14 Months of Christchurch, as Told by 9 Photos

Cam and I are leaving Christchurch in about 36 hours, so we spent a lot of the weekend packing. At some point I found myself making a photo collage of my Christchurch photos, and by the time I was done, I realized that each of the pictures held different memories, so I thought I'd write a post about them. Hope you enjoy :)

Rapaki Track, October 2014 -

Rapaki Track, October 2014

I love this photo. On my first Saturday in Christchurch, my friend Sarah (who was "my coworker Sarah" at the time) came and picked me up from the motel to take me on a "hill run" - which turned in to a steep uphill walk surrounded by sheep.  I regretted not having my camera the whole time!

The next Friday, I found my way back to Rapaki Track alone, this time with my camera, and captured this gem. 

I had a really nice time on that walk, learning about Sarah, her family, her religion, her new boyfriend (now fiance!!) and walk/running Rapaki track with friends became kind of a tradition in Christchurch. I've  spent many a night after work with different friends - Jen, Jess, Sarah, and even Cam.

Hagely Park, November 2014 -

Hagley Park, November 2014

When I first came to Christchurch, it took a little bit of time to bond with my coworkers. One of the ways I first connected with my workmates was through running, and this remained true for my whole time here. After two corporate challenges, some Tuesday night 5k's in the park, and a half marathon, I have spent countless hours running (with and without my friends) around Hagley Park. This photo was taken one warm night around 8 pm, when I was feeling grateful for the park and the sunshine and the ability to get outside. Near the end of training for the half marathon, I started to believe James's statement that "Hagley steals your soul", but truly, I'm thankful for the miles, the memories, and the sunsets.

Rapaki Track, October 2014 -

Rapaki Track, October 2014

A duplicate location and time - oops.  This was taken on that same first solo Friday. I captioned this photo, "You keep amazing me, New Zealand <3" Little did I know, I'd be amazed for 14 months to come.

Taylor's Mistake, January 2015 -

Taylor's Mistake, January 2015

Ah this photo. While it may appear to be a beautiful beach photo, it holds so  many more memories. 

First off, Taylor's Mistake is a hike around Christchurch, just out past Sumner Beach. I did this hike on one of my first weekends, I think the day after the above Rapaki photos. 

When the new year came, I decided I would go out to Taylor's Mistake for a run after work one day. I hadn't done much trail running, so this was tough. Especially because the way I decided to go included some serious switchbacks, which makes consistently running very difficult. 

But the funniest thing about this photo, is that on my way to this run, I drove slowly past Sumner Beach and who did I find but my new boyfriend, Cam, changing in to his wet suit next to his car. It was a total coincidental run in (well I knew he was going to be there, but I didn't intend to see him), but needless to say, the friend he was with thought I was a total crazy person. 

Lots of memories.

Bridal Path to Lyttleton, October 2015 -

Bridal Path to Lyttleton, October 2015

As the weather got warmer, Cam and I tried to spend more time hiking, especially the local tracks. One Saturday morning, we parked at the base of the Christschurch gondola, hiked the gondola route, saw this view, then walked down the other side of the hill and in to Lyttleton for the market. We drank flat whites, ate meat pies, and then paid $3 for the bus back to our car. 

The Lyttleton market has always been one of our favorites, so as one of our many farewell events, we took James and Jess with us to try it out. After eating the aforementioned pies, they asked us what we do next and we just said, "hmm we normally look at that booth next." 

It's funny to realize what a routine you have at places like this. That you always go to the same booths, buy or not buy the same items, and then leave. While it was funny introducing someone to the routine, it was really fun to share it with our friends. Walking back to the car, Cam and I started to realize that it was our last time in Lytttleon, until the next time we visit Christchurch. We will really miss you, Lyttleton.

Wonderbar, Lyttleton, February 2015 -

Lyttleton, February 2015

This one of those photos that missed the blog in February 2015 because I was too nervous to share with the internet/people I knew about all the fun I was having with my new boyfriend.

This photo was taken from the first date night that I planned for us. It always makes me laugh because a couple weeks before, the weather was meant to be stunning on a Sunday. As work talk goes, this was prime conversation. James slipped in a comment, "Well that's one of those days that you get a beer and sit at wonderbar." "What's wonderbar?" I asked. "Oh it's this cool little bar over in Lyttleton."

So when Cam decided that it was time for me to plan a date, I chose a trip to Wonderbar. Then I accidentally told James that I had gone  and dodgily left out who I went with. #earlydays. Since then we've spent many a good night in Lyttleton, and as I said in the last photo, I will miss it so much.

Taylor's Mistake, October 2015 -

Taylor's Mistake, October 2015

I posted this photo on Facebook to mark my one year anniversary in Christchurch. I also took it on my one year anniversary, so no need to question it's authenticity. This night I met up with Jess to do a training run for our upcoming half marathon. While parts of it were downright frustrating, the moment I turned around and saw this shot, definitely made my night. The views that night were stunning, and I spent a lot of the run obsessing over the lambs on the side of the road and celebrating how much had happened in the span of a year. I can't even list them all here, but this year has been life changing. Maybe see my one year anniversary post for more details because if I start here, I'll never stop. Let's just say, a sheep, a sunset, and a run with a friend was the perfect way to celebrate an amazing year in Christchurch.

Sumner Beach, November 2015 -

Sumner Beach, November 2015

Fireworks in New Zealand are illegal for the entire year except for "Remember, Remember, the fifth of November," Guy Fawkes Day. (I pronounce it "fox", which Cam finds hilarious.) They do a pretty big fireworks show out of New Brighton Beach, but the traffic in and out of the beach can be atrocious, so Cam had the idea of going out to Sumner, climbing up a giant rock to get a good view of the fireworks. 

We met Margaret on our way, so I felt like I had a gang. I'm pretty sure I lost any "cool girl" appearance I had going on by saying "I feel like I'm in the OC." But I did. And I will really miss being twenty minutes from the beach and drinking beers with friends on the top of a rock at sunset. 

When Cam and I first started dating, we went out to Sumner on a couple Sunday nights and I looved those times. I love that Cam can go surfing after work any day the weather's good. So this is yet another place that I will really miss when we leave. Cam said we can go out to the Rockaways in New York, but it's definitely possible it won't be the same. 

And finally, Sumner Beach, December 2015 -

Sumner Beach, December 2015

One more view of Sumner Beach. This photo was taken just last week at a work holiday barbecue. We got so lucky with the weather, and enjoyed a really nice send off from work. 



And that's it! I'll miss you Christchurch. All the cafes, bars, parks, tracks, beaches, hills, and even maybe sort of the office. I've had so many good memories in Christchurch, and when the sun is shining, Christchurch can be such a beautiful place. I can't wait to see how the city is doing in a few years - I have no doubt we'll be back.

Until then, 
Erin

Lions, and Tigers, and Sheep, Oh My!

I'm really not sure what happened to me since coming to New Zealand, but I love animals more than I ever have in the past. According to Buzzfeed, this is all totally normal (See their recent article on why we want to squeeze cute things)

This week was full of wildlife and it made my heart full. 

This guy.

The first was on Thursday when my friend Jess asked me to go for a run with her workmates. When I first heard the route I was pretty hesitant. I had hiked part of the route around this time last year, and tried to run part of it last (New Zealand) summer, but realized it was a tough trail to run.

I could tell Jess really wanted to go, so we went for it. After 1 mile of flat ground it was straight up hill. I was questioning our decision, but when we got to the top.. Sheep! And not only that - So many lambs. I kept thinking "I wonder what Cam would say if I came home holding a lamb and just said I got us a pet?" He might not be so thrilled.

Almost to the top!

So we kept running and a minute later while I was getting distracted by the scenery and the sheep on the left side of the road, I stumbled upon these two cuties on the right. Melt my heart.

Hey guys!

If we just stay still, maybe she won't see us.

And finally, after we started heading down I turned back to the top of the hill and saw the sillhouette of a single sheep and snapped this photo that made me happy.

The rest of the scenery wasn't bad either.

Yep the running route was from the beach, up this hill, and back. At least there were views :)

Always a classic - Port Hills to Bank Peninsula

Finally going down to Taylor's Mistake

After one more hill and a few more miles, we were back at the starting point. 8.5 miles and according to my iPhone health app, 107 flights of stairs climbed.


This Saturday Cam and I went out for a much more intentional and less tiring animal experience. 

My friend, Jess (same as before), is a volunteer at Orana Wildlife Park. They have an amazing lion encounter we had been meaning to go to. We chose this Saturday to bite the bullet and go. We showed up around noon in time to feed the giraffes, then walked around the park for a couple hours, saw the tiger being fed, and finally made our way to the lion encounter.

Tiger being fed - Apparently oppotunistic eaters, they eat whatever they can,
 whenever they can.
Don't want to cross one in the wild.

We mainly went to the giraffe encounter because Jess was there, but this ended up maybe being my favorite part (hard to beat the lion encounter but the giraffes were so funny!) I had imagined giraffes as beautiful elegant creatures without much personality, but at least the ones at Orana were pretty cheeky. I found them to have so much personality!

That face.

First of all their heads are just so big. And they stretch their neck to wherever the food is which just seems unnatural. They chew these crazy weeds that are rough and pokey, definitely not a plant that any human would ever want and once its in their mouth it was crazy to see how big their chewing muscles were. One muscle above their eye was literally pulsing.

I'll have that.

That's mine too.

They were not messing around at the feeding - any food they saw was well within their reach and they were going for it. One little girl was holding her branch, not ready to give it up, and was a little bit out of reach for the giraffe's large head. So Zuri (that's the giraffe's name) just stuck her white-ish-gray-really-rough tounge straight out of her mouth and took the branch from the little girl's hand. Needless to say, she stared crying. While everyone around was laughing, Zuri was just not phased. She was on to the next branch.

Mine please.

Before we left I got to know the other giraffe. We bonded. It was great. I want to go back again and see these giraffes before I leave.

True love.

And finally, the LION encounter.

The lion encounter was everything I dreamed it would be. Basically, you go in a cage in the back of a truck, which drives in to the lion enclosure, and the keepers feed the lions meat, which encourages them to jump on the sides and top of the cage. Luckily for sharing this story, my friend Jess watched the encounter from outside and snapped some photos.

That's me looking scared, and Cam taking the photos. What a guy ;)

From the inside it looked more like this:

Lion on top of the cage!
(I accidentally wrote "cafe" at first, but i guess that works too)

LION KING!

Feed me!

In case you couldn't tell from the photos the lions are HUGE. I mean look at that paw. (There seems to be a theme today - animals are much larger in real life than they appear on TV. Turns out the camera doesn't add 10 pounds)

And that HEAD.

The interesting thing about the lions at Orana is that they were snipped when they were young because they are all related and Orana didn't want any inbreeding to occur. So these lions don't have any manes and the main way to tell if they're male or female is just how giant they are (slightly giant = female, seriously giant = male). I'm not sure if this lack of testosterone affects their roar, but it wasn't the most intense roar I ever imagined. I call this video "Working on my ROAR".

These lions are also a bit on the chubby side as lions go, since they get fed a ton at the wildlife park. Daily visitors and shows mean they get a good bit of food. Apparently the park lets them gain some weight for the cold New Zealand winters but theyre currently beginning their diet. So, I think a real safari is in my future - gotta find some skinny lions with manes to get the full experience - but the lion encounter was one of the coolest things I've ever done, and probably one of the most unique encounters of most zoos.

Clearly, I loved it. Lion in the background is not so sure.

Next up - swimming with fur seals in Kaikoura next weekend. It's the capital of whale watching in New Zealand, but I've been whale watching many a time in my life (not that I wouldn't go again) but my friend Jess (who I've now mentioned multiple times in this post) and I decided to try to swim with seals. Stay tuned for that!

Also Orana had ducklings!
I've never seen so many ducklings that just wanted to say hi.
And their mom (luckily) didn't mind!

Summer is for Swimming in the Ocean -- and Having Visitors!

2015 is off to a great start so far, and gearing up to be a really great, really warm year. After two days in Pittsburgh, two weeks in New York, and one week in Irvine, I have arrived back in Christchurch, New Zealand for #TTNZ Round 2.

80 and Sunny in Southern California -- Not bad for January.

The decision process was a bit of a whirlwind, but through conversations with coworkers in both New York and New Zealand, I'm now committed to staying in New Zealand until May 1st! See what I mean about a warm 2015?

My first week back has been great. There's been a lot of time spent with friends, and a lot of time spent in the ocean -- or trying to get to the ocean.

I'll start, though, with my very last day in New Zealand in 2014. On my last night here, I told my kiwi friend, Cam, that I wasn't sure what to do before my 7 pm flight the following day. Cam suggested we head over to the Lyttleton markets. Lyttleton's just on the other side of the port hills that run along the south side of the city, so you either have to go up and over the hills, or through a tunnel. There are alcoves in the port hills that create smaller bays, and Lyttleton is located in one of those.  Lyttleton is, in my opinion, the closest you can get to "classic New Zealand" without leaving the greater Christchurch area.We had a great time looking at the markets and and ended up getting juices and enjoying the views by the harbor for a good part of the afternoon.

View of the Lyttleton Harbor from the top of Rapaki Track in the Port Hills

When I landed in Christchurch last Sunday, it was nearly 80 degrees and pretty sunny, so Cam and I went back to the Lyttleton area and went for a swim in one of the other alcoves. The water was pretty cold (because we're so close to Antarctica), but the 360 view from the edge of the swimming area was amazing. It was the perfect welcome back to New Zealand.

The weather was less than ideal this week -- cloudy and windy, as is unfortunately typical for Christchurch, but this weekend, the sun came back out in a big way. It was over 80 degrees with hardly a cloud in the sky, all weekend long!

Cam loves to swim and I wanted to hike, so on Saturday we decided to go to Bottle Lake Forest Reserve, just northeast of the city. Bottle Lake has a series of horseback, mountain bike, and running trails, leading through a forest and out to a beach club. We decided to go out there for a swim, but unfortunately we got a little lost in the forest reserve and never found the ocean. The trails were really nice though -- I think I'll go back for some training runs, and maybe then I'll find the ocean. We eventually gave up on the swim, and Cam settled for showing me a classic kiwi summertime treat - Goody Goody Gumdrop ice cream. It's weirdly green but tastes like bubble gum and has chewy lollies in it. Kinda weird, but apparently all kiwis love it, so I had to give it a go. 

After our little walk, I still had some energy to get out, so I went for a long run up in the port hills. I had never gone on any of the port hill tracks except Rapaki, so I was a little nervous about finding my way. I ended up running up the top of the hill, and unexpectedly finding a really cool hiking path overlooking the Lyttleton side of the hills.

Once again the classic New Zealand feel amazed me. If I weren't halfway through a long run, I could've stayed there for ages. I felt so lucky to be all alone, near the top the port hills, with this gorgeous view that I had just stumbled upon. I went back to the city to spend the night with friends, feeling so refreshed.

Another View of the Lyttleton Harbor from the top of the Port Hills

On Sunday, I didn't have any major plans, but since it was 90 degrees and BEAUTIFUL out, I had no choice but to go to the ocean twice. I first drove out to Taylor's Mistake beach.Taylor's Mistake is a small bay with the most gorgeous water color. I had gotten to the beach on one of my first weekends in Chch, but by way of a hike starting from the top of the port hills.

Taylor's Mistake Beach from the hike I did back in October.

That day I was the only person on the beach, and it seemed so remote. Today I drove directly to the beach and it was PACKED. I found a spot and relaxed for a couple hours until I was really hot and starting to get nervous that the hole in the ozone layer (over Australia/ New Zealand) was going to give me too much of a sunburn. The drive there and back had gorgeous views of both Taylor's Mistake bay and Sumner beach, but unfortunately the road was narrow, windy, and full of cars, so I wasn't able to take any pictures.

Only picture I took today... really should've taken more of the actually scenery since it was so beautiful!

After a little rest, I met up with Cam and we decided to go for another swim. We went out to Sumner Beach, where I had also been early in my time here, but that day was actually cloudy and not so nice.

My first time at Sumner when it was cloudy and cold.. so much nicer this weekend!

Today was an entirely different experience-  The tide was low so we were able to swim way out in the ocean. With the sun nearing sunset, the port hills and the cliffs looked absolutely beautiful. I really need a waterproof camera so I can capture our swims. Cam started diving for Pipi, which look kind of like clams, but they are found exclusively in New Zealand. Apparently you can bring them home and boil them and eat them -- so we should do that soon. Cam made sure I dove for a few as well so I can say "I went diving for Pipi in New Zealand". We jumped a few waves, threw the pipi so they skimmed on the water, and just had heaps of fun. 


Being back in familiar territory also came with a familiar face from New York. One of my best friends from study abroad in Sydney was traveling Australia and New Zealand with her sister and her mom, and they decided to stop in Christchurch for a night.

Skye and I on a Sheep Traffic Cone - basically the epitome of Christchurch.

It was so nice to welcome someone I love to a place I love. I took them to C1 - a really cool cafe where they serve sliders in a pneumatic tube. The sliders get delivered to the closest tube to your table. It's a really fun way to get your food and the food is really delicious. After dinner Skye's mom and sister wanted to go to the botanical gardens, so I drove them over there and showed them a few of my favorite parts.

Fountain at the Entrance of the Botanical Gardens

They all just kept saying, "I can't believe you get to live here and run here every morning". It was so nice to have someone see Christschurch and love it as much as I do.  I wish you could've stayed longer, Skye, but thanks for taking the time to see my little city!

So, needless to say, it feel great to be back. I'm really happy I came back and that I get to stay a few more months. If this first week is any indication of the rest of my time in New Zealand, I think it's going to be an amazing few months Can't wait for more visitors and more adventures. Stay tuned...

Hiking Chch

Christchurch really grew on me his week. The clouds went away and despite a couple overnight rain showers, the weather really improved. It's still much colder than I thought it would be -- looks like I won't be needing all those tank tops I packed -- but I took the opportunity to get outside and get moving. I took almost the first week off as I adjusted to jet lag. It's a 17 hour difference so I was too tired after work and I was putting in serious effort to try to sleep until my alarm in the morning, so I figured waking up the sun was probably counter productive. As the jet lag wore off I was able to run after work, and it felt so good :)

Stop 1: Hagley Park and the Christchurch Botanical Gardens 
I'm about a mile from Hagley Park, a large park that has so much going on. There's a golf course, rugby fields, a little lake, the Christchurch Botanical Gardens and so much more. I found a nice running route around the north part of the park, and through the botanical gardens. The strange part is, there are hardly any people running here! The park has a presence in the city like central park, and some people run the outside loop of the park, but there aren't too many people cutting around the trails. Such a change for me! Also the "river" here is more like a creek. One of my coworkers told me to run along the river, and that was definitely not what I expected.



Bridge over the "River" in the Christchurch Botanical Gardens

Stop 2: Rapaki Track

This is the "hill" Sarah wanted to run up last weekend. It's actually a track, maintained by the government and hikers are warned that it is "extremely steep" in some places.

The Final Ascent

With the long weekend, nearly everyone in the office decided to travel (oh yeah, I forgot to mention Monday is NZ labour day). So Friday after work I went out to try to Rapaki track again. It was just as beautiful as last time, but this time on my way down I caught the sunset- amazing.

Sunset on the Way Down Rapaki Track

 I love this route because you get to be so close to so many sheep and the way they look at you just makes me laugh. 



Everybody Smile!



I posted this before, but I love the way this guy just looked at me as I was running down. Not as scared of humans as they probably should be.

The Rapaki Track also is one of those routes that rewards you at the top. The top of the track is at the summit of the port hills, and when you get there you look on to the bay on the other side of the hills that you wouldn't be able to see any other way. It really is incredible. The picture I took really doesn't so it justice. Mom, I'm hoping you'll try this one day Christchurch cause your photo will certainly be better than mine. 



View from the Top!

Clearly I would recommend this to a friend.

Stop 3: Taylor's Mistake

Today my only real plan was to move in to Sarah's apartment, but not until late afternoon, so I decided to drive out to Taylor's Mistake and do the 3-hour hike there. This one was a little different from Rapaki Track because it's on the water the whole way and you're going from the top of one of the port hills, around the hill and then down to Taylor's Mistake beach. The drive to get there was terrifying! It's a one lane road, for two-way traffic, on the side of a mountain, with no guardrail. On the way up you're on the outside lane (driving on the left) and I wasn't entirely sure I was going the right way, so when I finally got to the carpark I was so relieved. There were a couple steep parts but generally not too bad. I think I'll try to run it next time.

Headed to that little patch of sand in the middle of the frame



Another view - this time showing the track I'm walking on along the way



A look back along the track

Made it.




Almost back to the start you walk along this gorgeous bay



Last turn before the top