Anna may only be 28 years old, but she already has a bucket
list the size of my arm, and among the top items was to swim with dolphins,
which just happens to be one of the attractions offered to innocent tourists
here in Akaroa. So at 6 am in the morning I took her to the peer and wished her
the best of lucks for her 3-hour adventure. She did get to see dolphins, and
was a few feet from them in the water, but they did not circle around her, nor
did she get to tag on the fin of one and swim. Schade! She also saw penguins,
which was kind of cool. In the meantime I took a leisurely shower, had a big
breakfast, and did laundry.
After I picked her up from the wharf we headed back to Christchurch , intent on
spending a few hours visiting the downtown area. It feels like a very British
city, and in the past must have had many stone churches, government buildings,
and schools. Unfortunately these stone buildings fared poorly during the 2010
and 2011 earthquakes, so now there are quite a few empty blocks and sites where
ultramodern steel and glass buildings are being erected.
The museum somehow survived, and I spent a happy hour
wandering through its galleries. It is a small, eclectic museum, which tells
you about the first Maori settlers, dinosaurs, their Egyptian mummy, and old Christchurch in one
breath. There was also a very cool special exhibit on Leonardo Da Vinci, his
paintings, his fantastic machines, and his gruesome but very detailed
anatomical studies.
The rest of the city looks modern and comfortable, and
overall shines with optimism and prosperity, as if decided not to let the
earthquake damage get the better of it.
In a bit of panic for the time lost window shopping, we took
off about 4 pm, headed for the central portion of the island. I had written in
the schedule that we were going to send the night in Lake Pukaki
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