Alarms went off at 5.30 this morning in Wellington for us to get up and out of our AirBNB and off to the Wellington Airport. We gassed up and returned the rental car before the Hertz office was open. Inside the airport the check-in clerks were strict with luggage weight, so we had to do a little repacking to make our weight limits. Once our bags were checked, we headed into the airport to get some breakfast. While we were eating, we learned that H's soccer team won their game today (go Leapin' Leopards). As the clock got closer to the departure time, I started getting nervous about getting to the gate. We hadn't gone through security, and we had no idea how long that would take.
It turns out that there is no passenger screening at the Wellington airport for domestic flights. No xrays, no conveyor belts, no US-style security theatre. We just got on our plane!
The skies were blustery all morning, and after a short delay waiting for wind shear to abate, we took off into some hella turbulence. It was like a roller coaster for a few minutes. But, once we climbed out of that mess, we had smooth sailing for the 70 minute flight to Christchurch.
On the ground in Christchurch, the rain was pouring. We got in our rental car to escape the rain, and since the airbnb wasn't ready for us yet, we found a board game cafe with crappy pizza to occupy us for a few hours.
Our airbnb is loft-style, so while there are two beds in different parts of the apartment, there are no enclosed rooms. It's hip and well-appointed. We all got settled and I made a grocery run. When I got back, S was zonked out and H was playing video games with her buds, so I took a walkabout in town.
The CBD (central business district!) of Christchurch is huge, with tons of shops, bars, restaurants, etc. The Avon river snakes through town under bridges and through small tunnels.
The city is filled with street art. It seems like on every block there's at least one big mural!
Since so much of the city was leveled after the big earthquake, the architecture is fairly modern. Think container-unit chic - lots of right angles and grey and boxiness.
After an hour of wandering, I needed a warm-up, so I found my way to an old church that had been converted into a bar and sipped a whiskey while a woman played guitar and sang a setlist that included Country Roads, and What's Goin' On.
S woke from her nap and pried H off her ipad to meet me for dinner at Kokomo, a lovely restaurant right across the street from our airbnb. The food was delicious, and our two servers (one from New Jersey and one from Uruguay) were both great to talk to! We returned home to a chill evening to get S warm and think about how to spend our two days here before we head off for our next adventure!
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