Farewell to this Land Down Under!

And hello again to New Zealand! We were up at 4am Queensland time to drive to the Brisbane Airport for our 8:30 flight to Christchurch, New Zealand. We were a little late leaving and in the air around 9:20 to see some beautiful views over the Aussie coast! Had a really good flight and made up for lost time arriving in Christchurch about 3 and a half hours later. Now, the time difference between Brisbane and Christchurch is 3 hours, so it was almost 4pm NZ time when we landed. Picked up our rental car and got to our hotel before 5. Checked in and dropped off our luggage and headed out to pick up a few breakfast groceries, brought them back to our condo, then left on foot to check out the town. Christchurch was pretty devastated by 2 earthquakes in 2010 and 2011, and there is still lots of evidence of that in the downtown area, particularly Christchurch Cathedral which is still undergoing major restoration. We walked down some lovely pedestrian and tram only streets, including New Regent Street with its lovely pastel coloured buildings and many cafes and restaurants. There is a tram that meanders throughout the city, and even stops in the lobby area of our hotel - very cool! Had a bite to eat at Joe’s Garage and continued walking past the Bridge of Remembrance, the River Avon, the Isaac Theatre Royal, the government building and the damaged Cathedral! Getting a little tired by then, and it started to drizzle (definitely not the 33 degree weather we left behind!) so we headed back to the condo and are listening to a sax player across the street at one of the restaurants under the lovely glass awning outside our place! Looking forward to a good nights sleep before tomorrow’s adventure!Leggi altro