We took an extra day off last weekend and went to Christchurch for a few days. We flew down on Friday morning, getting there just in time for lunch. Air points covered the air fares, which helped a lot.Our main reason for going just then was to see the William Morris exhibition. It was worth seeing; pictures don’t really do the pieces justice. Afterwards we treated ourselves to two books from the Gallery’s bookshop: one about Morris and Arts and Crafts design, and one of Morris-inspired needlepoint. The latter contains the design for the peacocks that I stitched some time ago. Back then I used a library book, borrowed many times; it’s good to have a copy at last!
It was quite chilly in Christchurch, and somewhat drizzly, but we largely ignored the weather. We stayed here, and it turned out to be a good choice in spite of its pinkness (the décor inside is quite subdued). They have a great position, close to the park and museums, and on a fairly quiet road. The only problem was late-night “street theatre”, with people shouting at each other well into the early hours. Ah well. We could sleep in.
On Saturday we decided to do thoroughly touristy things. In the morning we went to Ferrymead. Regular readers will know how much I love this sort of thing, with my interest in New Zealand history, and Ferrymead does it particularly well. I specially enjoyed the tram ride, and wandering around the barn where they are restoring more. Our driver could see we were specially interested, so he took us into another shed that’s not generally open to the public, to see even more kinds of tram.
From there we went to Orana Wildlife Park. This was fun, too. The animals seemed well-cared for and in good enclosures. We got closer than expected to the lions, as we did a Lion Encounter.
We got back with enough time for a quick visit to the museum, and were still there at closing time.
We dined extremely well, at the Curator’s House, on superb venison. Just right for the cold weather.
On Sunday morning we paid a return visit to the museum, as we’d been (politely) evicted before I’d finished studying the gowns in the costume gallery. In fact I’d been in front of an exact double of Lizzie’s wedding dress (except that hers was pink and this was grey)! So we had a more lingering inspection of the costumes.
Then we walked around the gardens, admiring the autumn colour, till it was time to meet friends for lunch. At their suggestion, we went to Riccarton Bush. What a fascinating place to find in the middle of a city! And what a poignant story of the family who made their home there.
But we had a wonderful lunch. Some of my readers “know” the friends we met: NZ Strider and Roheryn, and their two delightful little boys. One’s just over two, and the other is seven months old. I was very touched when, as we were lingering after lunch, the two-year-old clambered uninvited on to my lap for a cuddle.
We parted from them, walked around a little more, then grabbed some Thai takeaways and headed to FutureCat’s. Due to a squishy packet’s being put in the bottom of the bag, some of the (rather hot) contents ended up on my lap when the paper bag burst its seams. But there was still plenty to share, and it was lovely to see FutureCat and Mr Ploppy again. It would have been good to have had longer with them, but we had to rush to the airport – and then our plane was delayed. But only about half an hour.
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