Christchurch again (for Jan. 28)

Today was a pretty good day. It started overcast after an overnight rain, but by early afternoon we had clear blue sky. We toured around the city centre again, then to the Arts Centre (headquarters for the Busker Festival), then to the Canterbury Museum, then to the beach, and, finally, to a wildlife park.

The Cathedral Square was bustling with a small market and a busker venue, but we didn’t stay long. We were going to take a tram ride, but since we had already walked almost the whole route last night, decided not to. We watched them “punting” (like gondola rides) on the river, but didn’t take that ride either. We moved on to the main venue at the Arts Centre, which was the old Canterbury University. It is a collection of a half dozen stone buildings just like a scene out of a British movie about a university. They had a market going on there as well as performances. There wasn’t anything too special at the market and we weren’t too taken by the comedy performance that was on, so we moved across the street to the museum. There was another performance in the side yard there that did capture us, so we watched it before going in.

The museum was fantastic. They had a huge collection that was very well displayed. They had a number of dioramas like the Regina museum, placing people and animals in context. Of course, they had a large Maori section, and a larger section on European settlement and pioneers. There was an excellent section on Antarctic exploration. They also had a section of mounted birds, including the Canada Goose, introduced here in 1876. The farmers here consider it a pest. Flocks land in a pasture, eat the grass, and foul what is left with their droppings. Sounds just like home.

After lunch we went to the beach. It goes on for miles with large dunes behind it. We went down to the pier, where most of the action was. There were many bathers and surfers in the water and fishermen on the pier. There was another busker venue and we took in part of a show.

Our last stop was the Willowbank Wildlife Reserve. We weren’t sure what to expect and were ready for disappointment, but we were very pleasantly surprised. It had a path that wound through various compounds of animals and birds. It was superbly laid out and planted to give excellent views in a natural setting. Some exhibits were in cages that you had to view from outside, but, in most cases, you walked into the compound with the animals and birds. It was excellent in every way.

They had a Canada Goose there too. While pretty near every other creature ignored us, the Canada Goose came swimming up and squawking for bread, just like at home. And we finally got to see our Kiwi. They had an excellent Kiwi house with several birds. It was dark enough that the nocturnal birds were active, but lit well enough that you could see them in action. No flash photography, but they had a stuffed one conveniently placed at the entrance.