Oamaru/ Christchurch
Oamaru/ Christchurch
Things here are coming to a close for me. In less than a week I'll be flying out of Christchurch. I've been doing my best to put that thought aside and enjoy every moment I've got left though. Driving north from Dunedin, I'll stay a couple nights in the quirky old Victorian town of Oamaru, then drive up to Christchurch for my last few days in NZ.
As my time here comes to a close, I've been taking fewer photos, and recording fewer sounds. Taking it all in with my own eyes and ears more and more for this last little bit. So sorry if this post is a bit sparse.
Oamaru is a cool old town. It's got a distinct victorian look and turn of the century industrial vibe. Because of this I guess it's a big draw to steam punks, and caters to it very well. There's a cool whisky distillery and a little brewery right next to the old harbor. I stayed at yet another awesome hostel right down the street from downtown.
The other big attraction of the town is the thriving blue penguin colony on the edge of the harbor. They're the worlds smallest penguin and draw in quite a crowd every night when they return from the ocean to their nests. A few of us from the hostel decided to go down to have a look that night. You can pay $30 to sit in a viewing area right next to the entrance to the colony, but being the scrappy backpackers we were, we just sat on the edge of the breakwater of the harbor to watch them.
They're ridiculously adorable, and super clumsy on land. Somehow though, the many resting seals on the rocks don't seem interested. We watched them trickle home for about an hour after the sun set, and then resolved to try out the brewery before returning to the hostel. Walking back along the harbor, we noticed that there were actually many more penguins climbing up and crossing the road into the town.
Unfortunately, when people spot them, they crowd around them and take flash photos, stunning the penguins and confusing them. Not wanting to contribute to this, we continued to the brewery. I guess, that the penguins had the same idea, because we met three of them outside the brewery as they climbed under the deck. It's really strange seeing penguins waddle around streets in front of old victorian buildings in the night. I guess that's a uniquely New Zealand experience. Anyways, the beers were good, but we didn't stick around for more than one round as the penguins living under the deck started shouting for us to go home.
I started out the next day hitting the beach with a couple new friends from the hostel. Still fairly cold water, but cold is good when the sun is this intense! I spent the rest of the day wandering around doing some more recording. I think I got a few interesting recordings down at the end of the breakwater where I could record the waves breaking around the side. Also started recording a few more urban noises. Damn... I'm already missing the wilderness.
Drove up to Christchurch the next day. It's the largest city in the south island. The City has endured a few large earthquakes in recent years and as suck many parts are still undergoing repairs, or new buildings entirely are being constructed. Despite the devastation of the quakes, the city really seems to have taken it as an opportunity to rebuild things even better. Gorgeous new, very contemporary, buildings are juxtaposed between remnants of old brick buildings surrounded by stacked shipping containers to protect the streets below. Street art is rampant, and the little bit of the city I got to see felt very youthful.
I haven't seen any live music, other than the occasional busker, the entire time I've been in NZ. So my goal in Christchurch was to see a concert before I go. Thankfully I've got the internet, so my search for music in a city foreign to me shouldn't be very difficult. After something catching my eye on songkick and following the leads around the internet until I landed on a FB event page, I was intrigued by a band kicking off their "secret spots tour" The concept was to perform in beautiful locations around the country each day for a week.
The location would be announced the morning of the show, and beyond that there wasn't really any promotion or guidance other than to respect the location and not bring any drugs or alcohol. The venue for Christchurch was on top of a mountain field overlooking the city, you could pull over on the side of the road near the top and walk down a mountain bike trail to the field. If I hadn't seen a couple people wandering down, I totally would have missed it.
It was a beautiful view, the opener played shortly before sunset, and the group who conceived of the tour played as the sun set to one side. In the middle of their set the supermoon rose red faced from the other side. New Zealanders really know how to have a good time. We all danced into the night as the city lights slowly came to life. If you're interested in checking them out, the band is called "Skymachine". Creatives creating everywhere, I love it.
I've got the next couple of days to wrap up a few things and pack my bags. The past five weeks have felt like both a year and an hour. I'm tired, confused, and excited, but I'm only just getting started...
