A leisurely start to the morning. Did some more laundry, this time my lights 😂. Rock’n’roll lifestyle. It was raining when I woke up, a change from the forecast. My first stop the gondola for the views, I had booked this, so had no other option. The views were great…50 shades of grey, that is all I could see from the top. Although to be fair once out of the cloud the views weren’t too shabby. Whilst up at the top there was a little discovery tour, so I suppose I gained more of an insight of Christchurch itself.
Once back down from the fantastic viewing experience I hopped on the bus back into Christchurch and ready for the tram ride. The driver was very adamant that I should sit inside, I was adamant that if I was going to take photos and truly absorb the experience I would sit outside. This was a 50 minute journey around the centre. It was remarkable to hear about the earthquake that hit in 2010 then 2011, there was vast devastation and the majority of the city was left in ruins, the cathedral which was once a focal point of the city still stands un repaired, sadly due to lack of finances scheduled works have been postponed.
The street art is massive over here, ranked as a global street art capital, Christchurch’s vibrant and growing arts scene comes alive on the streets city walls.
Once I had been on my tram tour I decided to do a bit of tourist shopping, you’ve got to remember your adventures somehow, so a few magnets and a hoody later I was ready for some fodder. Well what did I encounter pre food, a little wine tasting in the market for 10 dollars. I couldn’t say no, it was raining and I’m in New Zealand, notorious for its wine. The Sauvignon blanc and Pinot noir were my faves.
By this point I decided to be sensible and instead of doing a gin tasting I thought it wise to get some lunch, so opted for a keto burger all the protein gains ✅ – not going to lie I’m starting to get a bit anxious about not doing any exercise – ok you could argue I’ve been walking around a lot more than normal, but those biceps aren’t gonna stay like popeye for longer without a bit of action. Role on Melbs – I know Dom has got some weights to keep me on point.
Whilst having lunch I had a revelation. I was going to get a tattoo to go with the one I got in memory of granny. Seeing as the trip is very much associated with my queen I decided it would be appropriate to get a permanent reminder of my visit, so off I trotted. By chance there was a tattoo parlour below where I was staying and it had good reviews from Faith and her friend Jamie. 45 minutes later and I walked out with a New Zealand fern above my little stars and heart for the queen 😍😍😍. Not going to lie I for a bit emotional but c’est la vie.
The plan for the evening was to meet up with Faith and drive up to some viewing points, but as you can imagine the views didn’t happen as the place was covered in low cloud. Weather 1 – Charlotte 0 although it was good just to catch up and drive around. Whilst on the drive we had a minor scare, my phone and watch both started screeching, I initially thought I had knocked my watch and it had triggered an alert, alas it was my phone giving me an emergency alert with a tsunami warning, 30 seconds later Faiths phone started screeching at her! Crazy really.
The evening finished off with a chicken souvlaki and a glass of red, a massive shout out to Faith for showing me around and for the lovely time at the hot baths and for dinner. It was soooo good to catch up and also seeing Aimée on video call too! It’s been so long!
It’s an early departure tomorrow for my final location of this part of my adventure – Queenstown.
Flying Solo 