Wellington to Christchurch — 6 February 2001

We started the day with a light breakfast (for a change!) at the Tinakori Lodge and went off to the harbor to catch the Interisland Ferry. The ferry offered wonderful views despite cloudy and rainy weather. By the time we hit the strait, the weather had changed, and Picton was sunny and beautiful. We disembarked and took a ridiculously short bus ride (measurable in feet, perhaps inches) to the train terminal. Had we known, we would have walked! While waiting for the train we chatted with an American couple who had seen us on both the train from Auckland to Wellington AND at Te Papa. It is a small country.

The train ride down to Christchurch had spectacular views. It rained a little, but the views were no less stunning. Perhaps a third of the trip featured the Pacific Ocean on one side of the train and snow-capped mountains on the other side, along with (who knew?) lots of sheep and cows. Other animals spotted included bunnies, alpaca, deer, goats, seals (frisking on the rocks in the ocean), rooks and lots and lots of gulls. Arriving in Christchurch, we took a quick cab ride (not quite as quick as in Wellington, but still quick) to the Orari Bed & Breakfast (our room is pictured on the website), one block from the local botanical gardens (yes) and the Arts Center! (The Arts Center is located on the old campus of Canterbury University, styled after Cambridge and looking very English.) We dropped our bags and headed out to dinner at the Arts Center. We tried to eat at Annie's, but they were booked up for the evening. We made reservations for the next evening and opted to dine at Dux de Lux (also in the Arts Center). We sampled the house lager — very good — then went for a brief night-time stroll, getting a quick look at this very pretty city before heading back to our very cozy room.