Christchurch early March, end of summer 2018

It seems incredible that it is now two weeks since I said goodbye to Alison and her flock of sheep, Hedgehog, Little Spot, limpy, and co, up in the farnorth of the South Island.

The weeks in Christchurch simply flew by with plenty of fascinating guests , a guided tour from Akaroa to Christchurch in French with a group from Quebec, and as always in summer, the most amazing number of special events. 

I didn't go to the cricket match, England versus NZ, but I did enjoy seeing the pitch being prepared. What a magnificent setting, and how amazing that until match day it is open to the public.

In the gardens I was thrilled to meet up with the family of paradise ducks I had photographed earllier this summer and to see the females almost

with their mature colouring.

Sadly, the brilliant Lazy Sundays have finished , with the grand finale of Fiona Pears, an exceptionally talented, hugely energetic, Christchurch born, internationally acclaimed violinist who fills her audience with absolute joy.

What a massive crowd filled the vast Archery Lawn to listen to her and to admire her energy and skill. Another perfect afternoon.

Guillaume from Switzerland came with me and was equally mesmerized by her performance. What a great weekend we had, Guillaume, Yves( a doctor currently working on an island off the coast of New Caledonia)  and I. It was fantastic to be able to practise my French just before guiding the tour, and with such interesting young men.

I am so pleased to have renewed contact with Kathy, one of my best friends from my first visit to NZ in 1976. We are enjoying walks, talks and meals together and last week was fabulous, with a really pleasant and easy, longish walk to Sumner along the bays. It is a wonderful walk with beautiful views over the estuary and out to sea.

Then at the weekend my Swiss friend Andrea and I had a marvelous day at an annual event, Culture Galore,  in the park near my house. With over 30 nationalities offering food, gifts and singing and dancing, it was a very special afternoon. We are just so lucky to have such a multi cultural society here in Christchurch.

The weather was pretty good too! Hats and sunblock were an absolute must.

The same weekend also saw the Lantern Festival drawing massive crowds of up to 40,000 people into the city centre and its lovely River Avon! Phenomenal , yet causing some calls for a more spread out event next year so that it is not quite so crowded. I found it great, even though I do not like crowds, simply because the city was alive again.

The city planning has been good and this downtown area of the city was certainly well used, with the steps to the river providing perfect seating for hundreds to watch the performers on the stage across the river. The lanterns were spectacular too. It was heart-warming to see several of the fantastic architecturally designed pubs and restaurants in The Strip open at last.

Christchurch will be an unbelievably beautiful city when everything is finished
Next stop Edgewater in Wanaka and a chance to spend the weekend with David.

Wanaka and Queenstown, scenery and school

This weekend I was down in Wanaka seeing David. The trip down yesterday was heavenly, despite being pretty long, 430 kms. The time seemed to go really quickly. An advantage of being alone in the car, and quite often on the road, was that I could sing along to my cds as loudly and badly as I wanted to. 

First stop Lake Tekapo. Its turquoise was just breathtakingly beautiful. What a fabulous lunch spot I had all to myself.

I just love this place, Wanaka. It doesn't matter how often I come, the first view over the lake takes my breath away, and last night was no exception. I just had to stop to savour those moments as the dark clouds provided such a dramatic backdrop to the shimmering silvery water of Lake Wanaka, my favourite lake. A warmish wind was blowing across the water, so it was very pleasant to 'stand and stare'.

A few minutes further along the lake shore, the lone tree, now surrounded by water, looked lovelier than ever.

I know people who only ever want to visit a place once. What a pity that would be when one sees this same tree the next morning with a totally different background. So gorgeous!

Of course, if this breathtaking scenery is not enough, what could be more surreal than a pianist playing so beautifully in this truly special place and environment!

I have thousands of shots of this lake at varying times of day, in different seasons and with different weather, but I just love the tranquility and serenity of this panorama photo.

Next day, David and I  drove back over the Crown Range, with its awesome landscape

To Frankton, where David's new school, Wakatipu College is situated. 

It was fascinating to look around this state- of-the-art building which is one of the few New Zealand schools to experiment with an open plan class system. It is working, although the other classes can be distracting.

I am not sure the noise would distract me as much as the breathtaking scenery and views of the Remarkables from David's classroom!

The furniture is particularly innovative, with desks which can be moved to suit the needs of the class

It is easy to see how necessary it is that children behave well and respect others in such open areas where two or three classes are working side by side. 

It was a brilliant visit.

After lunch at a lovely vineyard close to the beautiful Lake Hayes, David and I had a great walk around the lake, about 8 km. It reminded  me of the walk around the Lake of Pfaeffikon, which is just a little longer. 

What a fabulous place. I had never done that walk before, but will certainly visit again! On the other side of the lake were some incredible multi-million dollar properties and the lakeshore was like a pristine garden

What a wonderful view across to Coronet Peak, one of the main ski areas of this 'adventure capital of the world'.

And autumn is just around the corner! In a month this area will be even more magnificent!

Today was a perfect day too. David and I once again set off on a longish walk, this time around the shores of Lake Wanaka, from Glendhu Bay to Waterfall Creek. While half of the visiting population slogged up to Roy's peak, we enjoyed a walk with almost nobody on the track. It was fantastic and the scenery once again nothing short of breathtaking!

The weather was perfect, warm and yet not too hot, and a blue sky with the loveliest, ever- changing cloud formations. 

The track is really undulating, going up hill for spectacular views and descending to beautiful bays with white- sand beaches, generally littered with fabulous silvery driftwood, washed up during recent storms.

It was a very special walk and great to share those wonderful hours with David. Pity Mark couldn't be there too.

All good things have to come to an end and David headed back over the Crown Range and I was lucky enough to be invited out to dinner with friends from Invercargill and Akaroa, Rob and Jane and Brian and Liz. What an incredible gourmet meal of Stewart Island salmon and salad! Scrumptious! 

What a perfect sunrise I was treated to before I packed up

and then a quick stop in Wanaka before I left , where I was amused to see this huge dog sitting waiting for breakfast outside a busy cafe! I don't think anyone would have been willing to ask him if they could join it on the sofa!

Nelson

It was tough after such a busy time to get up at 5 in the morning, but the flight to Nelson more than made up for the sleepy start! It was so beautiful there was no way I wanted to catch up on lost sleep.

As we approached Nelson and flew over the hills which surround it, we could see the mountain ranges and valleys cloaked in early morning cloud.

Fantastic to see Alison again and to catch up on the past year. Nothing changes in friendships. You simply start where you left off. Fabulous!

No trip here is complete without a visit to the WOW museum, the World of Wearable Art. As last year, it was absolutely brilliant and the creations simply remarkable. This one below was the winner of the recyclable clothing. I loved it. So clever. Alison and I are going to the show this year in October. I am so excited about that .

The New Zealand section had some beautiful exhibits too, my favourite being the Warrior Cloak, which amazingly was only Runner Up! The paintings of the magnificent Huia birds were exceptional.

Not far from Alison's lovely home is Motueka, a nice little town next to the estuary, with a beautifully refurbished church, now a very elegant clothes

Shop. Not my type of clothing, but a great use of an old church.

We had a pleasant stroll along the estuary looking at some of the heaps of timber and driftwood left after the two storms, the latest only a week ago, Cyclone Gita. Glad I was not here then!it will take a while to clear up and fix some houses and roads. Poor NZ it has been so busy on its storm and earthquake damaged roads!

I had to laugh at Alison's 6-year-old granddaughter telling her that if there is a tsunami warning, she must go straight to their house, with food and emergency supplies, because they live on a hill. Incredible to hear such a young child being so knowledgeable about disasters! It is great that schools make them aware.

Alison's home is also on a hill but not so high up. What a gorgeous view from the deck which surrounds the home

Despite the greyish day, temperatures are perfect for me, there is no wind, and it is great to sit here and complete my blog before we head down to the wharf at Mapua for dinner and some of the very tasty Nelson wine!

What a wonderfully relaxed weekend.