Another day in Christchurch

Today was a free day in Christchurch (we needed it, after that long train ride). It was still cold, but sun was peeking out of the clouds, so we headed out for a walk through the city and then back to the museum.

We took a few photos of some of the older buildings - I kept getting confused as to whether we were in Scotland or New Zealand.

We made it to the Canterbury Museum, where we spent the afternoon viewing a special exhibit.

First, a brief walk through the botannical gardens (very brief - it's so large it would take a day to even begin to go through it all).

It seems Lou has a fascination with ducks ...

Finally made it to our destination. This is a new exhibit at the museum, on loan from the UK. It featured the original photography of Herbert Ponting and Frank Hurley - Ponting accompanied Scott on his ill-fated journey to be the first to the South Pole, and Hurley was with Shackelton's attempt to circumnavigate the pole. We spent several hours here, and both thought it was an amazing exhibition.

Stopped to take a few flower photos on the way back to the hotel. Surprising anything is blooming with as cold as it is. The parks and gardens must be beautiful in the spring.

We finished up our last day in Christchurch by joining friends for dinner. Bill and Nic Perry picked us up at the hotel and took us to a great bistro for a fun dinner. It was great to see them and hear about their experiences since relocating to New Zealand from Australia.