New Zealand: Christchurch to Omaru

Hi everyone!  Thanks for waiting around for me.  I hope I didn't lose too many readers over the past two weeks.  I have purchased a new computer so my only excuse for not writing from now on will be because I'm too busy having fun!  This week we have our first visitors - my aunt and uncle from BC arrive tomorrow.  I'm super excited, but I'm trying to get at least one New Zealand post in before they get here.  Enjoy!

December 25, 2011

We departed for New Zealand with only our two red extra large MEC "hockey" bags, and somehow we fit all of our camping gear in them.  This will definitely encourage us to do it again!  We had a minor panic when we checked in because of our visas, but all ended well.  Clearing customs in Auckland was far easier than we had expected, and we easily made our connection to Christchurch.  The second plane was much smaller than the first and the crew was a riot.  Since it was Christmas they all dressed up and sang us a song to the theme of "Jingle Bells" instead of reading their usual pre-flight speech.  Just before we landed, Santa made an appearance to hand out candy canes and lead the plane in a few Christmas carols.  This was the most festive our holiday got, so we really enjoyed it.

The downside was that they didn't have food on that flight or in the airport when we arrived, so at 11pm our first experience in Christchurch was looking for a gas station for some food (since everything else was closed).  All they had left was one sandwich and a muffin, so our Christmas dinner was slightly disappointing.  Luckily the "check in" at our hotel went smoothly (the key was in a lockbox) so we were able to get to sleep after our long journey.  In a change of events, Ryan was awaken by one of the Christchurch earthquakes!  He had never felt one before so it was a unique first experience.  He said the walls and headboard shook quite a bit, but surprisingly I slept through it.  (Sidenote: when I felt an earthquake in Australia Ryan told me I was crazy and to go back to sleep!)

December 26, 2011

The hotel owners had left us a really nice breakfast in the fridge, so we feasted on cereal, yoghurt, and a new food for us: golden kiwis!  They were yellow instead of green, and a bit sweeter.  So yummy!  We didn't stick around long in the morning, eager to get our trip started, but the hotel was quite nice (and highly recommended: Airport Christchurch Motel).  Our first stop was another gas station for fuel for our camping stove, and then a grocery store.  We tried to buy a cooler at the grocery store, but sadly they only had display ones and they refused to sell one to us.  It was very awkward at the check out. 

Initially the drive south was quite exciting with lots of farms, but we quickly got over it. 

One point of note is that farmers seem to really love hedge fences.  We noticed them from the airplane because they are made from extremely tall trees of all different varieties and they were everywhere.  It seemed to be a competition over who could get the most geometric shape because some were amazingly trimmed.

Our first stop of the day was in Timaru where we had a delicious picnic lunch on the beach.  It was funny because to get to the beach we drove down this long circular ramp (like an off ramp but longer) and there was a basic park in the middle of it absolutely packed with people.  This was strange since literally 200m away was he parking lot for the beach, which was beautiful and uncrowded.  Obviously that was our choice for a picnic!  We put our feet in the water and considered a swim because it was so warm.  It was the warmest water of the trip so we should have done it, but we were excited for the next destination. 

During the trip from Timaru we passed through Rakia which has the longest bridge in New Zealand, so that was another first for us.

We were looking forward to Omaru, the next stop on our journey, because of the penguins.  Supposedly they come into the town for the night and they're fun to watch, but that was not exactly correct.  The town has built what is essentially an enclosed grandstand viewing area with night vision lights around their sleeping area so tourists can pay $25 (!) to sit in there and watch them.  NO THANKS!

A more fond memory of Omaru is our Boxing Day shopping experience.  We still needed a cooler, so we went to this weird store (kind of like Giant Tiger) and asked for a "cooler" or an "esky" (the Australian word).  The clerk looked at us like we were crazy, then said "Ohhhh….you mean a chilly bin!"  Seriously!  That's what they call them in New Zealand!  So we proceeded to buy the exact same chilly bin as the display model from the grocery store.

Our final mission of the day was to find a campsite, so we took a beautiful drive along the coast to get to one recommended by the tourist centre. 

The only charge was a $5 donation, and was probably the best site of the trip. 

Since we were there early we quickly set up the tent to claim our spot, then went for a swim.  The water was freezing but we had a blast jumping in the waves.

Dinner was an (albeit delicious) adventure since it was the first time we used our stove.  When it lights it makes a fireball so we were a bit leery at first, but it worked great after we read the instructions and found out that was normal.  The unfortunate result of that dinner was a sunburn on my face which lasted (then peeled) throughout the duration of the trip.

And thus concludes, with a bottle of New Zealand wine (Matua Valley, Marlborough, Sauvignon Blanc, 2011) and a board game, our first night on the road!