NZ-Australia, Feb. 18, 2024

Viking Description: Christchurch is the largest city on New Zealand’s South Island. Named after Christ Church College in Oxford by English pilgrims from Canterbury, it retains much of its original British flavor, from the Gothic Revival cathedral to the punting excursion boats on the tranquil Avon River. The city embraces another English tradition: it is home to so many green parks that it has been nicknamed the “Garden City.” Its lush Botanic Gardens ranks among the most important in the world, hosting plants from six continents, a rock garden and a water garden of lilies and irises.

Port Arrival: 8:00am; Port Depart: 5:30pm

I woke early to get ready for my long day of High Country Exploring, the only excursion I paid extra to join. I had to muster at the theater by 8am and I wanted to be early in case there was a line. We had a little visitor on our balcony as we pulled into port in Lyttleton Harbour. Barb and I had a light breakfast together before I departed. I’m not sure why Barb took a photo of donuts but so be it.

  • High Country Explorer, $399/p, Bill
    • Duration: 8 hours, 8:30am      
    • A Thrilling Experience Amid South Island Splendor
    • Embrace your spirit of adventure on a thrilling journey into the Southern Alps by off-road vehicle and jet boat. Drive by motor coach with your guide into the Canterbury Plains, the largest area of flat land in New Zealand and an agricultural paradise with endless grazing pastures. Upon arrival at Springfield Adventure Park on the banks of the spectacular Waimakariri River Gorge, board an off-road touring vehicle and set off to explore the rugged high country, encircled by the jagged peaks of the Southern Alps. Later, embark on an exciting ride up the Waimakariri River in a super-fast jet boat, following the steep-walled gorge to Staircase Viaduct. It is a sight to see the natural beauty of the area from this perspective, even more so on a jet boat capable of making 360° spins. After your invigorating ride, enjoy a short tour of Christchurch before returning to your ship.

I made it to the theater, was assigned to a bus, and was on board and ready right on time. Our driver, Kevin (I think all Australian and New Zealand drivers are named Kevin, or Keev’n), took us into downtown Christchurch for a quick view of the city still rebuilding from its 2011 earthquake.

From there it was another 90 minutes west to the Springfield Adventure Park (aka Alpine Jet Thrills – Canyon Safaris), stopping briefly in the metropolis of Springfield which boasted a large plastic donut in homage to The Simpsons (or maybe Barb’s breakfast).

I envisaged something similar to the Argentine Adventure Park that Allie and I went to in Mendoza. It turned out to be nowhere near as imposing – we were barely in the foothills of a low and dusty section of the Southern Alps (it actually felt a bit like La Losa in Spain) and the Adventure Park itself was a couple of scruffy farm sheds sitting above what looked like the very dry bed of the Waimakariri River. What it lacked in ambiance was made up for by the enthusiasm and good cheer of the staff, particularly the owner, Paul, and his family including Peggy, the lamb. 

I was assigned to one of the jet boats for the morning. We donned some goofy looking white ponchos and life preservers before heading down to the boats. The jet boat ride was fun but I was worried about my sunglasses flying off and I didn’t want to risk getting my phone wet from rogue splashes…plus my poncho hood flapped in the wind and I couldn’t seem to tuck it in. Basically, I was distracted for most of the 30-40 minute ride and didn’t really get into the spirit of the occasion. The distinction of jet boats is that they run without a propeller in just a few inches of water and they were basically invented here on this river before becoming ubiquitous around the world in the form of Jetskis. The “wheee” moments were doing some 360 turns which were fun but a bit silly in my opinion. Fortunately, the jet boat crew kind of knew the drill and took a bunch of photos that they shared with us — so these are mostly theirs…but I’m in there somewhere.

After the boat ride we had a nice little lunch of burgers and fixings and spent some more time with Peggy the lamb. Between dealings with other customers, Paul gave us a short tour of his Jet Boat museum and regaled us with the history of Bill Hamilton, inventor of the Jet Boat. Paul also led us on a short nature walk through a bit of curated “bush” which included many native New Zealand trees. 

In the afternoon we boarded four-wheel drive buses for a bumpy ride on rutted roads up into the hills. Our bus driver Kevin pulled double duty driving our four-wheel bus as well. We stopped at a high point for a view over the Canterbury plains. The view was pleasant but not much to write home about. At least the day was nice and clear, and not too windy which they said it often was.

After soaking in the view and the sunshine for about 10 minutes it was back in the bus for another bumpy ride to a different overlook where we could see the river we jetboated a few hours earlier.

Then it was another bumpy ride back to the base before getting on the buses for the two hour ride back to the ship. It was a full 8-hour excursion but it wasn’t exactly fun despite the unwavering good cheer and enthusiasm of Paul and his family, Kevin and others. They tried hard but there’s only so much you can do with two bus fulls of geriatric, overfed cruise customers.

While I was on my High Country adventure, Barb went on her own excursion to Manderley Farm to see a sheepdog exhibition.

  • Manderley Farm (Included), Barb
    • Duration: 3 hours, 9:30 AM      
    • Discover Typical Country Life in New Zealand
    • Experience life on a working New Zealand sheep farm and meet the owners of Manderley Farm. Set out on a scenic drive to explore the beautiful countryside on New Zealand’s South Island. Pass Lyttelton Harbor and idyllic Governors Bay, crossing the Gebbies Pass to Manderley Farm. Set amid 300 hectares of idyllic countryside, with views over bush-clad hills and Lake Forsyth, the farm is home to more than 1,600 sheep. Upon arrival, you will be greeted by the farmer, who will regale you with tales of farm life. Then, be amazed as the sheepdogs demonstrate their prodigious talents for herding sheep in accordance with their master’s commands. Afterward, be entertained by the speed and agility of sheep shearers as they ply their trade. Join the family for refreshments before bidding them farewell and returning to your awaiting ship.

She reported that the sheepdog exhibition was fun – even if the dogs were not quite the cute Australian Border Collies she was expecting. The shepherds and dogs first rounded up the sheep from the distant hillside using only whistles from the shepherd. Did you know sheepdogs were trained not to bark? It scares the sheep.

Herding the sheep down the hillside
“That is sooo cool”

The sheep shearing made Barb a little uncomfortable, and the sheep didn’t look too happy about it either. Barb took a long (almost 3 minute) video of a shearing but I’ve had a hard time embedding it in this post — you can see the file here if you’re interested.

Otherwise Barb admired the hard work put forth by the family running this farm mostly on their own. The cruise ship tours were a needed supplement to what they could make from the farm itself.

After the farm excursion, Barb braved taking a shuttle into Christchurch and managed to very quickly get lost. She spent a very anxious hour or so wandering the streets, asking directions from strangers, and not really seeing any sights that impressed her. Fortunately, she did manage to find the shuttle stop to get back to the ship. 

The ship left Lyttleton Harbour at 5:30; I tracked our departure which was becoming my favorite part of the cruise.

That evening we sampled Wiener Schnitzel, Chateaubriand, fettucini carbonara and other goodies from the World Cafe. All of it was decent but none was exceptional which is more or less the standard that Viking seems to set for itself. It’s hard to argue with that standard as a customer and after all it’s no mean feat to provide even a decent quality of food for 900 people day after day. After dinner, I went to the pool deck to take in a showing of Top Gun: Maverick which I’d never seen. I lasted about 30 minutes and had more than my fill of Tom Cruise bluster and bad macho American dialogue from all the characters (caricatures). Why did people like this movie?

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