Feb 12 - Pleasant Point Railway

Our next stop was at Pleasant Point. Here, dedicated volunteers and rail enthusiasts operate the Pleasant Point Museum and Railway. We enjoyed a trip on the 2.5 km long track and then were treated to a delicious lunch. The volunteers have created a little movie theatre. We all stood for God Save the Queen and then watched a 1920s silent movie with crazy train antics. Some of us got to ride back in a Model T Ford railcar replica. I’d never heard of such a thing. Noisy, crowded, not very comfortable - I can see why NZ Rail only used them for a couple of years. The little museum has a wonderful model train exhibit with various vignettes. I liked the accident scene with the tiny ambulance attendant doing CPR!

We made one last stop in Geraldine in case anyone needed one last souvenir or one last hit of Hoki Poki ice cream. Geraldine is home to the world’s largest sweater. Think I’m going to need to borrow it soon……

Geraldine is also home to a mosaic of the Bayeux Tapestry which depicts the 1066 Battle of Hastings. Would have liked to have seen that but it’s on tour in England right now.

Other bits and pieces that we learned today - a New Zealander was actually the first to fly a plane, a full 9 months before the Wright Brothers. The jet boat engine was invented by another New Zealander named Bill Hamilton. Rakaia is the centre for salmon fishing in NZ - Chinook salmon from B.C. were used to “seed” the waters.

We got into Christchurch about 5:30 p.m. Traffic was very slow coming into the city. Traffic patterns changed dramatically after the earthquake 9 year ago and the city is still adapting. There is a new motorway under construction which will help tremendously, but for now, the road closures are just adding to the congestion.Read more