After flying from Auckland, we picked up our rental SUV and caravan (travel trailer) – ready for our South Island adventure! We chose a campground nearby for our first night so we could get acclimated to the camper and driving on the left side of the road. The caravan is a little bigger than ours at home, but it pulled easily. It has a bathroom with a toilet, sink and shower. It has a nice kitchen with sink, stove, oven, fridge and microwave. The beds are two twin beds with a nightstand/table. They do convert into a full bed, but we were told it was a real pain to do and they recommended we stick with the twin beds. There is also good storage throughout – plus we have the SUV for back-up storage (like for our empty suitcases).
We had time in the afternoon to visit downtown Christchurch. The city was devastated by an earthquake in 2011 and is in the process of being reconstructed. It looked remarkably good considering how many buildings were affected. Many have been restored or are in the process.
We hopped on an historic tram that did a loop around the city. The driver did a running commentary of the sites, which was interesting.
We ate supper at a trendy food market and tried pavlova, a national dessert. We then headed back to our car which was parked near beautiful botanical gardens that were free to visit. We spent some time marveling at the giant trees, bushes and flower displays. Sophie was happy to see giant hydrangea bushes and a beautiful dahlia garden in full bloom.
The next day we would start our clockwise trek around the island.
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