New Zealand Christchurch July 2024 Part 2

Early in the morning CJ is all dressed up with nowhere to go. He made bookings for a shuttle, lift tickets, and skis at Mount Hutt. T

The shuttle is a 0700 no show. It appears Mount Hutt is living up to its Mount "Shut" nickname.

Rain keeps us indoors and finds us at the Victoria Free House for dinner again. 

We begin the next morning walking across Victoria Square and onto the Quake Museum.

It is a short walk from the Quake Musuem to Riverside Market along the river. It is a pretty walk past period buildings, post-quake redevelopment, along the tram line, and into the center of the business district.

From there we return to Riverside Market for a pizza lunch and beers at the Cooperative. The boys aren't there but manager Mel, an equally personable lady is. The pizza from a nearby vendor is very good, as is more of the same beer.

That evening Morgane's tip for her three marvelous times serving us was dinner at the Cellar Door and an evening of wine education by CJ. We have a great evening enjoying another five flights, some different. The elderly couple at the adjacent table become fascinated by CJ's wine narrative. At our invitation, they pull their table over join us.

On the way to the airport for our return flight we visit the International Antarctica Centre. First up we ride the Hägglunds, the tank-like vehicle used in Antarctica.

Does Carol look like she's having a fun ride?

Following the ride we tour the center.

The last time we arrived in Sydney, they conveyed Carol in a motorized wheelchair. CJ nearly had a heart attack chasing. This time they have a cool device that attaches to the front of her motorized wheelchair. CJ also gets to ride.

For all the bad things you hear about Qantas service, we have three attendants escort us from the plane through the priority line at immigration, all the way to where we meet the bus to transfer to the domestic terminal.  They pull our luggage, help us through customs and security, and are very friendly. 

New Zealand Christchurch July 2024 Part 1

It is well after noon when we arrive at the hotel. Breakfast was very early. There is a pub across the street. It is close and convenient. We take lunch at the Victoria Free House.

The bartender is a great fellow and the waitress even better. The waitress is from Paris in New Zealand on a work visa. CJ finds a red IPA he enjoys. Did I just say CJ is enjoying something with the letters IPA in it? The food is ok, but the staff is exceptional, and the location is convenient.

It is a gloomy day we pass in the hotel room.

The next day we walk around Christchurch. The Crowne Plaza is one block of Cathedral Square. The cathedral was severely damaged in the 2011 earthquake and is still under repair.

We pass through Cathedral Square walking into the heart of the shopping and restaurant district. We are in search of a ski shop and some place to eat. We stumble across Riverside Market. 

Riverside Market is a marvelous place. They call it an indoor farmer's market. Under Surprise, surprise, we end up at Canterbury Brewers Cooperative. We find we prefer two different stout brews. We have a long conversation with the barmen, Tim and Mark.

We return to Victoria Free House for a good beef cheeks dinner with Morgane and more Red IPA for CJ.

The downtown tram is a must. It is hop on/hop off. 

We take it around the CBD.

At the Botanical Gardens exit across the street from what was once Canterbury College. The walk to the visitor center is too long from this entrance and winter is not the best time of year to visit. We decide to return to the tram.

Passing the Canterbury College complex CJ decides to explore the gorgeous grounds while Carol sees a sign for a restaurant called the Wine Cellar. It is the find of all finds. We are directed to the tasting flights part of the menu. There are 20 four-wine flights.

By the time we depart, we have sampled five of them and purchased four bottles of dessert wine to take back to Oz. The tram returns us to the hotel.

New Zealand Wellington July 2024 Part 1

It is our second trip to Wellington in less than a year. The CBD has a beautiful waterfront surrounded by towering hills. One of the craft beer pubs we discovered on the previous visit was Fork & Brewer. We pass by for a brew on our first day's walk through the CBD. We return for lunch on the second day.

Who goes to a different country to purchase socks? We do. James introduced CJ to Icebreaker socks. CJ introduced Carol to them. Now, for the second visit, their shop is a stop on our tour.

Garage Project is a respected Wellington craft brewer. While walking along the waterfront across the street from the Intercontinental, CJ spies their sign. Bin 44 is a restaurant/craft beer bar with 22 beers on tap. CJ is in heaven. They have recently had a stout festival. They still have many on tap, two are absolute crackers. CJ orders one. Even though not available for sampling, once CJ orders a pint, the bartender gives him a sample of the one he really wants. He'll be back for it.

On our last visit we crossed to the South Island to Marlborough wine country. This time we book a tour to Martinborough. There are five of us and the guide. To get there one must climb and descend a mountain on a serpentine road. We can't help wondering what the Tour de France classification would be for the climb.

We visit three wineries having a very good lunch at Moy Hall. We visit Palliser, Moy Hall, The Rumholder.

New purpose-built bar at Rumholder.

Ridge-top siting of Rumholder.

New Zealand Wellington July 2024 Part 2

The seat of New Zealand government is a few blocks from our hotel. The last bit is uphill since it is perched on a promenade. On arrival we're informed we need a booking to tour and they are booked out until late in the day. The brochure at our hotel and the hotel concierge knew nothing of the requirement. There is no mention of it in a different brochure in the lobby or on the signpost at the entrance to Parliament House grounds. The only thing gained this morning is good uphill walking exercise and the indifference of the New Zealand Government. Welcome to New Zealand!

Under threatening skies, we walk back to the wharf and to Bin 44 for lunch. CJ finally gets a pint of the stout he's been dreaming about. Duncan's Maple Bacon Pancake is heavenly. In the process, we get a fine lunch.

Carol had seen a sign on the street advertising fresh oysters. We had mentioned it to an oyster loving couple from the Sunshine Coast that we met in the concierge lounge. After dining there last evening, they gave it an enthusiastic endorsement.

Dinner consists of freshly shucked oysters and a bottle of wine Charley Noble restaurant. It's all we need after a big lunch.

We are off to the South Island and Christchurch in the morning.