I took an UNBELIEVABLE amount of photos over the two days we went "inland"--getting off Crystal Serenity in Christchurch and returning in Dunedin. As usual, the cohorts in crime in our merry band were the cousins, CruiseGran and me..plus about 20 others. We had an amazing bus driver and tour guide, Dave, and were accompanied along for the jaunt by Crystal's shore excursion leader, my friend Linda.
Well, we docked at Lyttleton, the harbor for Christchurch.
Little did we know that five days later, Lyttleton would be the epicenter of a massive, and more importantly, SHALLOW earthquake that would destroy much of the area.
Most of the traffic to Christchurch uses the tunnel, but we took the scenic route,
stopping in the pass over the mountains at The Sign of the Takahe for some photos.
Driving into Christchurch, we saw evidence of the previous autumn's earthquake.
Our first stop was the Firefighter's Reserve Memorial to 9/11/2001.
So many photos, and so moving. I'll make a separate post of them.
Moving on, we proceeded to the City Center.....often referred to (as you undoubtedly know by now from earthquake coverage), as the CBD- Central Business District.
There was a charming display of topiary animals in front of the Cathedral.
A beautiful end-of-summer day.
Next stop, Arts Centre, Canterbury Museum and Hagley Park.
Dave pointed out to us the work still being done on the Arts Centre. The tower had toppled in the autumn earthquake, but had been saved and was being rebuilt.
The gardens were lovely.
Mama posed.
as did Cousin Andi.
Miss Suzy Mallard didn't mind posing.
and I thought of my dear friend, Cecilia, aka Seagull.
On the drive out of town, I saw a shop
And we were still in the MORNING!!! It was off toward the Southern Alps, with lunch along the way.
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