Cheryl & Elwin's Adventures

We started our morning walking around downtown Christchurch. Two years after the earthquake there is still massive destruction to be cleaned up or demolished. Many buildings are condemned and sit empty. Some facades are being propped up by ship containers, and many houses are using bracing to hold them together. It will take years to sort it all out. They are doing their best to create an art area downtown and attract people. As you are aware and can see the Cathedral was totally destroyed. What you may not know is that they constructed a “Cardboard Cathedral” which is up and fully functioning. If you look carefully you can see the ceilings are made from cardboard tubes used for cement footings. Everything else including the furniture was also crafted out of cardboard. It was quite amazing. Many stores are now set up in containers on a temporary basis. It was quite sad, but the locals seem very resilient and are optimistic for the future.
Leaving Christchurch we headed north up the coast to Kaikoura. Another scenic drive. We stopped in the Wairau Valley wine district and had a great roadside lunch at the Whistlestop Cafe. All of the vineyard restaurants were booked as this is Labour day weekend in NZ.
We arrived in Kaikoura and walked out to the fur seal colony just up the street from our apartment. To say we were up close and personal is an understatement. We even found a cousin to our resident summer Oyster Catcher on the rocks.
BTW -the view of the mountains across the bay is from our room. This country continues to amaze us with its scenery and views.