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Travel Notes - Christchurch, New Zealand - By- Meenakshi Madhur I am working as researcher for a large university in Sydney in the field of 'Sustainable Water Management'. Poetry and people are my passion. I enjoy expressing my deepest emotions and feelings through my poems that I compose in English, Hindi and Urdu. Besides poems, I also like to write articles. The main purpose for which I write is to inspire and motivate people to bring about positive change in their lives by sharing my own life experiences. I also love humor - in life as well as in written form. Hence some of my favourite pastimes include laughing and sharing jokes with my friends. Currently, I am having a great ball leading my newfound life as single mother (of 10 year old boy).

Recently in the month of November, I got an opportunity to visit arguably the most attractive city in New Zealand - Christchurch. The country of New Zealand is made up of two islands - North and South. Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island with a population of about 300 000. Christchurch is located on the east cost of South Island in the Canterbury plains with Southern Alps in its backdrop. I would like to share my travel notes that I made during the sight seeing and fun times I managed to squeeze in between the busy schedules of my paper presentation and conference attendance - the main reason for which I landed in the place.

The first impressions

The first thing that strikes you when you drive into the city from the airport is the stunning and ever changing landscapes all around you and anywhere you turn your head.

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(Click on the image to enlarge it)

The Elegant houses with picturesque european architecture border the streets and roads that pass through the residential areas of the city. Big and beautiful gardens are integral parts of most houses. The shallow Avon river meandering through the heart of the city has a serpentine park located along its banks. Locals and tourists can be seen punting.

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(Click on the image to enlarge it)

The expansive public parks and gardens scattered around the city has earned it the international title of The Garden City . As I was taking a walk in a residential suburb, all of a sudden intoxicating fragrance of roses filled my senses although there was no rose plant was in sight. As I walked further I was quite taken by surprise that an ordinary public car parking area had been ornated with several rose bushes all blooming with variety of roses and this is where the fragrance of roses emnated. It was a rose park more than a car park :-) !

Botanical Gardens

These gardens are located in the heart of the city. As soon as you enter the gardens, you are greeted by a peacock fountain - which is a sheer piece of art !

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(Click on the image to enlarge it)

They provide spectacular displays year round and undoubtedly hold the finest collection of exotic and indigenous plants unsurpassed in New Zealand. Large majestic and sweeping trees provide a wonderful backdrop to feature gardens including rock, water, rose and herb gardens.

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(Click on the image to enlarge it)

(Click on the image to enlarge it)

Orienteering at Akaroa

The senator of Christchurch City Ms Chrissy Williams took some of us on a sexy secenic drive to a nearby beauuuuuutiful village of Akaroa. Akaroa used to be a French colony during the nineteenth century. The architecture, the cafes in the public malls and the street names are all reminders and symbolic of the history and heritage of French settlement that the town used to be.

Chrissy suggested that a game of 'orienteering' could be a unique and fun way of getting to know the beautiful village. Here are a couple of shots of me enjoying this outdoor game called 'orienteering' which I played with the locals and some fellow delegates attending the conference.The game is along the lines of treasure hunt using a contour map of the village. The best part of orienteering is that you get to see and enjoy all the beautiful nooks and corners of the place. The locals of all ages, shapes and sizes participate in the game with great enthusiasm. I took a picture of an enthusiastic woman taking part in the game with her baby on her back.

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(Click on the image to enlarge it)

(Click on the image to enlarge it)

I thoroughly enjoyed the experience eventhough I was quite ill-prepared for the game as it wasnt in my plans (notice the totally in-appropriate footwear I was wearing to run and walk on ever changing contours of the place !).

Hector Dolphins of New Zealand

This is a shot of Hector Dolphins that I managed to take when I joined a harbour cruise. Pity that I couldnt capture them actually dancing and frolicking in waters around our boat in groups of 2s 3s and 4s. They seemed to be enjoying the attention of the tourists.

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Hector Dolphins are found only in New Zealand's inshore waters. They are easily recognized by their rounded dorsal fin and black, grey and white markings. They are just 1.45 m long -smallest marine dolphins in the world. The dolphins breed and raise their yound close to the shore. With a life expectancy of about 20 years, a female becomes sexually mature at about 8 years and can generally produce only 4 to 7 calves in a lifetime.

These dolphins have been named after Sir James Hector, a former curator of the New Zealand National Museum.

Here is a a beautiful view of the horizon that I captured while on the cruise.

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The marine waters around South Island have an extraordinary appeal to them because of their typical shade of turquoise colour. I couldnt help capturing the glory of this colour when I got close to these turquoise waters while cruising the harbour.

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Like all good things, my stay in the city came to an end all too soon . I was woken up from my dream like travel trip to Christchurch when I boarded my flight to Sydney. It was a well deserved short and sweet break from the mundane work routine and I returned home re-charged and refreshed.

Click here for more scenic pictures of Christchurh.

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