Strange Fascinations in Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Christchurch (Aug 1 - 23)

Apologies for the lack of contemporaneous posts lately, but it’s been a quiet few weeks with us here down under. In the beginning of August we finally moved out of Kieran and Belinda’s, where we’d been housesitting for the better part of July, and moved into Christchurch, the metropolis of the South Island. Over the past six months we’ve been in and out of Chch more times than we care to remember; all roads in the South Island seem to lead back to here. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing as it’s a fine little city.

Christchurch as seen from the Port Hills, notice the Southern Alps in the distance

So for the past few weeks we’ve been working, trying to make a couple bucks before Becky’s mom arrives in mid-September. Linda and her friend Don are set to visit for a few weeks and tour the northern part of the South Island with us. At the moment we’re in the midst of working, planning for their visit, and trying to get our act together to head back north through the country in the spring, housesit in Auckland for a wee while, and then we’re homeward bound!

For work Becky’s been working through a temp agency and landed a job with the Chch Convention Centre, helping to set up, break down, and serve conventions and other groups. I’ve been doing a bit of work for yet another brewery, Three Boys, as they move facilities from a one-man show at a small warehouse space to a larger space across the street. It’s a good excuse to try their beers and to see how all the parts of the brewery come apart and go back together again. Becky is definitely working much more than me in this arrangement, which as you can guess she’s totally thrilled about. On more than a few days my most important job has been as a chauffeur.

Our living situation is pretty good as we’re renting a room in a ranch house in Upper Riccarton, which is a bit west of the city centre. It’s definitely better than living in a hostel and is much cheaper to boot. It’s in a pretty good neighborhood near the university and a bunch of shops, and the house is alright as well, although like most Kiwi houses relies on small space heaters and seems devoid of insulation. Currently the propane heater in the living room is empty, making the room pretty much unusable at night, especially since the couches are leather. Freezing!

Our sweet crib for about six weeks

Our flatmate Phil was looking for temporary flatmates until the middle of September, which was perfect for us. He’s a flight attendant in his mid-30’s and before we moved in was sharing the house with his girlfriend. They had a fight and split a little while back, leaving Phil in the house alone until he moves out in September, necessitating renting the room out to us. They must still be amicable because he let her stay for a week when she had a bad case of the flu, whereupon he caught it and stayed in his room for the entire next week, though we’re not sure if he was more sick or bumming. If nothing else this has been an interesting living experience for us.

Becky poses with one of the few Kiwis you'll see during the daytime

What does one (or two?) do in Chch? Since Becky’s been working full-on we haven’t done much besides visiting the beach a few times, going to the movies, and getting around to all the different areas of the city on various excursions. We've been fortunate to get out on some gorgeous "winter" days here, doing some hikes out at Godley Head and in the hills south of Chch where the famed "Sign of the Kiwi" and "Sign of the Takahe" tearooms are perched. We especially recommend the hike around the Sign of the Kiwi. An invigorating hike with gorgeous views followed by a huge ice cream makes for a good day in New Zealand, we reckon.

View of Lyttelton Harbor from the Crater Rim hike near the Sign of the Kiwi

We went out once to the city’s excellent Belgian Beer Café, where we ordered two surprisingly large beers – it was a tasty but pricey round of drinks at NZ$27. Ouch. We’re currently waiting the combination of a good snow before Becky has off on a weekday so that we can go to the main skiing area, Mt. Hutt, before we leave the area. Hutt’s expensive but it does has chairlifts, qualifying it as deluxe around these parts.

Beers as big as our heads...delicious

Since it’s so close to the sea Chch doesn’t really get that cold of a winter, with temperatures rarely ever going below freezing at night. Though paradoxically, we sometimes miss the Vermont winter where people heat their houses reasonably, and you don’t need to wear a fleece and thermals to sit in the living room. Well, wish us the best in keeping warm over the next month as you enjoy the dog days of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, and if anything interesting happens we’ll try and let you know, later!