – when it isn’t a bank holiday…..

Nicole had booked us all a table at Strawberry Fare….another restaurant near the hotel – noted for its extensive and amazing desserts menu.  When we arrived they asked if we were there for a meal – or just dessert!  The main courses were delicious as well…..and we had a very jolly last evening together – before wending our separate ways.