Along the peninsula to Christchurch

Another morning, another early drive. We made a stop at Kaikoura Peninsula, and begin hiking up the area.


The sky was overcast, which made for a more subdued atmosphere.




I usually get separated from the group when I go hiking. I either get ahead of everyone because I want to see the sights, or I lag behind because I am admiring them. For the majority of the way up the peninsula, I was way ahead of everyone, and it was peaceful walking along a nearly isolated path.





I was walking alone, with mono. plugged into my ears. As I came across the top of this hill, there was a sudden moment of stillness. The cliffs in the distance, the green of the grass, the cows grazing in the field, it was such a calm and peaceful scene that I ended up standing there, taking in the moment for a long time. It seems that as I grow older, these moments are fewer and further in between, and I walked away with goosebumps on my arms.




The entire walk around the peninsula could take up to 3 hours, but we got up to Whaler's Bay viewpoint before turning back.





We continued the drive until we found ourselves in Christchurch. We walked through a bit of the botanical gardens to Canterbury Museum, where we had a precious hour to spend. I zipped through the museum, and ended up snapping only a handful of photos.



Grocery shopping yielded some local treats, and we began to barbecue on the outdoor stove and grill. The view from our back door, overlooking Christchurch.






Hokey Pokey is a vanilla ice cream with bits of honeycomb toffee. Sweetly delicious, it was much tastier than the above picture where it was too frozen and hard to scoop out.