we are on the road by 9:00AM….it is another beautiful day and we will take a side trip to Castle Hill then head into Christchurch…..Castle Hill is incredible - I know what you are thinking, “who would have thought!” - and we spend some time crawling around the boulders…..there were a couple of LOTR scenes shot here and the anthropomorphic experience is uncanny…I would even guess that Peter Jackson may have designed some of his characters looks from these rocks….after excessive mystical enchantment we wander into Christchurch at mid afternoon…..we settle in then walk down into the city through Hagley Park…..the park is amazing and features every tree imaginable, some of them over 150 years old…..the city itself is still in bad condition from 2 major earthquakes in the last 3 years…..the cathedral is basically a pile of stone and a lot of other buildings - low rises and high rises - are still fenced off and untouched…..it is like a scene in a movie after a bombing….the cost to rebuild is considerable and there are issues with everything from earthquake proofing to possible risk of another quake in this area…..it’s not hard to see how beautiful this city must have been before this devastation…..we are all a little bummed out by the walk…..
the countryside approaching Castle Hill is beautiful......
below one of the sets of formations lies a cattle grazing area owned by the farm that also owns the property that Castle Hill lies on......
we head up the trails into the central area of the hill.....the feeling of being watched begins at this point....
3 little maids fear nothing and prepare for a fun hike.......
a boulder sentinel watches as the 3 little maids read the information post....
Linda demonstrates some of her P90 moves........
Cathy and Carter wave from a smooth boulder perch.......
one of the many strange results....there is a small rock suspended in this gap - someone may have put it there....
time has smoothed these rocks and left smooth holes and connections between them.....
I think that this is where Frodo was stabbed by the Witch King.......
the ladies wander through the smoothed out passages between the boulders.....
peak a view!
life imitating rocks......
Castle Hill looking out at the valley......
taking a break on a smooth rock........
3 little maids with a couple of boulder people looking over their shoulder......
another P90 demo.........
no hobbits around here, just that creep over there in the Canadian baseball hat........
I said Rocky.....not Arnold!!
one of the many incredible trees in Hagley Park....
looking up the tree along the trunk.......
the rose garden at Hagley Park......
corkscrew branch!!
Linda is swallowed by a tree......
this fountain is being backlit behind by the sun......amazing!!
businesses are operating out of containers until actual buildings become available......
the old cathedral in Cathedral Square......not much left of it.....
all that is left of this building is a flooded area where the ducks swim.......
Regent Street....once the downtown action centre.......(Friday night and it is very, very quiet)......
this is a dance area....dance music is being played in an effort to encourage Christchurch residents to gather and express happiness....
these sculptures near the dance floor represent growth and vitality.....
Cathedral square from another angle....you can see the extent that the old church has been damaged.....
another sad sample of the great old architecture that has been severely damaged.....this is the Christchurch University
the old stones eaves have been cracked by the earthquakes and are falling down......(hard hats required)....
the grand daddy of all Eucalyptus trees......look at the trunk......
grass tennis courts - about 30 of them - fenced off, unrepaired and unused........
the countryside approaching Castle Hill is beautiful......
3 little maids fear nothing and prepare for a fun hike.......
Linda demonstrates some of her P90 moves........
time has smoothed these rocks and left smooth holes and connections between them.....
I think that this is where Frodo was stabbed by the Witch King.......
the ladies wander through the smoothed out passages between the boulders.....
life imitating rocks......
Castle Hill looking out at the valley......
taking a break on a smooth rock........
another P90 demo.........
I said Rocky.....not Arnold!!
one of the many incredible trees in Hagley Park....
looking up the tree along the trunk.......
the rose garden at Hagley Park......
corkscrew branch!!
Linda is swallowed by a tree......
the old cathedral in Cathedral Square......not much left of it.....
all that is left of this building is a flooded area where the ducks swim.......
Regent Street....once the downtown action centre.......(Friday night and it is very, very quiet)......
this is a dance area....dance music is being played in an effort to encourage Christchurch residents to gather and express happiness....
these sculptures near the dance floor represent growth and vitality.....
Cathedral square from another angle....you can see the extent that the old church has been damaged.....
another sad sample of the great old architecture that has been severely damaged.....this is the Christchurch University
the old stones eaves have been cracked by the earthquakes and are falling down......(hard hats required)....
the grand daddy of all Eucalyptus trees......look at the trunk......
grass tennis courts - about 30 of them - fenced off, unrepaired and unused........
No comments:
Post a Comment