Voyages of the Oddity

Well I now have a set of wheels. My good friend Jonathan Carr sold me his 1995 honda Odyssey. It has all wheel drive and a stinger bar with fog lights so in spite of Naomi Orndorff's criticism it's more or less the manliest van on the road. I spent the better part of Thursday getting it insured but then once I did I treated myself to $20 of gas to drive into the port hills for some tramping. This, as it turned out, was an awesome decision. If you go south out of Christchurch you pass through a tunnel into the main port area. This is in the crater of an extinct volcano. As I drove out this road I couldn't help but be reminded of the world's best driving roads segments of Top Gear. I went out over the scenic terrain through the port area and over a hill into the farming land beyond to the south. It was a really amazing drive but I was running low on fuel so I turned around and came back my original route. As I did this I saw a sign leading up the hill to the west saying "Sign of the Kiwi." The mountain peaks around the port at Christchurch are all named after local birds so I figured since the Kiwi was the national bird there must be something cool up there. The drive up the mountain was fairly hair raising. The road was a VERY narrow two lane that looked as if one too many earthquakes had hit it. Interspersed liberally on the winding track were cattle guards made out of railroad track so they made a rumbling sound when I crossed them. I got higher and higher and subsequently the view got better. Down in the crater the ships were going in and out of the port at the large natural mouth formed by a gap on the north side in the rim of the volcano.

After about 15 minutes of climbing I came to the crest of the crater and the entire Canterbury plains opened up. I could see as far as the Southern Alps. As I crested the rim of the crater I chanced to look to the right of the car and there was a very small trail head. I turned the Oddity around and parked. The trail was very small and lead into some very overgrown bush. Tramping into the bush I noticed all sorts of wildlife in a very pleasant, low lying, grove of trees. Sunlight burst in at the end of the grove. Crossing that threshold I came into an alpine meadow. Below me I could see the mountain road snaking away toward Christchurch. Ahead there was a large rocky outcrop. There was a trail leading around the rather imposing outcrop and one that seemed to go straight up it. Being curious and remembering what my dad always said about my old friend John Jones I decided to take the hard way. After about 15 minutes of bushwhacking and climbing I ended up on the top of the mountain. There was a metal marker there showing the cardinal directions of the compass. To the south east the crater went around to make the harbor. The other side of the harbor has mountains twice as big as the ones on the Christchurch side. To the northwest I saw Christchurch and the Canterbury plains. They went as far as the eye could see to the Southern Alps in the middle of the country. To the south was the peninsula stretching away to the open ocean. All this and I didn't have a camera.

Luckily I had brought my computer in my backpack. I pulled it out and managed to snap a few pictures with the camera before the battery died. I was amazed at the height of the mountains and the people living and farming among them so easily. Later my friend Alice told me over tea that these were merely hills and that the big mountains were in the center of the island.

I went back to the Oddity and began my descent back to Christchurch. I was quite thirsty but as I was driving I saw a spring coming out of the the mountain. I stopped and filled an old ginger beer bottle I had in the car. It was some of the best tasting water I have ever had!

That is another thing about Christchurch. The water comes from artisan springs and is supplied to the town. This results in the water being extremely pure.

I finished my drive past sign of the Kiwi. I saw the observatory and a few mountain biking tracks. There were very few cars to be seen up there. I intersected the road leading down into Christchurch and ended up where I started my trip in Cashmere on the south side of Christchurch. I saw my friends Alice and Lindsay. They are cavers in the CCG or Canterbury Caving Group. I had tea and dinner with them to end the day.

Soon I should hear from the people out at Tekapo whether I have a job or not. They don't seem to check their email regularly there so I'm still waiting. It should be soon though. Hope everyone is having a good time in the states! As I sit here writing this a raucous (it had better be raucous) speleoseminar should be going on. Have a beer for me (Drink two Peppy. Why? BECAUSE WHY NOT?!)


Dan "Joker" Crowder