This is the second part of my New Zealand trilogy and I am going to write about two very different but also really awesome cities.
The first one is called Kaikoura and situated midway between Christchurch and Picton on the east coast of the South Island. In this sense:
Kaikoura offers everything you can imagine: snow-capped mountains in the background and the marvelous Pacific Ocean which is home to very special marine life. It is not only home to 2200 inhabitants but also to gorgeous fur seals, orcas and the main attraction – the dusky dolphins.
The activities for tourists are almost infinite. They can go snorkeling, horse riding or fishing. Moreover it is possible to go kayaking with seals, do a whale watching trip or go swimming with dolphins. As long as I can think I have been fascinated by dolphins and it is my dream to swim or dive with them. When I was in Kaikoura I booked the dolphin snorkeling tour. I was so excited and could hardly wait for day X. When the day arrived we had very bad weather and unfortunately it was not possible to go out with the boat because the waves were too strong.
At first I was so upset and desperate. I thought that my dream will come true but it didn’t. So I had to look for another activity and found the company “Wings over whales”. They offer whale watching in a helicopter, which sounded amazing to me. So I called them, they picked me up and half an hour later in was in the helicopter and saw five awesome sperm whales. Although it was not possible to swim with dolphins I had a great time there, met a lot of nice people and saw incredible things.
The next city on my trip was Christchurch and is very different to Kaikoura. It is also located on the east coast of the South Island and is well-known as garden city. Before I visited Christchurch I read about the famous Hagley Park, the Botanic Garden and Mona Vale on the banks of the river Avon. There are two big and popular floral festivals each year, the Festival of Flowers in February and the Ellerslie International Flower Show in March.
I saw beautiful pictures on the tourist website and was very curious when I arrived in Christchurch in the evening. Because of this I had no chance to see a lot but could hardly wait for the next morning.
When I explored the city on the next day I was shocked. In 2011 Christchurch was hit by a very powerful natural event – an earthquake. In total 185 people were killed, making it the second deadliest disaster in New Zealand. The Canterbury Television Building and the Christchurch Cathedral collapsed.
Although I had read about it in the newspaper and had learned about it at school, I was not prepared for what I saw there.
Luckily I have never experienced it but this is how I imagine war. The Central Business District is still declared as red zone. This means that the streets are still closed and the buildings are destroyed. It is possible to discover the zone by bus or walking.
Although it was shocking and a bit scary I do not want to miss these experiences.
The first one is called Kaikoura and situated midway between Christchurch and Picton on the east coast of the South Island. In this sense:
Kaikoura offers everything you can imagine: snow-capped mountains in the background and the marvelous Pacific Ocean which is home to very special marine life. It is not only home to 2200 inhabitants but also to gorgeous fur seals, orcas and the main attraction – the dusky dolphins.
The activities for tourists are almost infinite. They can go snorkeling, horse riding or fishing. Moreover it is possible to go kayaking with seals, do a whale watching trip or go swimming with dolphins. As long as I can think I have been fascinated by dolphins and it is my dream to swim or dive with them. When I was in Kaikoura I booked the dolphin snorkeling tour. I was so excited and could hardly wait for day X. When the day arrived we had very bad weather and unfortunately it was not possible to go out with the boat because the waves were too strong.
At first I was so upset and desperate. I thought that my dream will come true but it didn’t. So I had to look for another activity and found the company “Wings over whales”. They offer whale watching in a helicopter, which sounded amazing to me. So I called them, they picked me up and half an hour later in was in the helicopter and saw five awesome sperm whales. Although it was not possible to swim with dolphins I had a great time there, met a lot of nice people and saw incredible things.
The next city on my trip was Christchurch and is very different to Kaikoura. It is also located on the east coast of the South Island and is well-known as garden city. Before I visited Christchurch I read about the famous Hagley Park, the Botanic Garden and Mona Vale on the banks of the river Avon. There are two big and popular floral festivals each year, the Festival of Flowers in February and the Ellerslie International Flower Show in March.
I saw beautiful pictures on the tourist website and was very curious when I arrived in Christchurch in the evening. Because of this I had no chance to see a lot but could hardly wait for the next morning.
When I explored the city on the next day I was shocked. In 2011 Christchurch was hit by a very powerful natural event – an earthquake. In total 185 people were killed, making it the second deadliest disaster in New Zealand. The Canterbury Television Building and the Christchurch Cathedral collapsed.
Although I had read about it in the newspaper and had learned about it at school, I was not prepared for what I saw there.
Luckily I have never experienced it but this is how I imagine war. The Central Business District is still declared as red zone. This means that the streets are still closed and the buildings are destroyed. It is possible to discover the zone by bus or walking. Although it was shocking and a bit scary I do not want to miss these experiences.
No comments:
Post a Comment