Day 2 Christchurch 24.2.26

Up at 4.30am, departed for the airport, via Andrews parking, at 5.15am for our 8.25am flight. Marks bag got checked on the way through security because he had a rubber cover on his battery bank but all was fine. Plane was delayed and we left after 9am.

Gateway bridge in the background. 
Our plane
Catherine sent us this photo of our little Qantas plane in the background about to take off.
Coming in to land at Christchurch  was very spectacular with the mountain range and water ways. 
We caught a shuttle bus to our accommodation. We are staying at the Luxury CBD Retreat,  which is a couple of blocks of new units all rented out as Air BnBs and our is very luxurious. Mark and I have taken the bottom floor which has access to the outdoor area, our own bathroom and a walk in robe. The 2nd floor has a kitchen, lounge room, a balcony and laundry facilities. The 3rd floor Karen and Greg have taken and they also have their own bathroom and walk in robe.
The view from our front windows. 
Our room. 
Irish Bar and the Church pub we had dinner at. Both can be seen from our back windows. 
The Church Pub is a restored Gothic Revival building originally constructed in 1875 as the Trinity Congregational Church. It is considered the oldest stone church in Christchurch. The 2010–2011 earthquakes severely damaged the building, including the collapse of its tower, leading to a major restoration by the Christchurch Heritage Trust and transformed into a live music venue and bar in 2023 by Inkster & company. The venue retains original features like stained glass windows, organ pipes behind the bar, and high timber-panelled ceilings.








The lane our unit is on.
Some art works we found on our wander around. 
It's been a great start to our adventure, filled with lots of laughter. 

Todays temperature got up to 21°, the evening had a little nip in the air but after the heat from Qld we enjoyed it. The sun didn't set until 8.23pm, something else us Queenslanders aren't use to.




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 18. Picton. 12.3.26

Image
8° overnight.  We picked up a hire car today after a short walk into town and back because I forgot the maps. We drove over to the Victoria Domain (see * below). We parked in the middle and walked a steep loop track.  *'Overlooking Picton Harbour and Queen Charlotte Sound, the forested expanse of Victoria Domain offers the opportunity for picnicking, walking and scenic views. A drive along the Ridge Road caters for the less energetic while an extensive walking track and mountain bike network will readily satisfy more adventurous souls.' (Thanks Google) Made to the top of the Ridge. We then drove on to Waikawa Marina where we found a pub and had what we thought was going to be a light lunch but was quite filling. We decided to keep driving along the coast, stopping at a couple of places to explore. The road was long, narrow and winding so feeling a little queasy we headed back to our motel. We opted to take the track down to the beach.       ↕️    ...
Read more

NZ with friends

Image
Our friend/neighbour Karen and I have been 'plotting and scheming ', aka planning for a NZ trip, for quite a few months. The original plan was to do a 6 day Ebike ride across the South Island, but we have extended it to a 25 day holiday.  This will be our 2nd trip to the South Island. Last time we rode the Otago trail. We will be flying in and out of Christchurch, having a few days exploring there before our ride starts in Twizle. After our ride from the Alps to the ocean (A2O) we will travel north to Picton on the coastal train. We will be driving down the west coast and catching the Alpine train back to Christchurch.  We have a fair bit planned and lots of new places to see so come along and follow us on our next adventure.  A rough map of the area we plan to see.  We depart in 4 days and very much looking forward to some cooler weather. NZ is 3 hrs ahead of time to Qld.
Read more

Day 1. Brisbane. 23.2.26

Image
After months of planning we finally departed for Brisbane about 11am and arrived about 3pm. We stopped for fuel in Torbanlea and lunch at the Wildhorse Mountain kebab shop. Greg drove us down and we are staying at the Airway Motel for the night. Tomorrow morning we fly to NZ. Fresh squeezed juice with lunch. We had drinks and a bite to eat with Gregs mate Pete. Hotel was across the road from the Brisbane River. We opted to walk home from dinner.  Early night relaxing in our hotel room watching the planes coming in to land at Brisbane airport. 
Read more