The first stop was the Mona Vale gardens in the city where we got out and walked around for a few minutes. Next was punting on the Avon River in Hagley Park. Punts are basically like gondolas except they're really shallow and close to the water. Our punter was an older Canadian gentleman who was decked out in proper punter attire with a vest, straw hat, and bow tie like someone from the '30s or '40s. He gave us a nice commentary and some random facts and history about NZ and Chch durign our ride but I think my favorite part were the black ducks. They were jet black with these yellow beady eyes and I'm telling you I've never seen such scary looking ducks in my life! They feed on the plants that grow on the bottom of the river so they actually dive all the way under water so you cant even see them and then they come back up like 30 seconds or so later. It was so funny/creepy to see these ducks popping out of the water all over the place. Before our ride was over Chelsea got to try punting which was pretty awesome and I must say she did a good job.
Our next stop was the Sign of the Takahe a restaurant that was built to look like a Scottish Castle in the Port Hills just on the outskirts of ChCh. Though the cafe was closed due to a private function we hopped out and took a walk to get a view of the city. Unfortunately it was cloudy so we weren't able to see the Southern Alps which you can see quite well on a clear day, but it was still an amazing view.
Continuing our drive though the Port Hills we next arrived at the Christchurch Gondola which has the most spectacular views of Christchurch and the surrounding areas. The Port Hills which were formed by a volcano are these steep barren hills that just look like the most ski-able bowls ever so naturally all I could think about was skiing the entire gondola ride up. Thankfully the clouds had started to disappear and by the time we reached the top we could see the Alps in the distance, Christchurch at the base of the port hills, and lyttleton Harbor on the other side.
Our last stop on the Grand Tour was Sumner Beach which is by far the best beach around here. We walked around the beach for a little while, took some jumping pictures, explored the caves which are in this giant rock outcrop on the beach, and then grabbed some delicious fish and chips, cider, and of course some ice cream. If I've learned anything about kiwis it's that they love their fish & chips, cider, and ice cream something I'm getting quite accustomed to. Sadly we were only there for an hour before we had to head back to Christchurch at around 3:00. All in all it was another amazing day in New Zealand.
P.S. I'm sorry for the horrible formatting with the pictures, I'm still trying to figure this thing out but am more concerned with actually keeping the blog up to date rather than making it look pretty. Maybe by the time I catch up to present date i'll have it figured out :-P
