Day 34 - Saturday February 17, 2024, Christchurch, New Zealand

Arrival 08:00 All Aboard 17:30 Departure 18:00

Leaving the North Island with its rolling hills we make our way to the South Island where the landscape has changed to more granite features. Here we will visit our last two ports in New Zealand. The North Island has an estimated population of 3,997,300 while the South Island has 1,225,000 inhabitants. As a comparison the population of British Columbia is 5 million inhabitants so New Zealand is a relatively small country but very sophisticated, clean, and friendly.

Today we arrive at the port town of Lyttleton at the northwestern end of Banks Peninsula and the first of the two ports on the South Island. The population of this fishing port is roughly 3K. The distance between the major city of Christchurch and Lyttleton is 11.6 kms.

It was a surprise to see the Oceania Regatta our sister ship also in port having sailed from Sydney and will continue her voyage up through the North Island before returning to Sydney.

We took the shuttle into the city of Christchurch via the Lyttleton road tunnel. The tunnel opened in February 1964 and runs through the Port Hills.

Thirteen years ago, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake hit the region killing 185 people and injuring several thousand. A memorial wall with the names of the dead can be found along the river Avon which runs through the city.

Bev and Glenn are with us as we explore Christchurch. We are looking to see how the repairs on the Anglican Christchurch Cathedral are going. The Cathedral was severally damaged in the earthquake.

A nice feature of the city is the old tram line which is still in operation with trolley cars. It is a good way to see the city and at the time cost $35 NZD although we preferred to walk around.

Several lovely painted murals can be seen on the side of buildings throughout the city.

Returning to the ship terminal we changed to the shuttle for Lyttleton for a quick visit of the town. Just a few shops and restaurants are all that was there.

With everyone back on-board Insignia leaves for Dunedin 195 nautical miles away.