After a short Uber ride to Christchurch Station, the city’s rail depot, we boarded the ‘TranzAlpine’ train for a day-long excursion. The trip is a classic, beginning in Christchurch on the South Island’s Pacific Coast, crosses the Southern Alps, and descends into Greymouth on the west coast & Tasman Sea. We did the one-day round…
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About a 40-minute drive from Christchurch is the Waipara wine region. Since we do not have a car we have booked a half day wine tour with lunch through Canterbury Leisure Tours. We are scheduled for a 12:30 pickup from the cottage. The driver (Graham) arrives in a small passenger van and says we just…
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Our cottage is a 15-minute walk from the Central Business District in Christchurch. The massive earthquake which struck the city occurred in 2011 and the extent of the damage is still quite evident. Evidently, the CBD and historic city center was so damaged the entire area was blocked from access and guarded by the military…
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Today is mostly a travel day. We leave Te Anau for the 2.5 hour drive back to the Queenstown Airport. Along the way we stop for a snack of cheese and crackers overlooking Lake Wakatipu outside of Queenstown. The weather is sunny and warm. This is the last day we have a car. Dick and…
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