Christchurch, Canterbury and Middle Rock Farm

We had a delightful breakfast at the Grange Bed & Breakfast.  There was yummy fruit and granola followed by eggs Benedict for me and eggs and bacon for Tom.  We chatted an Australian couple who had been to Lake Norman in Charlotte, NC.  

The Avon River

We drove by the Avon River winding through downtown Christchurch.  It did indeed remind you of the Avon in Stratford on Avon in England.  The scene was sweetened with  a wide green garden along its banks and arched stone bridges for crossing.  Unfortunately, much of downtown Christchurch is “under construction” due to an earth quake in 2011.  Both the cathedral and the art museum are being rebuilt.
 
Do you know how to reverse nature and go from Summer back to Spring?  You fly from Tahiti on Sept 21 and land in New Zealand.  It is early Spring here and the pink budding Cherie trees are in bloom and the forsythia hedges are a riot of yellow .  The sheep dotting the fields along the roadside are shaggy and the horses are in fashion with their blankets.  The cows in the meadows are flanked by little spotted calves.  Ben would be delighted; there are deer farms here so you see herds of deer on the farms where they are the crop.  

We had a delightful visit at the Middle Rock Farm, a sheep farm in the highlands west of Christchurch.  Bordered by the braided Rakaia River, the property farms over 7,000 sheep producing fine wool for the apparel trade and export lamb for international meat markets. A large garden, framed by panoramic views of the Mt Hutt range, is a feature of the property.  The garden included an amazing red flowered rhododendron.  After morning tea of freshly baked scones and jam and hot tea in china teacups, we took a four wheel drive vehicle out to watch the running of the farm.  Bruce and his dog Sam separated 280 ewes from a “mob” of around 1200 and moved them to a private, fenced in “block”.  As the ewes deliver their lambs, the babies have a better chance of survival in smaller herds. 

On our tour we actually saw a "cast" sheep, pregnant, on its side kicking its feet, unable to stand..  We got to climb over the fence and help right it. We had a chance to learn a lot about sheep farming and the family farm history.  The grass in the pasture was actually planted a s mixture of clover and several types of grasses to provide the best diet for the sheep.  We also got to hand feed some pet sheep who came when our hostess called them.  A lunch of salmon, salad roast potatoes and quiche was included. 

Next we toured the Christchurch Antarctica Center including watching the staff hand-feed the blue penguin population, experiencing a 3D ice exploration trip, and after donning a heavy coat and boots, a short walk through of an Antarctic storm at 17 degrees F and high speed wind.  Christchurch has had various support services for the explorations to Antarctica over the years.  They manufacture the skis that the large planes use to land on the ice, and also New Zealand has a permanent base there. 



The little Blue penguins here are all rescued animals and it was fun to see them.  

In the Arctic storm exhibit