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Traveling from the west coast to the east was very exciting.Arthur's Pass goes over the Southern Alps with many hairpin twists and turns and views that take your breath away.I almost could not believe the beauty and the scenes that appeared one minute after the next.I kept stopping to take photos, hoping to capture what I was seeing but, of course, when I looked at the photos later—all I could think was that was not really what I saw.My camera does not begin to share the depth of the valleys, the richness of the colors, the diversity of the hills—sometimes soft and sometimes imposing.As I rounded the corners of the road, it sometimes looked like someone had taken out a bread knife and cut the mountain to form the path.I thought of the first people to traverse this pass and wondered what their view was, what was going through their minds, how difficult it must have been for them.
When I first set out on the road, we were in rainforest and lush greenery—up and down the road went, my ears were popping, as it continued to climb, ever higher.Then as we reached the top and headed down closer to the east, it felt like I was in a different planet altogether—the trees stopped and the whole area looked like a desert.Obviously, I missed the lesson in school which talks about the topography of New Zealand.My mouth was tired from hanging open so much while looking at so much beauty.
After the long trek over the mountains, we arrived in the city of Christchurch and met up with friends, George and Mary from Findhorn and Mel from Vancouver.
What a treat to see old friends in a totally new environment We spent the next day touring the city, going for a long walk to the Botanical Gardens and today we went to Akaroa, a historic French and British settlement nestled in the heart of an ancient volcano. We explored the village with its colonial architecture, galleries, craft stores, and cafés. We sat by the turquoise lake and had a snack and then headed back to Christchurch.The drive to Akaroa was another breathtaking one, this time the oohs and aahs were shared by 4 of us.
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John of Celtic Dreamtime This brings back memories, and that could be my words too about how you just cannot capture the landscape on camera. Turquoise water, another memory. Cant's wait to go back. I have a group going there October 2011. Of course they want to visit the location sites of Lord Of The Rings. I hope Ivy can help. She showed me some. Wonderful reading, wonderful writing, Loren.
Diane Siriani What an amazing trip ...you are so lucky to be strong and healthy... enjoy every minute!
Lee Fantastic - a trip to be remembered & treasured always & of course in the very best company - personally I don't think it gets any better! We're off much closer to the Canaries for a much needed retreat away from computers totally from tomorrow. My emails will be changing to: [email protected] probably by our return from Easter. Love you all, Lee & Toni (& go Teva go!!)
Judith Goren I just caught up on your whole blog-- what an amazing time you guys are having! Even the rain sounds beautiful. The photos are awesome and Loren, your travel writing is very clear and descriptive-- it all sounds super great. Enjoy the rest of your time there!