Weather or Not

At Christchurch we were eagerly anticipating a trip Up Up and Away in a hot air balloon.  Yes, there was a recent tragedy with a balloon on the North Island, but we were undaunted.  We checked in with the people as we arrived and were advised to call back in the morning at 4:00 am to learn whether things would go as planned.  We would be picked up at 4:30 am in front of our motel and taken to the site.  If all things went as planned our trip would take us up and over the Canterbury Plain at sunrise and we'd be afforded views of the farmland the seacoast, Christchurch and the distant mountains of the Southern Alps.  Sleeping was difficult, waiting for the coming dawn and hoping not to miss the 4:00 wake-up alarm.

At 4:00 the alarms went off and we made the phone call.  "I am sorry to advise you," the recorded message intoned, "but today's flights have been cancelled due to unstable weather on the Canterbury Plains.  Please call our office number if you wish to reschedule."  Disappointment.  Sadness.  But, on the other hand, relief that they don't simply go ahead with things and face consequences later.  So we went back to sleep for a few more hours and contemplated the drive to Dunedin.

The Cookie Time Factory south of Christchurch

Christchurch is the largest city on the North Island and the center of commerce, religion, agriculture and trade.  There is some kind of training center there for people exploring Antartica and it is the jumping off point for trips headed south.  While it has the look and feel of British influence, there are nearby towns such as Akaroa that were settled by the French.  That little village would be worth exploring someday.  It sits in a protected harbor out on the Banks peninsula, which is that little piece of land projecting out to the east of Christchurch as you look at a map of the island.

Our host in Dunedin recommended three stops along the way and we took her advice.  It was raining steadily as we left town and we could see why the flight was cancelled.  Our first stop was unscheduled but unresistable.  The Cookie Time Factory jumped out at us, begging a stop, even though it was Sunday.  That reminds me that we did skip church on this Lord's Day, but we caught a couple of worship services on TV from the motel.  One of them was a commemorative "Praise Be" program recorded in various churches affected by the earthquake.  Very inspirational to see and hear people singing from their churches which are now out of operation.

The Cookie Time Factory store sells broken pieces and irregulars from the factory next door.  Good deals on quantities since the cookies they sell in small "dairy stores" along the way are those big cookies you see packaged one per pack and selling for $1.00 each.  Here they were selling them in a bag for about 50 cents each.  We gave in and bought a their apricot/chocolate chip something-or-others.

Newly restored buildings of Oamaru stone

On to Dunedin.  Place #1 on our stop-and-see list was a town called Oamaru.  It is on the coast and was established back in 1860-1870 as a British port, probably as a place to export sheep and other agricultural goods.  Now they are doing restoration work on old buildings near the harbor.  The buildings are constructed of Oamaru stone, which apparently was quarried in the area.  Check out their website for more details.  We drove through a Sandra jumped out for some photos.

The #2 place on the list was down the road a few kilometers at Moeraki Boulders.  If I were better versed in New Zealand history, I might have a little more appreciation for some big round boulders sitting on the beach.  But there were many people stopping to look, take the trek down to the beach, and then browse through the gift shop back up the trail.  They did have restrooms which are always necessary.

A few more kilometers down highway 1 we came to Shag Point, which juts out into the Pacific and reminded me in many ways of the Oregon Coast.  Seals come to these rocks to rest and sunbathe.  They are joined by shags, a black and white sea bird and albatross.  At another point here, the smallest penguins in the world come home nightly to rest from the rigors of swimming in the ocean.  They are the "yellow-eyed penguins" or hoiho penguins.  We didn't see any from the observation point but we googled a photo to make it look like we did.

From there we made it to Dunedin in time for dinner and a great introduction to our B & B for the night.  More on that later.

What makes these boulders special?

Sleep is good for you!

A yellow-eyed penguin