Word on the street in Christchurch was that there was a lamb roast at the Woolshed bar - for FREE! It was no rumour. The Roasted lamb would have fed a whole rugby team. Three-and-a-half dripping sandwiches later, Amy took us to some of the trendy laneway bars she had been eying earlier in the day.
The chillawhile gang woke up unusually early the next day to explore what already looked like a very English city. The first thing you notice is that like most cities in New Zealand, it is extremely manageable on foot. We walked towards the botannical gardens inside Hagely Park. The gardens are right in the heart of the city with the Avon river flowing through it. Their were the impressive imported trees, shrubs and rose garden you would expect. However locals believe that plants grow twice as fast in New Zealand as anywhere else. Steph shared her knowledge of ‘conkers’ to Amy, an American, who had missed out on this English game as a child.
We soon found the Canturbury museum inside the park, thirsty for Kiwi kitch and culture. The highlight was the Mertle family’s Paua shell house which had been re-assembled inside the museum from where curious tourists used to stop in south of Dunedin. This old couple had collected an astounding number of Paua shells to decorate the walls of their home, making it somewhat of an alternative Kiwi institution. The musuem also houses many more objects of slightly higher historical significance. I found the original sout pole ‘pole’ in the antartic expedition gallery – quite extensive since Christchurch was often the last stop for explorers on the way down.
The south pole, often used by explorers to photograph icy panoramas.
That night we met up with Julia, Andrew and his sister Yvonne, who was busy busking in Cathedral Square for fun. A final game of kings was on the table before we all headed our separate ways. Tomorrow it’s onward up the coast to the final wwoof for Steph and me.
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