March 30-April 1, 2019: Two Days in Nelson
April 2-3, 2019
The next morning we flew to Christchurch and rented a car to drive to Hororata. Here, we stayed with an old colleague of my dad’s, Dave. When we arrived, he took us for a drive around the farm. During our time in New Zealand, we noticed how forward thinking the county was in regard to environmentalism. There is the perfect blend of nature and urbanism. In America, farmers are generally regarded as the good guys. They keep the food economy going and live off the land in the “farm to table” kind of way. However, here in New Zealand, the farmers are considered the bad guys. Why you may ask? Because of the runoff from the fields. Increased levels of nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilizer affects the waterways which is making it a point of contention for environmentalists in this area. Like all issues, there is more than one side to an argument. It’s interesting how groups choose which argument to side with. We had a delicious lunch of potatoes, peas and corned beef. We took a short hike and had dinner at The Terrace. For dessert, we had a New Zealand favorite of hokey pokey ice cream.
Akoroa
The next day we took a drive to Akaroa, where we took the Akaroa Dolphins Tour. It turns out Dave’s family pretty much owns Akaroa. The tour was run by his nephew and this family’s house is at one of the highest points. We had lunch at La Thai (the space used to be owned by Dave’s family) and then took a drive/walk through Christchurch. Seeing the redevelopment and what remained from the earthquakes was such an interesting contrast. For dinner we had homemade satay, cucumbers and rice.
April 4-5, 2019: Two Days in Mt. Cook