Stop and go

We took our time driving today, stopping several times along the way. It made for a long, but enjoyable, day!


Scuba diving on Sunday really zapped us of energy. We went to bed last night at 10 and were still tired when we got up at 8 this morning. Since Christchurch shuts down early, we pushed off a few things that we wanted to do until today, so we didn't want to sleep in too much. Our first stop was the library so that I could use wifi to post. Our hotel was supposed to have wifi, but it didn't work very well. The hotels here have not quite met our expectations.


We spent most of the morning exploring the Canterbury Museum and Christchurch Botanical Gardens. The museum was fabulous (and free!), with exhibits about Antarctica, the Maori people, early English settlers, the history of Christchurch, and information about the recent Earthquakes. It was staggering to realize the amount of damage that was done in Christchurch. We spoke with one woman who lives in Christchurch. She told us that Christchuch has experienced tens of thousands of earthquakes in recordable history. In February, 2011, the earthquake was not as powerful as some of the others they have experienced, but it moved the earth up and down, back and forth continually, which is what destroyed the foundations of many buildings and homes. Over a hundred lives were lost. It was inspiring to see the way that the people from here and around the world came together to support the victims' families, as well as help rebuild and get people through the terrible devastation. This was our favorite part of the museum because of the history embodied in some of the remains and the story of destruction and unity that it told. One sad outcome of the earthquake is an Anglican Cathedral that was destroyed. It was very beautiful and well-known in the area, as it was well over 100 years old. It's destruction was quite severe and the city had decided to completely demolish it, as it would cost at least $20 million to repair. The people are very fond of this cathedral and there were many pleas to save it, but it will not be saved. Quite a sad story!

This is the steeple from the cathedral that was destroyed. It is on display in the Canterbury museum. 

It was also interesting to see some of the equipment used in Antarctica. We learned that only male whales make noise and that they repeat their noises in song-like patterns that can last for hours at a time. They only "sing" when migrating or mating...look out ladies!

We spent some time walking through the gardens, which were intricately designed. The fountain was quite beautiful itself!

After walking through the Botanical Gardens, we headed off to the only outlet mall on the South Island. Of course I wanted to at least take a peek. :) I saw that there were some stores I recognized, which was exciting! When we walked inside, I quickly realized that outlet prices are normal US prices. I should have guessed as much - yesterday, when we went to the Re:START mall in Christchurch, I found a pair of Grant's pants for nearly double the price we paid in the US. The cost of living is just ridiculous here! Needless to say, we didn't spent too much time and walked out empty handed.


Our drive was about four hours long today, but we ended up stopping in Geraldine and Fairlie to check up on the KU game. We researched libraries along our route from Christchurch to Twizel for the sole purpose of finding free wifi. It worked out pretty well - we caught the last several minutes of the first half, drove during half time and the first part of the second half, and watched the last several minutes of the second half. We watched KU close in on Kentucky, which was exciting. Sad ending to the season, but Grant said he's just happy to see them make it all the way in the tournament. It was kind of funny to watch the game in libraries, because you have to be really quiet. No yelling or screaming when exciting things happen or bad calls are made. :)


The only other stop we made was at Lake Tekapo, where we visited the Church of the Good Sheperd. It is a famous lookout point, mainly because the church was built right on a beautiful lake. There is a large window behind the pulpit with a stunning view of the lake - what a spectular location for a church!

Posing in front of Lake Tekapo. We are wearing our KU shirts, of course, in support of the game!

The view of the lake from inside the church. I'm sure we could have spent the whole afternoon there, but there were a lot of visitors in the little church, so it quickly became crowded.

Tonight, we are staying in a chalet near Mount Cook. We could see Mount Cook in the distance as we were driving this afternoon, and it is majestic! We will be up there for a tour tomorrow afternoon, so hopefully we will get some great photos!

Love, the George family