Good weather again today. Drove to Christchurch where we took a ride up the gondola to the top of Mt. Cavendish. Nice view up there, but it's quite a bit away from the town centre and not outstanding enough to recommend.
Then took a tram ride part way around the city and walked a bit. Went to Quake City, which is a museum dedicated to the Christchurch earthquake.
We should mention that Christchurch is almost entirely under reconstruction from the devastating earthquake of 2010 and the aftershock in 2011. You can't walk a block without construction. And this is 7 years after the fact.
The highway into and out of Kaikoura (our last stop) was entirely wiped out and is still in the process of being rebuilt.
Just as we were walking back to our hotel, we received word that our scheduled scenic train trip tomorrow has been cancelled. And the day after as well. We were all really looking forward to this, but because of the impending cyclone, it has been cancelled. This has left many tourists scrambling to find accommodations (there are none) and rental cars (also none).
We were very fortunate in that Budget (where we had a car reserved at the end of the train trip) called us to let us know that the train was cancelled. We had already turned in our car today in Christchurch, but Budget said they would hold it for us so that we could drive tomorrow instead of taking the train. Above and beyond the call of duty on their part, and very lucky for us. Without that car, we really would have no options. Bravo Budget!
We're being told that the mountain passes will be open tomorrow in spite of the weather, so we have our fingers crossed. Wish us luck.
Until next time. Photos have been added.
No comments:
Post a Comment