Geraldine, Akaroa and Christchurch

18/3/2015

NZ country entertainment!!

 After the Mt Cook experience, which was a real highlight of our travels, we headed on towards Christchurch, passing Lake Tekapo , the Hydroelectric power station, the Salmon farm, and the skiing town of Fairlie, before stopping in the Top 10 in Geraldine.

We were amazed to find it so full! I asked a local why it was so busy. “It’s the National Sheep shagging competition!!”, I thought I heard him say. “What!!!!?”

“The National sheep speed shearing competition”, he repeated. I had heard that New Zealanders had some strange habits, but I was very relieved to have this one clarified!

Mary and I had wanted to find a Pub with Sky, so that we could watch some cricket anyway, so we set off into Geraldine. It’s a pretty country town, and the Pub with Sky was right in the High street…… exactly where the Speed Shearing event was taking place. Cricket fetched a low priority, on the list of entertainment that evening. Being a Sports & Gaming Pub, the ranking was as follows: -

1)    Meat raffle tickets for the local rugby club.

2)    Dog racing

3)    Horse racing

4)    National Speed shearing completion with full on TAB betting!!

5)    Blues vs Hurricanes rugby

6)    ICC cricket RSA vs Pakistan!

The trucks and trailers for the Sheep Shearing formed a lager around the Pub, and despite the rain, this was where the real action was taking place.

Sheep were being sheared at the rate of 2 per contestant every 1 minute 25 seconds! The cheering, clapping , foot stomping and cat calls were worthy of a rugby world cup final!

Yes , we watched in amazement for about 10 minutes……. But this was an all-night event, where the Champion was going to be challenged by the Retiring New Zealand National  Speed Shearing  Champion of the past 18 years!!!!!!!! WOW!!!!

Too much excitement for one night! We had to go back to camp, to plan our next day!

The magnificent view approaching Akaroa Harbour on the Banks Peninsula

View from our campsite overlooking the harbour

The town of Akaroa lies in a flooded volcanic crater, on the Banks Peninsula…. Named Banks by Cook after his biologist, who mistakenly thought it was an island. It has a lovely French ambiance, as a result of the first 57 settlers there being French. A French whaling captain, Jean Langlois, had bought the land from the local Maori chief, and after his return to France, had arranged it to be settled by French Immigrants. By the time they arrived in 1840, the Treaty of Waitangi had been signed by the British,  so with about 7 days to spare, the Brits stopped the French from occupying the South Island! The 57 French settlers decided to stay anyway……. Hence the French culture there!

 The following day we drove on to Christchurch, where we stayed with Sid and Vangi Weil. Sid and I had first met in 1968 at UCT, where we studied Business Science together. Sid and Vangi later emigrated to NZ , where they raised their two gorgeous  girls, far away from the madness of South African society.

 Sid has retired as Professor of Accounting at Lincoln University, and Vangi, a classical pianist, has a very successful music and piano teaching business. It was great to be able to catch up with each other’s lives, and equally special to do so sharing a bottle of 1993 Nederberg Pinotage, which Sid opened for the occasion.

With Vangi and Sid both teaching on Tuesday , Mary & I went to explore  the city of Christchurch. 

 

They are trying to preserve some of the original facades and this is how they are going about it.......using banks of containers to prop it all up while rebuilding from behind

80% of the old buildings are being recycled, hence this huge pile of concrete

Restart Mall, set up using containers to bring life back into the city centre quickly

The original trams are once again operating albeit on a limited route

The Museum and Art Centre seemed to escape the worst

The gardens were peaceful and colourful after the gloom of the rest of the city 

A pretty restored street, of pastel coloured Spanish Mission architecture

The future of the severely damaged Cathedral still hangs in the balance 

 Strange blend of architectural styles.......a modern construction tacked on behind an old facade

The cold gloomy weather did not help, but we left with the feeling that it was a rather sad and depressed city, struggling to find itself again. We can only wish them all well.We saw the devastation, and the reconstruction efforts, after the Quake. We travelled on the trams, went to the Botanical gardens, and learnt of the pain and anguish the people of Christchurch are enduring, in respect of the lost buildings, the insurance settlement issues….and the divisions…. to demolish or to restore the Cathedral etc.