I must have been tired, as I didn't wake until 8.30 am. I went to the kitchen and cooked up some bacon and egg sandwiches for breakfast. If I had wanted to go on a cruise at Akaroa, I would have neaeded to be at the bus stop by now, so I didn't feel the need to rush at all. Yoan had mentioned he was going to the Gondola, and that idea promised good views of the city, and as the day looked very sunny, I decided that it sounded like the best back up plan.
I made up some packed lunch, and found my way to the bus stop, getting a transfer ticket for $4, that would get me to Lyttleton, where the Gondola was.
According to the information I had, it was going to be $28 to get to the top of the gondola, The bus reached where I thought I should get off, so I did so, and then found out that it did actually stop at the Gondola station anyway, though this suited me perfectly, as I discovered that there was a track that went to the top, without having to pay for the gondola. I seized the opportunity to enjoy walking up a hill in the glorious sunshine, starting off with applying suncream to my feet, arms, and face.
The track was quite steep, and the hot sun made it a little challenge, though not too bad, and the view of the city got better as I ascended the hill. Near the top, I met Yoan coming back down, and he was surprised to see me, as had expected that I was going to be going to Akaroa. I explained that I had isen too late for the bus so had decided to come to enjoy the views. Yoan advised me that when I reached the top the view was spectacular and that he hadn't been able to stop taking photos, so I felt quite glad I had chosen this route now.
I reached the top of the path, and soaked in the views across Lyttleton bay and harbour - as Yoan had mentioned, the water colour was amazing, and it was very photogenic scenery. I made my way along the crater rim walk towards the gondola station, so I could enjoy the view from the real summit.
At the gondola station, I decided to sit in the cafe and enjoy a beer, so that I could arrange with Ben how we were going to meet for the beer we had agreed to several months previously. We were both unsure though, so the arrangements required a bit more input.
As such, I asked at the gondola cafe, and the waitress there recommended two pubs - The Bog, or Mickey Flinns. I finished off the Moa beer (at a rather expensive $8, but I had resigned myself by now to spending way over my budget for everything in New Zealand!), and headed back down to the saddle, where the top of the path to the bus stop was.
At this point, I sat down and enjoyed my packed lunch, though it was about 3pm), and spent a while sorting out with Ben what we would do. We agreed on The Bog, as Mickey Flinns appeared to be a night club establishment rather than just a pub.
The route back down the path was understandably easier than the way up it had been, and I was soon at the gondola station, to catch the bus. I was about to look for the signs to the rest rooms, but the bus arrived, so I decided to hop on rather than wait another 30 minutes.
While on the bus back in to Christchurch, ben messaged me, recommending that we meet in the Dux Central instead, as it was more likely to have people in it and have an atmosphere, as he had researched and established that the Bog was also a night club type venue - I guess the people at the cafe had mis-understood my intentions! I looked it up and found that it also did dnner food, so we agreed on there, so that I could grab dinner without having too much to worry about
With that arranged, I walked out to the i-Site to try and sort out the Akaroa trip for the next day, as it would be my last day, having managed to rearrange the flights to Sydney for the 5th.
I checked the prices, and they were double the price I could get via Bookme for the bus journey, and 30% more expensive than the offer that was on for the dolphin cruise, so I grabbed another seat in the center, and used my phone to start booking.
By the time I had managed to book the return by bus though, the dolphin cruise deal had disappeared, but I went ahead and booked anyway, as I was still saving $25 over what i-Site could have offered - I wonder how much money I would have saved if I had found this website at the start, but I suspect a lot of the things I did already would not have been available.
I then wandered over to the Cathedral to see what it looked like now, after the steeple had come off in the 2011 earthquake, and was saddened to see that it was in a very poor state, looking very derelict and sorry for itself much like the rest of the whole city.
I had another wander around the city, taking in the road works and building works, and noticing one building that had egg shell cracks all on one face. That building was quite tall, but also empty - clearly a victim of the events 5 years ago.
I started to look for Dux central, and as I got closer to it, it seemed to be located in the middle of a completely empty set of blocks, just a few building standing in the whole area. It really drove home to me the amount of damage that the earthquake had done, as they were still working on fixing the roads there, and didn't seem to have made much progress with any new buildings at all.
I eventually found the venue though, which was pretty much next to the Vodafone I had first gone in to yesterday morning, and found myself a table on the outside balcony, ordering a bacon and prawn pizza.
I met some locals there who were getting stuck in to their beers, hough I got the impression that they were fairly xenophobic so I stuck to non controversial topics to keep things easy. Fortunately Ben arrived though and they moved on.
Ben and I chatted over a few pints, about his plans and my plans, and he advied me that for the egg shell building, they still hadn't decided whether to try fixing it, or to demolish it, hence the delays with it.
We said our goodbyes, and I walked back to the hostel, getting back well after the car park gates and reception had been closed.
I didn't remember being told about the car park being closed, but I found a side gate, and discovered that the outdoors key I had fit the gate, so I had no other difficulty getting back in.
When I made it to the room, I met Momoa, another person from Japan. She was very bouncy and clapped a lot - something I thought was only a stereotype, and it seemed a little strange to learn that such a personality really existed! We talked a little bit in Japanese, and I learned she was only in New Zealand for short stay, and heading back to Japan the next day, via Australia and another Asian airport.
Yoan arrived, and got ready for bed. He was due to depart to the Phillipines raly the next morning, and had some Australian small change that he couldn't use or change at the currency exchange, so I bought that from him - A$7.50 + NZ$3 for NZ$10 - a good deal for both of us, as that matched the official exchange rate, and no commission lost either way!