Canterbury

Catharina and I arrived in Christchurch at midnight for our three week tour of the South Island of New Zealand. We were too excited to sleep much and were up early next morning.

Wandering around the streets of central Christchurch the first thing we noticed was the lack of people. The streets seemed strangely deserted for 9.30 am on a week day and most shops were still closed. The second thing we noticed was the large number of historical buildings that had been preserved, either in their entirety or as a facade.

Driving out to the port town of Lyttelton, we emerged from the tunnel to be greeted by an unexpected sight - a medieval castle perched on a hill on the far side of town. It was actually the Timeball Station, which was used from 1876-1934 to allow ships in port to accurately set their chronometers.

Out on the harbour, we cruised past ancient gun emplacements and a lighthouse built half way up a cliff. We were fortunate enough to find a pod of Hectors Dolphins feeding in the wake of a fishing trawler, taking no notice of us at all. These dolphins are quite rare and are the smallest of all dolphin species.

The majority of the South Island has been formed by glaciers, but the Banks Peninsula was formed by volcanoes. Lyttelton Harbour was one of the outlets from the crater and is lined on both sides with.rugged lava cliffs. The different coloured rocks of the cliffs were formed by different eruptions of this ancient volcano.

Next day we left Christchurch on our clockwise tour of the South Island. Driving across the Canterbury Plains, we couldn't get over the contrast between the completely flat plains and the rugged mountains to the west. There were numerous rivers - rivers of stone with water trickling between them. The water was the most amazing colour I'd ever seen - azure blue and crystal clear. Also surprising was how dry the countryside was. We found out later that the South Island was in the middle of the worst drought on record.

Leaving the highway, we travelled west into the foothills. The countryside, although still obviously dry, was greener. The further west we went, the bigger the hills, until we crossed Burke Pass and entered a vast highland basin - McKenzie Country. There was not a tree in sight. On the far side of this basin were the mountains of the Southern Alps.

In the middle of this basin was Lake Tekakpo, with its incredibly blue water. Nestled amongst the low hills which form the lake was the village of Lake Tekapo. The Church of the Good Shepherd, on the lake shore, would have to be one of the most photographed churches in New Zealand.