Arriving in Christchurch

As we flew into Christchurch from our overnight layover in Auckland, we could see the rugged coastline and the distant Southern Alps, giving us tantalizing glimpses of sights we will see later in ourLæs mere
As we flew into Christchurch from our overnight layover in Auckland, we could see the rugged coastline and the distant Southern Alps, giving us tantalizing glimpses of sights we will see later in ourLæs mere
Today was a visit to “Rutherford’s Den” at Canterbury College, site of the gold foil scattering experiment by Ernest Rutherford in the early 1900s. These experiments led to our modernLæs mere
We started the day on a walking tour of central Christchurch with Gordon, a retired architect, who talked about how the city responded to the devastating magnitude 7.1 earthquake in 2011. Most of theLæs mere
Today is our first day on our Backroads tour. We met the 20 other travelers at the train station in Christchurch, then boarded the TranzAlpine train (note the ‘NZ’ they like to slip in wheneverLæs mere
Today we shuttled from our hotel to the ride starting point, about an hour. We got to drive past what we couldn't see while biking in the rain yesterday -- green pastures, cows and the Southern AlpsLæs mere
After breakfast, we set off on a 28-mile moderately hilly ride through three different scenic reserves--dense forest and tree ferns, with mountain vistas and glacier-fed rivers. The forests gave wayLæs mere
Today offered several options. Some booked massages at the spa, one took a helicopter ride over Franz Josef and Fox glaciers (extra fee)—we get a glacier tour later in our trip. The rest of us tookLæs mere
Leaving Franz Josef, we continued south along the west coast, pedaling 39 miles on a fairly level road, passing dairy farms with dramatic views of the mountains all around us. The threatening weatherLæs mere
Today was a day out of the bike saddles -- even the die-hard riders opted to enjoy the on-foot and on-water activities offered by the Lake Moeraki Wilderness Lodge. In the morning, three of us wentLæs mere
Leaving behind our gracious hosts, Ann and Gerry, we shuttled a half hour down the road to the town of Haast, where we set out on our bikes. One of our solo travelers, Scott, was greeted with aLæs mere