Imagination Station

I enjoyed wandering around hardware stores in Christchurch but didn't go into many other shops; I've obviously been living the hermit life for too long! One place that did pique my curiosity was Imagination Station at Cathedral Junction on Worcester Street; it had interesting Lego 'things' in the window. We were welcomed inside to have a look round; sharing the space was a school group and a few other interested sightseers. Imagination Station is a charity-run play and education centre that opened in January 2015; free for adults and children although donations are very welcome.

All Black Lego Player in one window...

...and a stunning Lego map of Middle Earth in the other

Inside there were three distinct areas with mounds of Duplo in one, Lego in the second and Lego Technic in the third challenging the schoolchildren's engineering skills. There is also a suite of iMacs and opening hours are from 10am-6pm daily. I was very impressed - what a neat idea.

The Duplo play mat

The end of my holiday coincided with the wet, windy and cold snap that swept up the country. Flying back to the island from Invercargill was a lot calmer than it first appeared - we left in clear weather but ran into a wall of dark cloud halfway over Foveaux Strait; I needed to be sitting up front to get the best pics though.

Cloud bank in the middle of Foveaux Strait

The sky and the sea were the same grey!

Almost through the cloud as we neared Stewart Island

Low cloud hanging over the top of Stewart Island

Almost home

It's been almost two weeks since I arrived back and the weather has mostly been wet, cold and windy. We've escaped the extreme conditions that hit further north but we did get snow - photographic proof in my next blog!!

Christchurch Rising

I spent a couple of days in Christchurch city in January 2011 as I made my way south to my new island home. It was four months after the September quake and there was an air of positivity as they fixed the damage whilst counting their blessings that nobody was killed. I had a yummy sushi lunch opposite the casino and walked around adjacent blocks looking for a Telecom store. Just over a month later the February aftershock dashed hopes of an early rebuild but gave rise to the indomitable spirit of Cantabrians. It's been exciting to see the changes each time I've visited the Garden City; still a lot of empty space but in several places this time I counted 3-5 cranes in every direction as the new buildings rise from the rubble.

Here are some pics of my wander around the CBD last week...

The new bus interchange - Stage I opened today and Stage II (shown here)
is expected to be finished in August 2015

A skyline of cranes

The great Re:Start pop-up shopping mall

Looking down the tram lines to the Bridge of Remembrance

Cathedral Square

The damaged ChristChurch Cathedral with an interesting plant-covered
whare to the right

Close-up showing the mass of plants

New Regent Street

Chapman's Homer sculpture by New Zealand artist Michael Parekowhai
temporarily on display on New Regent Street



Love the artwork on the blue tarpaulin - very clever

The Cardboard Cathedral

Still a lot of space but Christchurch is rising once again

A community garden in the middle of the city

Interesting 'tree' sculptures made from what look like fence palings

Sign of the Kiwi

Our next stop was at Sign of the Kiwi on the town side of the Port Hills which we reached by driving over Dyers Pass Road from Governors Bay. Although I've driven past this distinctive building a few times I didn't realise it was such a good spot for walking and cycle trails.

After consulting the descriptive map we decided to walk the Mitchells Track, then link up with the Cedrics Track to make a full loop around the Sugarloaf communications tower.

The Mitchells Track is mostly in bush and skirts around the south-eastern flank of the old crater. It's an easy walk with stunning views across Lyttelton Harbour.

The regenerating bush was very different to that at home- a lot dryer underfoot and it took half an hour of looking to find this small fungi!

The return trip via Cedrics Track was a lot more open but it was in the sun and we had a tail breeze to help us. Great views all around and I'll be putting it on my bucket list to explore more of the area.

Looking north over Christchurch City

The 121m Sugarloaf Communications Tower

On the last leg - Sign of the Kiwi in the middle distance

Thanks for a great day out, guys - and thanks also to the weather gods that put on a stunning day.

Mystery trip

Enough of the shops! The next day I was taken on a mystery tour, passing through Lincoln and Tai Tapu, then after 15 mins or so of flat land it was exciting to see some hills. We turned off the main road and on to Gebbies Pass Road - well, I think that's where we went! It wasn't long before tantalising glimpses of Lyttelton Harbour Inlet appeared; taking photos from the car was fun but it wasn't always easy with hedges and trees getting in the way.

Map courtesy of Google Maps

We arrived in Lyttelton right on lunchtime - we had planned to go to the Fisherman's Wharf Restaurant but it is closed Monday to Wednesday so strolled through town and ended up at the Lyttelton Coffee Company instead.

Port of Lyttelton

Lyttelton is perched on the slopes of an old volcanic crater rim

Lunch at Lyttelton Coffee Company

Great atmosphere inside the Lyttelton Coffee Company

Well watered and fed, it was back to the car for the next stage of my mystery trip!

The Christchurch scene

My next stop was Christchurch to see my sons and daughter; it's been 16 months since I visited and it's great to see new buildings rising up. Christchurch residents have an inspiring attitude and they make the most of every opportunity. My visit gave me the chance to look around Rolleston's vast Faringdon subdivision where over 1000 sections will house around 4,500 people by the time it's completed. A lot of thought has gone into the layout and there's plenty of green space and native plantings to complement the wide roads and pedestrian walkways.

My son borrowed a pushbike for me so we could explore Faringdon and Rolleston under pedal power. The Rolleston shopping area was a lot bigger than I thought and a big thumbs up for the hairdresser that gave me an overdue fringe trim and only charged $5 - superb service.

Rolleston is some way from central Christchurch but the planned extension to the motorway should iron out the bottlenecks and make it easy commuting. There's a planned high school and extensions to the Clearview Primary School so new families to the area will be well catered for.

I was on the hunt for an electric chainsaw so we headed off into Christchurch to see the selection that Bunnings and Mitre 10 had. The Bunnings store was huge and I found a neat hanging chair that would be fab for out on my deck...

$429 for this extra-comfortable chair and frame

I can just picture me lazily swinging in the breeze and watching the world go by!

No visit to town is complete without a visit to Luciano Espresso Bar on Moorhouse Ave for a hot chocolate - it's made with real chocolate and it's divine; the coffee must be even better as Luciano has been NZ Barista Champion several times.

Next stop was John Bull Cycles; always good to meet the team and see what's new in treadlies (bikes)...

 

Rather than face the evening traffic we decided to have dinner in town and ended up at a lovely Japanese restaurant in Riccarton called Cookai. I don't recall going to a Japanese restaurant before but with great food, service and atmosphere I'll be wanting to repeat the experience next time I'm off-island.