New Zealand Day 2 & 3

We made it, leaving both Portland and San Francisco in pouring rain and arriving in Auckland after a 13.5 hour flight.  We then flew on to sunny Christchurch, on an earlier flight than what we originally booked.  The flight to Auckland was on a Boeing 787 and the 27 people in Business Class had fold-down seats that converted into comfortable beds.  The flight attendants had to change each seat into a bed with separate mattress pads -- the first time we have seen this set up.  It is something that the attendants say they have been doing for 20 years.  They expect to get new planes in a year or two with a more standard arrangement.  The Air New Zealand Business class service was very nice  - I ate well, drank much, watched two movies (Mission Impossible Fallout, and Minions and the Making of Dru), and slept for about 5 hours or so.  Betsy also slept well.

We passed New Zealand passport control and biohazard inspection easily, reclaimed our luggage, walked about a mile from the international terminal to the domestic terminal, checked in for the short flight to Christchurch, rechecked our luggage, had some snacks in the lounge, and finally took off.  We had pre-booked a transfer from the airport to our hotel, which worked fine after we found out where to meet the driver.  It turns out the driver drove for Uber and was contracted by the middle people to drive us.  Had we known, we could have just used Uber and saved a few dollars.  Anyway, we were early for check-in at the Chateau on the Park, DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel.  So we stored our luggage and went for a walk around Christchurch.

Our route went along Hagley North and then Hagley South Parks.  After seeing the train station (where we go tomorrow for our day trip over the Alps), we walked to the city center along more of the park.

Reaching the River Avon, we saw punting for the tourists.

We followed the river along the Avon River Pedestrian Way, passing a memorial to the 185 people who died or were seriously injured in the 2011 earthquake (names are scribed on the wall).

This is the Friendship Memorial Bridge, a monument to WWI, with a busker performing in front.  Turns out there is a busker festival occurring now in Christchurch.

A dragon in the river.

The Christchurch Cathedral was heavily damaged in the 2011 earthquake and is still undergoing significant renovations - a new 'raft' (floating) foundation, internal bracing and then rebuilding.

A "steampunk" painting/mural on two sides of a building, art that I to see.

On the way back to the hotel, we went through the park, passing into the Botanical Garden.  This is a patch of varied colored dahlias.

And, a rose garden, with all colors represented - this is one of my favorites.

And, a tree fern, a NZ speciality.

And finally, a kauri tree, one of the most useful NZ tree for lumber.

After 5.3 miles, we arrived back to the hotel.