Ding, ding, ding went the trolley, clang, clang, clang went the bell....

As we rode on the Christchurch trams! Today was a semi-lazy day exploring Christchurch. As we’ve said previously, it wasn’t really on our original itinerary, but having dropped into the city a couple of times while we were doing the train trips, it became obvious that we were going to have to spend more time here. Most big cities have a common aspect which means that having seen one in detail it is unlikely that the next will be that much different. Well, we were wrong, and we can’t agree with one comment we saw “if it wasn’t for the hills behind Christchurch it would be very boring”.
Yes, there is a Starbucks and a McDonalds ...but the character is similar to Cambridge in England, with about half the people. It is no longer a university city in the same way as Durham or Oxford but it is a fun city with such a lot to see. The university is out of the main centre these days, and so some of the less sociable issues surrounding studentville are absent. Many of the original buildings have been retained and put to new use appropriate to their architecture. An arts and craft complex uses the original University of Canterbury and Christchurch Girls and Boys High School in 1874. The current usage doesn’t seem incongruous in any way.
Christ’s College is the city’s most elite private school and the first to be built in New Zealand. This is next to the museum. It was established on the same lines as Eton and Harrow. We sat by the river in the centre of the city and had a picnic lunch and watched punts leisurely passing by. Then went to the Botanic Gardens next door and feasted our eyes on the fabulous rose garden and begonias in the conservatories. Surprisingly the roses were still in full bloom, compared with those in Dunedin further south.
We mentioned previously that we hoped to meet up with Andrew, whom we had met on Brownsea Island last August. Well, we got a call that he had taken the afternoon of work, and met up with him at a microbrewery called Dux de Lux which was obviously the place to be on a warm Friday afternoon. After a couple of beers we went for Tea and caught up on his and our travels, and present day Scouting in NZ. Andrew is part of the NZ Scouts National Executive and also a Venturer Leader among other activities, and so we had a lot to talk about, as all Scouters do when they get together!!
Oh yes, the trams. These were withdrawn from service in 1954, as were the trams in London, as being old fashioned and out dated. They were re-introduced in 1995 as a tourist attraction and they are currently extending the present loop to add new destinations as we write. The trams are “previously used” and not new as those in Sheffield and Croydon, but like those in San Francisco. The one we rode on was from Melbourne and I’m not sure whether the rest are also from the same stable, but they were all decorated with flowers as Christchurch version of the Chelsea Flower Show has just taken place in Hagley Park. We did also see one tram with a bicycle and a buggy on the front! I hope they were being carried legitimately, and not as a result of some bizarre accident!
Oh No! Margery has seen an arctophilists heaven. Bears on the walls, bears up the stairs, even bears trying to make a break for it out of an upstairs window! I can bearly believe it. Philias wanted a girl friend and he has chosen an Aussie named Wattlie. Poor Tanner looks like his nose has really been put out of joint! I hope there are no fights as bear fist fighting is not a pretty sight!
OK, OK, no more bear jokes!