Day 18: Dull day in Lyttelton

Took the 9:50 ferry across to Diamond Harbour on the other side of the bay. This is a refuge for people who find Lyttleton too urban and confronting. It runs along the base of a chain of hills, and there is one cafe/bar/post office, a medical centre and a library for a hundred or so houses. One major walk runs up the hills at the back to Mt Herbert, but there are others running along the coast. Some seem to have been privately made and maintained, and are indicated with little hand-lettered signs carved into wooden boards. I wandered around these for a while, had a coffee, and then took the Cliff Walk towards Purau, which is a refuge for people who can't handle the pace in Diamond Harbour. Despite the name it was a fairly safe and easy walk, with grand views out over the bay, including Ripapa Island off Purau which was used as a fortress by both Maoris and European settlers, and is now a Historic Reserve.

Got most of the way to Purau and then came back by road, which was much quicker. Caught the one o'clock ferry back and had a Mac's Malt beer and a humongous salmon pizza at the Lyttelton Arms. Pizza excellent, beer fairly ordinary.

Strolled around the eastern part of Lyttelton and had a look at the time ball tower, which was rebuilt after the 2011 earthquake and apparently still drops a symbolic ball at one o'clock to signal the time to ships in the bay. I haven't been looking at the right moment, but I will endeavour to do so before I move on.

Home again to rest up and have dinner, watch a DVD and head to bed. Rain predicted tomorrow, so I might bus into Christchurch and look for indoors activities.


--
Jon Jermey
Indexer and database consultant
042 535 0422
webindexing.com.au

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tolldown to Bath via the American Museum: 25/4/23

 Tolldown's full English breakfast at the Crown was less generous than most other places, with only one small slice of toast and a single egg, but it was adequate, and I set out for the drive towards Bath in bright sunshine and a good mood -- which abated as I wrestled with the traffic. I had decided to come in obliquely via the large recreation areas to the south-east of Bath, but even getting there involved lots of narrow roads, up and down hills, one-way traffic lights for roadworks, and crossing the centre line to get around parked cars. On the way I drove through Bathhampton, which is where Arthur Phillip came from, and is buried, though I didn't know it at the time. This is also where they have a genuine private toll bridge, with two collectors holding out a bag and getting GBP1 from every car that comes through. At about 9:30 I reached my first destination, the American Museum, set up on the outskirts of Bath by yet another couple of rich gay Americans. This claims to be...
Read more

Day 5: Dunedin

Started the day with a walk down from the ridge of the Otago Peninsula. All the walks here either go straight up a mountain or straight down to the sea, so I went down as far as I could in the time available and then toiled back up again. Nice views over the sea and green farmlands, including some geese waddling uphill in a long line to be fed. In Dunedin I booked the coastal rail trip for 11.10 and then just strolled around a bit. They have closed off the famous Octagon to traffic, and the retailers aren't happy about it. Even with bunting and a stage it doesn't look particularly glamorous; I can't see it becoming a tourist mecca, even wth the visiting cruise liners. Caught the train along the coast and got to see the other side of the bay. Again, very spectacular views, with the same train captain giving his travelogue; but a much shorter trip which doesn't actually end anywhere important; just stops and turns around. Back in Dunedin I had fish and chips for lunch and...
Read more

Day 14: Te Anau to Alexandra

Quite a long drive, with a choice of routes. I chose to avoid the long windy mountain route with sections called things like 'The Devil's Staircase' and took the slightly longer (+15 mins) alternative back through Gore. The splendid weather continues, with bright sunshine all day and sunburn a real hazard. By the evening the temperature had risen to 29, and then the breeze kicked in. I stopped once for coffee in the morning, then continued on to Gore, where I had a pork burrito for lunch. Everything was open this time but I was still unable to find a place where I could get just, say, a Caesar salad. But the burrito was nice, and I ate it beside the river which was bursting its banks just a couple of days ago. Turned north at Gore and followed the Clutha River through the middle of the island. There was a bit of up-and-down but not too much, and some nice towns along the way. I stopped at Roxburgh for a stroll around, anf again at Alexandra itself, which has its o...
Read more