Zhang Family Travel Logs: New Zealand 9

Morning went for a scenic drive around Port Hill - the drive took us from the heart of the city to seaside suburb of Sumner, continued on to the summit of the Port Hills, then to Lyttleton Harbour through Lyttelton Tunnel.
Afternoon we returned to Antigua Boat Sheds by Avon River for some boat rowing along the river to botanic garden
Drizzle and gloomy in the morning so we spent sometime in the shopping mall. LG went to playing last round of golf in NZ. Sun finally broke out in the afternoon so I took Ethan for a tram ride in downtown.

This morning we took the Alpine Pacific Triangle touring route toward Kaikoura. When passing Waipara Valley wine region, we tried to stop at few wineries. It was too early, we only had luck with one, Mud House, right off SH1.
Kaikoura, at the end of the triangle touring route, is a seaside town located on the rugged east coast. It is well known for attracting a generous selection of wildlife. We took a whale watching trip out on the sea. The ride was very bumpy, and Ian even threw up a bit. But we were rewarded with 4 sightings of giant sperm whales surfacing, a big pod of dolphins zooming by, and numerous albatross.
Kaikoura translates as "to eat crayfish" in Maori. Our timing is a little off to sample the whole crayfish, instead we tried seafood chowder instead.
Finally before we left town, we stopped by the look out to take in the grand views of the peninsula with the majestic alpine backdrop.
We headed back to Christchurch on the inland route through mountains and rolling hills. Unfortunately night came quickly upon us, and soon we could only see the winding road in front of us.

Ian's cast needs to be cut open before boarding the airplane in case of swelling during flight. We went to a 24-hour clinic this morning to have it done. Everything went smoothly.
We had a long lunch in McDonald's with a big play area so Ethan can have one last play. Ian got emotional about his broken leg situation since he couldn't join Ethan, but quickly settled for some DS instead.
After lunch, boys went on a "Caterpillar" ride around botanic gardens while I took the footpath around.
After a quick stroll around Hight St for some last minute shopping in Christchurch, we headed to the airport for a domestic flight to Auckland then 11-hours red-eye flight back to Shanghai.