After a good nights sleep we had a leisurely morning before we had to catch our 2:05pm train back to Rangiroa. As we relaxed, enjoying our view of the park from our balcony, we spotted a little train chugging towards us along the river. The tracks we thought were abandoned from old infrastructure are used for a tourist train in the park!We checked out at 1pm and headed to the train station and enjoyed a snack at the restaurant at the train station. In fact there is no ‘train station’, nowhere to get a ticket or ask a question. The whole building is a restaurant now. All train related activity is done on the internet before your trip!

The station is restored and well taken care of!

We boarded a little late and started our journey south. Before we reached the ocean we traveled along the Big Lagoon.We crossed the Awatere river a little further south.

A big bridge over a shrunken river.

Then we passed Lake Grassmere and the saltworks. Not a freshwater lake, fed by a river, but a seaside lagoon that is managed in order to move seawater into progressively shallower ponds that wind evaporates leaving salt to be shovelled up. The ponds turn pink in the summer from algae in the water that becomes pink as the salinity increases, and tiny pink shrimp flourish.

As the tracks approached the seashore and ran along the rocky coast we spotted the ‘crayfish shacks’ along the road. The ‘crayfish’ are rock lobsters and lack the huge claws of the Maine lobsters we are familiar with. The commentary on the train told us that families have run these shacks for years, harvesting the ‘crays’ from the local waters.We spotted a Pouwhenua (land post) at a picnic/rest area along the road. It is a wooden post used by Maori to mark territorial boundaries or places of significance.We will have to drive the route one day to find out the significance of this pouwhenua!

We arrived back in Rangiora at about 7pm and headed out for dinner before getting back to our B&B, exhausted from so much sightseeing!

A very early morning to catch our 7:30am train in Rangiora. The Coastal Pacific train operates north and south along the Pacific coast between Christchurch, the largest city on the South Island, and Picton, at the top of the South Island where the ferry docks. We opted to catch the train in Rangiora, closer to us, and disembark in Blenheim since we’ve been to Picton, and will be there again to catch the ferry in March!

Traveling light, just an overnight backpack and a bag of snacks!

On time, with great big picture windows!

We settled in our seats and began the journey through the region of Canterbury, passing orchards, paddocks of sheep, dry brown hills, green pine plantations and vineyards. Sometimes a road alongside, sometimes a river, woefully lacking in water!About one third of the way into the 4 hour trip we emerged from the hills to the flat on the lip of the seashore.As we traveled north along the coast it became more rocky as we approached the Kaikoura peninsula. This area is known for sightings of dolphins, fur seals (more like sea lions) and whales.

We spotted a pod of dolphins flipping out of the water, and fur seals in the water and sunning on the rocks!

At Kaikoura we had a short stop and a chance to disembark for a few minutes to see the beach. They have a whale watch center that we didn’t have enough time to check out, but HERE is a lot of information about whale watching in Kaikoura!

Kaikoura is a small town with a big beach!!

We continued up the coastline, but looking inland was just as picturesque, with the Kaikoura Seaward range and the Kaikoura Inland range in the background!We crossed the invisible border into the Marlborough region, well known for it’s vineyards, as is the Canterbury region as well. We arrived at Blenheim, the largest town in the Marlborough region and checked into the Waterfront Motel overlooking the park along the Taylor river, a short walk from the train station.We went for a short walk into the main business district and found a place for pizza dinner and Guinness beer dessert! It was a toasty 84 degrees out and very tropical looking with the palm trees!

Today is a laundry, pack, relax day in preparation for our train ride tomorrow from Rangiora to Blenheim on the KiwiRail Coastal Pacific! It is one of the three Great Journeys New Zealand by rail through some of the most beautiful landscapes of New Zealand. We’re staying at the Beach Cottage Blue Bach in Waikuku Beach. There’s no real ‘town’ here, just a collection of holiday homes, camping parks, the Surf Lifesaving Club and a small convenience store. We  drive about 15 minutes to Rangiora for grocery shopping and we walk about 5 minutes to the beach for unlimited walking!

On the road into the community!

Up early for a quick walk on the beach at sunrise!

Another venture into Christchurch today to explore the downtown area. In 2010 and 2011 Christchurch suffered devastating earthquakes that destroyed many heritage brick and mortar buildings in the city center and killed 185 people. In the almost 13 years since the city has rebuilt a lot of the downtown with modern, earthquake resilient buildings. But there are lots of empty lots and fenced off condemned buildings that are still awaiting insurance claims to be settled before demolition.

We walked from the new central bus interchange, opened in 2015 to replace the destroyed original bus depot, towards the Botanic Garden, encircled by the Avon river.

Some sights along our walk; an optical illusion wall depicting a 19th century city block at the Riverside Market (restaurants and shops), the Bridge of Remembrance over the Avon river, built to commemorate the soldiers who served in WW1, and the tram line that encircles the main business district.

As we entered the Botanic Garden and walked along the Avon river we spotted the iconic Christchurch attraction, a punt ride on the shallow river!

Scenes on our walk through the gardens.

The Rose garden is in full bloom now, with the conservatory in the background. Inside the conservatory there is a lush tropical ambience!

We exited the Gardens into the Arts Centre, housed in the old Canterbury College campus that was built in the 1870’s. The Arts Centre moved into the space in 1978, the College having moved to a suburb about 20 years earlier. The 2011 earthquake severely damaged many of the campus buildings and they are being restored slowly but surely. The fountain at the Garden entrance faces one side of the old College campus.This side of one of the campus buildings shows the restored section on the right and the un-restored section on the left.

We had a great walk around the campus, viewing the exhibits ranging from the work of Ernest Rutherford, “Studying at Canterbury College from 1890 – 1895 Rutherford, known as the Father of Nuclear Physics won a Nobel Prize in 1908”, to the work of the stonemasons who are restoring the damaged and weatherworn stone carvings on the buildings. We had an exhausting day and enjoyed the bus ride back to the carpark and a relaxing evening at our B&B bach.

We went out to the beach to watch the sunrise at 6am this morning!

Looks like it’s going to be another beautiful day!

After breakfast we packed a lunch and drove to the Park and Ride 14km (about 8.5 miles) away and caught the bus into Christchurch to the central bus interchange. After milling around a bit trying to figure out where we wanted to go a guide stepped in and gave us directions! We decided to go different directions to visit different museums! I headed north and west to the International Antarctic Centre near the airport. Robert decided to go west and a little south to the NZ Air Force Museum. We planned to meet back at the central bus interchange in 3 hours. We both had great experiences!

The International Antarctic Centre is full of information about ‘the south pole’. Christchurch is the gateway to the Antarctic via plane or boat. It’s also the base for several international research organizations, including the United States Antarctic Program-National Science Foundation, which is literally across the street!

A lot of history, discovery, exploitation, and research information is presented. Past history includes the whaling station that closed in 1964. The research field tents are still used today!

Of course I had to visit the penguin exhibit. They have about a dozen non-releasable little blue penguins in the enclosure.

Meanwhile, Robert was at the Air Force Museum;

Near the entrance was this display.

This plane carried Queen Elizabeth II around NZ on her Royal Tour in 1953-54.

“The Bell 47G-3B-1 Sioux. The Sioux was the first helicopter to enter service with the RNZAF (Royal NZ Air Force), and featured in the American television series MASH – set during the Korean War where they were used for medical evacuation.”

We both got back to the meeting point at the scheduled time and took the bus back to the car and drove back to the B&B for a great grilled fish dinner!