This morning the ship used the life boats to tender us to shore.
I took the Christchurch on your own tour. I was a bit disappointed in the late meeting time. Once we got on the bus the driver said we were supposed to have 4 hours of free time in Christchurch, but we wouldn’t get back in time if we did. He wasn’t concerned about getting us back on time, so we got the full 4 hours.
The drive up the tuff cone was very scenic. The port was created in the remnants of a volcano that erupted. Our bus driver did an excellent job telling us about things as we passed them and about farming in NZ.
Once we arrived in Christchurch I took the tram around the center of town. The tram was a nice historic street car.
I walked around the river a little and inside the brand new library. The library had a small outside area on the 4th floor that overlooks the cathedral.
A lot of buildings have been demolished or have steel bracing to keep them stable since the massive earthquake a number of years ago.
I went through the Canterbury museum which had an exhibit on Antarctica.
The last thing I saw before heading back to the bus was the botanical garden which was excellent. I saw some interesting flowers I’ve not seen before.
A couple o photos while walking back to the bus…
Another 90 minutes on the bus and the ship was still there despite us returning nearly 45 minutes late (past last tender). There was still a significant queue for the tenders.
I had an early dinner. I had escargot, french onion soup, crispy duck and creme brulee.
And a towel animal left by the room attendant.
