We awoke to a cold, rainy day and headed to Christchurch, a little piece of England in New Zealand, still recovering from a devastating earthquake on Valentines Day of this year. It hadn't fully recovered from the 2011 earthquakes. 
Of course, along the way we had several stops. First was at Lake Tekapo where we saw again the beautiful blue waters of the hydroelectric power holding lakes. This colour so from the glaciers grinding the rocks into Rick powder which ends up in e bottom of the lakes and gives the colour. We also saw the cute Church of the Good Sheppard, with an an amazing view of the lake. It was built in 1935 in memory of the pioneers of the Mackenzie County by the Duke of Gloucester. There is also a statue of a collie dog. These dogs where integral to the grazing of the land as they herded the sheep. Without them it would have been impossible to sheep farm here. We saw some bunnies as well. There's not a lot of wildlife here in NZ besides birds, sheep and cattle so seeing anything different is a bit of a thrill. We had a whare paku (pronounced fuddy pakew), also known as toilet, break here as well. 
Our next stop was in the town of Geraldine, which serves a small farming community. It's Saturday and they had their market happening. Trish is an avid knitter, like my Mom was, and she hit it off with a lady who spins her own wool including possum wool. The lady doesn't sell online but told Trish that she would sell to her and gave her her email address. There were some dogs all dressed up for the occasion as well. And check out the old red car. It is a replica of a fire truck they used back in the day. It's an old Morris. 
We continued on our way to Christchurch through the Canterbury Plains. The land is very flat with no mountains in sight. Now this is different than what we're used to! They grow mainly barley & wheat in this area with some sheep and cattle farming thrown in for good measure. :) This is what I picture the Canadian prairies to look like. 
Another toilet break in Rakaia which is on the southern bank of the Rakaia River and claims to be "the salmon capital of New Zealand". A large fibreglass fish in the middle of the township celebrates the excellent salmon and trout fishing to be had at various spots along the river. I can't believe we are in the same country with all the breathtaking scenery. It's downright boring in this area - at least the parts we saw. 
We travelled over the longest 2 lane bridge in NZ to get into Christchurch. Christchurch is Canterbury's provincial capital and had its beginnings in 1850. There are many notable buildings and monuments that recall its colonial heritage, as well as many parks and gardens. It is often thought of as a conservative city due to its origins a Church of England settlement modelled on 19th century English society. During the 20th century it has become increasingly industrialized and today is a centre for IT. 
We got settled in our hotel and went exploring the city before dinner. It's really quite depressing here with the rubble and damage to buildings everywhere you look. It's a "back to reality" moment for sure. I'm sorry were ending the trip here as it really does bring you down. 

The Cathedral has extensive damage but you can see that it was a magnificent building. It was built between 1864 & 1904. Even though it is severely damaged it is the city's most important landmark. It is likely that a new church will be built on its site one day. 
 
The restart mall has been "built" at the site of the former Oxford Terrace which was destroyed in the earthquakes. These are brightly coloured shipping containers housing quality retailers, food outlets and entertainment venues. 

The Christchurch tram is a fleet of restored vintage trams which take passengers on a scenic route past many significant city sights. We plan on riding it tomorrow. 
 
Then we had our final group dinner and said our goodbyes. It's always hard to finish a tour as you make so many friends that you likely will not see again. Despite the non-dancing behaviour of this group, we did bond with several people on this tour and I hope we get to meet again.