We found out that the International Buskers Festival was on for a week in Christchurch and knew we'd have to get along to see some of the acts. We got Victoria Park where some of the acts were being held on a scorching hot Saturday afternoon. The first we saw was an impressive tumbling/comedy duo from Australia who performed for about 45 minutes. We were so impressed that we put $10 in their hat when they'd finished. Other performances we saw included a YoYo act which was really great (Paul could compete with him, but he didn't want to show him up…), and a big costumed acrobatic performance from another Aussie group. Their set was a big scaffolding arch over a stage made up to look like a boat and included lots of climbing, trapeeze, and general daredevil acts.
After we'd seen enough at Victoria Park we wandered down to Cathedral Square where some more acts were scheduled. The "Russian Bar" was truly breathtaking, two guys and a girl from Canada, with the guys supporting the ends of what was basically a bendy plank of wood on their shoulders and the girl bouncing and doing somersaults on it, with perfect wobble free landings. Very cool. The last act we saw was another Aussie guy who did climbing and balancing on top of a three metre pole. By this time we'd run out of cash so he didn't get anything from us but before we left Paul went up to him anyhow to explain that we were out of money but had enjoyed his show. He seemed to appreciate that and shook Paul's hand but of course we don't know what he said about us once we were out of ear shot!