Lovely, a lazy day. I was getting the train to Christchurch but not until 3.28 so I slept in and then after packing up and clearing my room I had a slow start to the day. It was sunny after a rain storm the night before. I sat around in the sun reading and then said goodbye to my walking friends who were setting off for Picton to get the ferry back to Wellington.
I then went for a walk along the beach up to the nearest headland called the new jetty. In the days before the train and decent roads, people travelled to towns down the coast by ships. The New Jetty is no longer new or in use but the sea front was lovely. I was looking for paua shells. They were selling them in town as they are a bright shiny blue colour inside. No luck, just some broken ones, but it was worth the walk. On the way back I took some pictures of the interesting old buildings in the area around the hostel.
This is Albatross Backpackers in the old post office building
This is the Courthouse.
This is the cinema.
After lunch and more lazing about I said a sad farewell to Mark and Ruth at the Albatross backpackers and set off for my train. The train was on time and after checking in and loading my baggage I set off on another scenic trip to Christchurch. As with the train down from Picton the guard gave an interesting commentary on the scenery we passed through, telling us all about the geography etc. On arrival at Christchurch it was grey and raining but not very cold.
I checked into the YHA which turned out to have the best equipped room I have stayed in so far. I was as good as something you would find in a basic hotel. I walked around the centre of Christchurch which did not take long to do. Like the other major NZ cities it is not very big. However I liked it better than Auckland and Wellington. There is no harbour to look at but the city centre was more definite and it has lots of green spaces. It also has more intact older buildings around a central square.
I had a delicious supper in a Korean restaurant. Steamed vegetable wontons and a beer. Off to bed fairly early again ready for another early start the next day. This time to catch a bus at 7.40 am.
