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.  

New Zealand Day 7

Two significant sightseeing adventures today.  First, we rode the bus out to the airport and after a short walk past some USAF planes, we reached the International Antarctic Centre.  This is a major tourist destination and is connected to a complex of administration buildings that support several countries' Antarctic research stations.  After paying our money, we got to participate in a variety of activities:

1. First up was a ride in a Hagglund vehicle, the Swedish-designed tracked vehicle that is used by all countries on the continent.  The five of us were loaded into the front carriage, we donned headsets and went off to ride "the course."  The driver provided commentary as we went up and over two hills, sideways on more hills (18 degrees tilt), over a crevasse, through muddy bogs, over a series of tires that simulates deep powdery snow, up a 45 degree slope, down across a shallow pond (the vehicles are amphibious).  The Hagglunds are quite versatile and have been in use since their creation in 1974.  It was a hoot of a ride, even if only 10 minutes long.
2. Next, we entered the exhibit area, stopping to watch folks go into the "storm room."  Jan and Ron partook, the rest of us watched.  The room started at 18 degrees and then a simulated wind storm began, dropping the temperature (wind chilled) to near 0 degrees.  People came out of the room, shedding center-supplied jackets and booties (presumably to keep the snow/ice surface inside the room clean) with frosted over eyeglasses.
3. We then went to the Extreme 4-D theatre show.  We wore 3-D glasses and sat in theatre seats labeled "Simworx."  You guessed it -- the seats represented the fourth D, moving when we were on the rough seas, and spraying water at us whenever the ship crashed down over a wave (and at other times).  There were fans in the theatre to simulate wind.  Birds, icicles and other things moved off the screen and appeared to come toward us.  We even had a seal spit at us (again with a spray of water from the seat back immediately in front of us).  It was an maginative way to virtually visit Antartica and its critters.  
4. After drying off and exiting the theatre, we visited the penguins exhibits.  There are 4 primary species that use Antartica, but the center has resident Blue Penguins.  One was swimming/feeding -- his name is Fred, and I photographed him.
5. Next, there are a variety of typical museum exhibits and displays regarding life on Antarctic, the equipment, etc for the stations.
6. Lastly, we got a brief but compelling video on climate change and the absolute need to address global warming.  One notable fact, 90% of all global fresh water is in the Antarctic and if the ice on the entire continent melted, sea levels would rise 60 meters (~190 feet).  Within the narrative of the video were some information on the various research projects that are underway - algae growth under the sea ice, which feeds krill and then penguins; and super-cooled water and the continual rise of ice crystals.

LC-130 Hercules with skis

A pink Hagglund, for Tasmania

The beginning temperatures in the ice room

This is an explanation of the Maori war chant.

Fred, a Blue Penguin

Huskies, who visit on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

We had a light lunch in the cafe before catching the bus back toward our hotel.  

And just next to the hotel, we stopped for our second sightseeing adventure, which was way more sedate than the first.  We visited Mona Vale Garden Park, with its original residence.

Here is more about Mona Vale (taken from Wikipedia):

Mona Vale, with its homestead formerly known as Karewa, is a public park of 4 ha in the Christchurch suburb of Fendalton. The homestead and gate house are both listed as heritage buildings with Heritage New Zealand (NZHPT). The fernery and the rose garden, and pavilion with the setting of the park along the Avon River, add to the attractiveness of the property. It is one of the major tourist attractions of Christchurch. 
The land initially belonged to the Deans brothers, whose homestead is Riccarton Housein Riccarton.  William Derisley Wood leased the land and built what became known as Wood's Mill.   The weir in the Avon River was built in the 19th century and forms the Mona Vale mill pond, which still exists today.
Frederick Waymouth and his wife Alice purchased four acres of land and had a homestead built in 1899–1900, designed by architect Joseph Maddison.  Waymouth, who called the homestead Karewa, was the managing director of Canterbury Frozen Meats. Maddison was a well-known Christchurch architect, who amongst other buildings designed the freezing works in the Christchurch suburb of Belfast. It is thought that this connection between Waymouth and Maddison led to this commission.
Waymouth sold the property to Annie Quayle Townend in 1905, who renamed it Mona Vale after her mother's house in Tasmania. She was the daughter of a wealthy Canterbury run-holder, George Moore of Glenmark Station. She was his only surviving daughter and he had bequeathed her one million pounds, apparently making her New Zealand's richest woman at the time.   Townend added nine acres of land to the property and had a gate house built just off Fendalton Road. After the New Zealand International Exhibition, held in Hagley Park, finished in 1907, she purchased the exhibition's fernery including its plants and had it reassembled at Mona Vale.  The present collection of ferns were supplied by Landcare Research in Lincoln, the Christchurch Botanic Gardens and the private collection of the late Arthur Ericson.  Townend also added the bathhouse to the property.  She died in 1914. In 1939 it was bought by Tracy Gough, and in 1941 by the firm, Gough, Gough and Hamer. Tracy Gough added to the beauty of the gardens by having a lily pond built and having rhododendrons and azaleas and many more exotic trees planted in the gardens.  

The property was sold in 1962 to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints following the death of Gough, Gough and Hamer founder Tracy Gough. When the church wanted to sell Mona Vale to a New Zealand company intending to subdivide the property and to demolish the homestead, a public outcry resulted in community fund-raising.  The Christchurch City Council and the Riccarton Borough Council bought Mona Vale in June 1969 for the purpose of turning it into a public park. The purchase of Mona Vale is credited to Christchurch mayor Ron Guthrey.

Until the 2010 Canterbury earthquake, the homestead was operated as a restaurant, café and function centre, often used for weddings.  The building closed due to earthquake damage.   It was officially reopened by Christchurch City Councillor James Gough, great-grandson of the former owner Tracy Thomas Gough, on 28 November 2016 following a two-year, $3.2 million repair and restoration.  The Christchurch Civic Trust awarded a heritage renovation award in 2017 for the earthquake repair works.

We had a nice time walking in to the Mona Vale Garden Park via the Gate House, along the Avon River, around the gardens including the Fernery, Rose Garden and Gazebo, and through the house, which is now a cafe.  We relaxed just outside the house, watching ducks land on the river and birds flit about.  The whole site was lovely and we were surprised it doesn't get more attention in the guide books (although this means that most of the visitors are locals). 

A baby duck that could swim underwater

The Homestead, now a cafe

Note the tiny new fern shoots growing off the fronds

For dinner we went Arjee Bhajee, a nearby Indian/Nepalese restaurant.  We enjoyed mango lassis and "platter for two" with samosas, chicken tikka and lamb stixs.  The restaurant had a banner that read "Kiwis and Indians, no Cowboys."

Photo by Varis (via the waiter)

After dinner, we (minus Varis) strolled through Hagland Park and stumbled on a concert rehearsal, scheduled for tomorrow night.  We sat down and listened to several performances before walking back to the hotel.