Devonshire Tea at Mona Vale

For our final day in New Zealand, we visited Mona Vale Gardens in Christchurch. The historic estate dates back to 1905, when the land was purchased by Annie Quayle Townsend from one of the original Christchurch settler families. Mrs. Townsend landscaped the property with an extensive variety of trees, shrubs and flowers. Over the years, Mona Vale has become one of the city’s most treasured assets, and its rose garden is in bloom from November to May. The gardens and landscaped lawns along the Avon River are open to the public year-round, and the Homestead Restaurant offers and all day menu, picnic baskets, and a traditional Devonshire Tea.



Take a virtual stroll through the beautiful gardens in the newest slide show!

Driving Around North Canterbury

The region of North Canterbury is on the Eastern side of New Zealand’s South Island. It is mostly rural farmland, with mountains, rivers, plains and seacoasts. Sheep farms and dairy farms seem to occupy most of the land, and the wine industry is growing by leaps and bounds. Small wineries offer tastings and gourmet meals, and several are beginning to export to the United States (many wines from the larger vineyards in the Marlborough Region are already very popular in the States). Other types of farms, such as lavender and olives are also found here and there in North Canterbury. Oxford is home to the Seagar Cooking School, run by renowned New Zealand chef Jo Seagar. Rangiora, the largest center near Victor and Frances’s farm, is considered the gateway to North Canterbury. Every turn brings new, beautiful, interesting scenery.

Kaikoura Whale Watching

The North Canterbury coast of New Zealand’s South Island is a rural area surrounded by the Southern Alps and Seaward Kaikoura ranges. Kairkoura Peninsula looks out onto the Pacific Ocean, where giant sperm whales seals make their home in the deep blue waters of Kaikoura Canyon, a 2K deep chasm just off shore from the peninsula. The sperm whale population is made up primarily of adolescent males who use the canyon to prepare for mating. They spend about 45 minutes of every hour under the water feeding, and surface for about 15 minutes to breathe. Only 10 percent of the whale is visible on the surface (like an iceberg!), but the water spouts are visible for quite a distance. When they are done breathing, they make a slow, graceful dive and begin feeding again.

It makes you wonder if they know they have an audience! Whale watching voyages frequently include sightings of other animals that are native to the Kaikoura Penninsula - albatross, seagulls, fur seals and dolphins. There are more photos of our voyage in the newest slide show.

Rangiora Farm

We spent the day driving around North Canterbury, looking at shops and cafes (check back later for some lovely views of the ocean, a lavender farm and a world famous cooking school). Then we returned to Rangiora to stroll around the paddocks, feed the animals and check on the baby chicks and puppies. A highlight of the farm are the comedian turkeys... here is a sample of their act:

Frances and Victor are in the process of trying to sell the farm. Now that their children are grown they'd like to downsize, even though they love their home. It's a lovely property, that also houses an art studio, as you can see from the latest slide show. If you're interested, leave a comment!

Christchurch, New Zealand

A relatively short plane trip on Sunday took us from Melbourne, Australia to Christchurch, New Zealand in about 3 hours. By comparison, the South Island of New Zealand is lush and green, and quite a bit cooler than Southeastern Australia. We spent a quiet Sunday evening sampling New Zealand wines and strolling the paddocks at the Paul Farm where Frances and Victor live with their 3 dachshunds, 2 newborn puppies, 3 cows, 3 turkeys and about a dozen chickens. Fran’s Art Studio is located in a renovated garage / barn on the property, and is part of the Waimakariri Arts Trail. A tour of the farm and a stand-up performance by the turkeys will be coming up in a day or two.

We spent Monday touring the city of Christchurch, which is very British. The Cathedral sits on the town square, and the choir of men and boys sings evensong three days a week, plus Sunday services.

The Wizard of Christchurch was holding forth on the square today. He’s been retired for several years, but is here in honor of the Christchurch Flower Festival (February 20 - March 16).



The City Tram circles downtown with stops at the Cathedral, Arts Center, University, Museums and other points of interest in downtown Christchurch.