Saturday 28th January 2023
We timed our visit to Christchurch just right as we’re here during Bread & Circus, a big buskers festival. The first act we saw was Paul Klass, a juggler who likes to juggle sharp knives and fire. Pete got his five minutes of fame, as he was called on stage to assist. He did a brilliant job and the crowd clearly loved him – although there was one slightly hairy moment when he had to throw the knives to Paul (who was balanced on top of a couple of boxes at the time!)…. apparently it’s not as easy to throw a knife handle first as it may seem, and the blade was headed dangerously close to Paul’s crotch! Luckily he’s a skilled juggler so could deftly catch the knife whatever the angle.
We then had a wander around Christchurch, which is a very picturesque place. It’s got a lovely river through it, and a cute little tram (although we didn’t bother riding the team).
There was also a surprisingly large amount of construction going on, including in Cathedral Square (so unfortunately we couldn’t properly see it).
We wanted to visit the Canterbury Museum, but it was unfortunately closed for refurbishment. Instead there was a temporary art exhibition which you had to pay to see. Pete was keen to see the next Bread & Circus act, so we didn’t think it was worth paying when we’d end up rushing through the exhibit.
One the way back, we passed a little ice cream cart, which had Pete’s beloved banana flavour. So we shared a scoop, along with a scoop of peanut choc chip. The ice cream was excellent, the banana was one of the best we’ve had.
At this point we split up, as Pete wanted to see the sword swallower and I was keen to look around the Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū. The art gallery is free to enter and spread across two floors. It’s got a good range of contemporary art, some of which I really liked and some of which I didn’t quite get the point of. It was still a very pleasant way to pass some time.
I then joined Pete back at Bread & Circus and we watched a magic show. This time he escaped any audience participation!
After the magic act, we walked to nearby Riverside Market. We came across Mischief Wine Cellardoor and Wine Bar, and had a free wine tasting. We enjoyed the Pinot Gris, but not quite enough to buy a bottle.
We then had lunch. As it’s a food market we shared a steak, egg, and chips at Riverside Butchery and then bought some momos from Kathmandu MO:MO House. The momos were very average, but we really enjoyed the steak. We also bought some sausages from Riverside Butchery to take home for our supper tonight.
We then walked back to our hotel to pick up our car, and then make the 3 hour drive to Oamaru. We stopped off at a supermarket on the way to buy some more ingredients for dinner tonight.
We stayed at Fantail Cottage in Oamaru, which (as it’s name suggests) is a lovely little cottage. It’s got a kitchen area and sofa, as well as separate bedroom and bathroom. So we were able to cook some sausages and mash for dinner.
We ate early then went to Oamaru Lookout Point for beautiful views over the town below. We could also see all the Shags congregating on the pier, which was quite impressive to see (even if they were in the distance).
We next went to Bushy Beach Scenic Reserve to try and spot the Yellow eyed penguin colony. We didn’t see any, but there were loads of seals sunning themselves on the beach which was quite cool to see.
Finally, we went to Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony to try and spot some blue penguins. You can pay to get a ticket to access a viewing area, but the tickets were very expensive so although we debated whether to buy them, in the end we decided against it. We were lucky to see a couple of penguins, although I felt a bit sorry for them as they had to cross the road to get to their nesting areas and they didn’t look particularly confident.
We also saw a shag up close on our way out.
By the time we got back to the cottage it was late, so we had a quick episode of Stranger Things on Netflix before bed.
Emma and Pete’s Asian Adventure 