I got up early and went for a walk around town, saw gorgeous buildings, lots of great art work and a primary school that has a play area on top of the building! There was a long stairway up to it and fencing all around, what a fantastic way to give kids more space to play in a city school. My kids would have loved that!
We went to The Boathouse for breakfast and were able to get a table right next to the Avon. We were treated to baby ducklings and many friendly sparrows looking for a handout as well as the owner’s cat.
Soon it was time to hop on the bus to Akaroa, a sweet town in the Banks Peninsula, and also where some old friends live. More beautiful scenery on the 90 minute drive, especially from the hilltop view spot. I got to do a 4 day backpacking trip with my women’s hiking group here in the 90s and it was magical! We learned about the 2 different sections of town that were created when it was established, French and the English. We started on the English side, checking out the lighthouse, seeing a stingray in the water, and finding some fun souvenirs.
Then we walked five minutes to the French side of town where we found fun artwork and Le Mini Golf, a mini golf course that had steampunk Jurassic art, it was like they took a whole bunch of Annemarie‘s favorite things and put them all together!
We checked out the quilting exhibit at the local museum, then met up Wayne and Kate, friends I had not seen for 28+ years. They have an incredible view from their house and we had a great time catching up. Before we know it, it was time to hop back on the bus and return to Christchurch. On the way back we passed a hotel created from old grain silos and a lake with many black swans.
Annemarie then took me to the Margaret Mahy playground, named after one of New Zealand’s most famous children’s authors. We read several of her books to our kids when they were growing up. It was the most fantastic playground, with a really long flying fox and all kinds of slides both Inside a hill and on top of it, and amazing, enormous climbing structures. I can’t imagine anything like it going ahead in the US, but the kids were all having a great time and nobody seemed to be getting hurt. We then headed across the street to a wonderful skateboarding/biking track for kids of all ages that looked like a ton of fun. There were also swings suspended from gigantic girders. It was so much fun being a kid again.
On the way back to our hotel, we passed more very impressive murals and sculptures and a restaurant that boasted it was the home of the sushi burger. Not sure that’s something I would boast about!
