New Zealand Day 8

Today was low-key - we spent time in a couple of museums and caught up with Leslie and Dennis.  They arrived at the hotel at about 10 am, after returning their rental "Juicy" van.  So, for today, the group numbered 7.  

We all walked through the park toward the city center.  Varis, Leslie and Dennis visited a newish museum called the Ravenscar, an art collection owned by a couple whose house was destroyed in the 2011 earthquake.  The couple decided to not rebuild their home and since most of the art was recovered, they created a small museum in town.  

The rest of us went into the Christchurch Art Gallery, and toured the mostly contemporary collection.  A number of pieces were interesting and are included in the photos below:

Something for the youth -- create your own maze.

An example of some of the art pieces in the Gallery

Very nice Maori wall hangings honoring the passing of "elders."

A famous painting, the first of the "New Zealand School."  It is of a small railway station that we passed several days ago on the Trans Alpine Express.  Gallery description is below.

An interesting piece to stare at.

Two more examples of the NZ painting style

A close up of the wall hanging, showing a Greenstone (jade) piece.

A 2012 purchase of a piece exhibited at the 2011 Venice's (Italy) Biennale (which we saw then).

After the Art Museum, we ambled a couple of blocks to Arts Centre, which we visited on our first day.  But Dennis knew of a some hidden places that we had missed.  One was an exhibit on stone masons, who were needed to help rebuild the Arts Centre's Neo- Gothic buildings.  We had lunch again in the Bunsen Cafe (where the chemistry is good . . .)  The photos below touch on some of this: 

On the way back to the hotel, and in the middle of the park, we came upon a model sailing regatta on Victoria Lake.  It consisted of a large bunch of old guys (and one younger woman) with remote control sail boats cruising around a course.   They told us the activity is good for the brain, since it requires focus and the ability to think in 3-dimensions.  It looked like fun.

We were told this "yacht club" was 125 years old.

After some rehydration, and layering up with warmer clothing, we walked back to the outdoor concert venue in the park for the 40th "Sparks in the Park."  The attendance was nearly 20,000 people and was a community celebration more than a concert.  Families attended and the youngsters had fun running around meeting up with friends.  There were numerous food carts around the perimeter - most of us went with smoked meat sandwiches (i.e., pulled pork, or brisket reuben, or the like).  The Christchurch Symphony Orchestra anchored the music which included classical pieces, and various singing groups.  We left at intermission (it was getting quite chilly sitting on the ground) and thus missed the "sparks" part -- fireworks at the conclusion of the concert.

Sunday morning:  L&D,  J&R and V left early (near 6 am) but we didn't see them off.  They are taking the train to Picton.  We had a good sleep-in, a relaxed final breakfast at the Chateau on the Park, and then were picked up at 9:30 am by Uber for a transfer to the airport.  We are flying to Nelson where we will spend a few days prior to starting the Abel Tasmen Trek.  BTW, the weather in Christchurch is sunny but coolish, though it is forecast to rise to the mid-70s.