World Travel Blog

Having put up with the pain in my tooth for over a week today was finally the day when I could actually go and see a dentist at an emergency clinic in Timaru. Ringing the dentist in the morning I made an appointment for a few hours time which would give us enough time to drop Aaron at Temuka for his bowls match before driving on down to Timaru and the waiting dentist.

At the dentist my suspicions had been correct, a chunk of tooth had broken off and was only held in place by my gum which was causing the pain when I bit down. The dentist had a poke around and decided that the rest of the tooth was whole and had not split in two - at least some good news - numbing my mouth the dentist proceeded to then pull the chunk of tooth out before applying some semi-permanent concrete to the tooth. The chunk of tooth he pulled out must have been nearly a 1cm by 0.5cm, which he kindly put in a bag for me to keep, though I subsequently left it in the surgery - d’oh!

Paying for the dentist and with half my mouth still numb I headed out to meet Jock and Rob waiting outside before we made our way back to Geraldine to go to the butcher to get a joint of lamb for dinner - Rob and I were cooking dinner to say thanks for putting us up. Getting a nice leg of lamb and the rest of the ingredients needed for dinner we headed back to the house to spend the afternoon relaxing before cooking the food.

Jock headed out to pick up Aaron from the bowls while we got underway preparing everything for later. The leg of lamb we had for dinner was really good and sat outside in the last of the evenings heat while we enjoyed it with some good NZ wine, before moving on to cheese and biscuits for the rest of the evening. By the time we headed to bed the stars were fully out and most of the alcohol had been drunk.

Today was our last real opportunity to go and explore and having seen most of the area the only place left nearby was Mesopotamia, apparently a really remote area with beautiful scenery - breathtaking enough to be used in Lord of the Rings!

Driving north along the highways it was not long before we turned off down a small side road which soon turned into nothing more than a dirt track. The winding dirt track took us deeper into the countryside and we found ourselves stopping often to take pictures of the amazing scenery all around us.

Several dirt tracks later we found ourselves in the middle of nowhere, looking around there was nothing but grassland for miles around, eventually turning to mountains. Apparently this was the area had been used in the Lord of the Rings, though we couldn’t recognise any of the scenery from the film. Without any shelter there was a strong wind blowing threw the valley that soon became to much to bear so jumping back in the car we headed out.

On the way back along the dirt tracks we got caught up in a ‘New Zealand Traffic Jam’, us and several cars stuck behind a farmer driving his flock of sheep along the road. To be fair to the guy it was pretty impressive as his sheepdogs were well trained and soon had the sheep rounded up and into the right field. With the traffic jam over we got back on our way and were soon back in Geraldine

With Jock and Aaron going out to friends for the evening we were left to cook our own dinner, Chicken and Brie Pies from Plums Cafe - apparently a local speciality. They were really good especially washed down with a few beers.

Jock wanted to show us Lake Takepo - the Green Lake - and the surrounding area so once we were up we headed out, the 1hr drive took us through some beautiful terrain before we finally arrived at the small village on the edge of the lake.

Down at the shore of the lake it was amazing how green the lake actually was due to the minerals washed down from the nearby mountains. With the clear blue sky overhead we could make out Mount Cook - New Zealands biggest mountain - at the far end of the lake, stopping for a few photos and to see how cold the water was - despite the heat of the day it was freezing!

Back in the car we headed the short distance to Mount John, a large mountain in the middle of the surrounding plains that not only had a great view of the lakes around and the channels for the massive hydroelectric power plants but also home to a large observatory. Driving on from here we made our way to the edge of yet another lake which also had an information centre about the huge hydroelectric system - no less than 7 power stations - fed off Lake Takepo. Following one of the many channels in the area we passed under 2 huge pipes before stopping near one of the power plants to have a look around.

Heading off from here we ended up at a Salmon farm kept in one of the green watered channels and ended up getting dinner - a large piece of good looking Salmon - before moving on to stop in a small village on the shores of Lake Takepo where Jock grew up. Driving back to Geraldine we stopped off again by Lake Takepo to have a look at the tiny stone church sat on the edge of the lake.

Finally back in Geraldine we spent the afternoon relaxing, Rob took the opportunity for some sleep before Aaron came back from work. The salmon from the fish farm was really tasty and we enjoyed it sat outside in the beautiful summers eve.

Jock wanted to show us the area around Geraldine and down as far as Timaru so once we were finally up we headed out to explore the surrounding area. Just behind Geraldine is some really great scenery and with Jock as our guide we managed to see most of it, though we were surprised how dry the ground was - nearly all the grass in the area was yellow!

Driving down through the countryside we eventually arrived at Timaru, a larger town by the sea, stopping in a car park overlooking the ocean we had a wander along the boardwalk by the beach before hopping back into the car and starting our way back. We stopped off at Dominoes to get a couple of pizzas in for dinner then headed back to Geraldine along the main roads.

Back at the house we spent the afternoon relaxing before Aaron arrived back from work, after sitting around for a couple of hours chatting we re-heated the pizzas and had a few beers.

Getting up really early we packed our bags and left the keys at the reception while we wandered up to the main road to await the arrival of the bus to Geraldine. After quite a wait and several possible buses driving past ours eventually turned up on the other side of the road so we headed over and jumped aboard the empty bus. Spending the next half hour driving around Christchurch we eventually left with a full bus and made it all the way to the suburbs before stopping to change drivers, unfortunately know one had told the other driver so we had a long wait until a replacement was found.

Eventually with a driver aboard we were on way and before long we had arrived at Geraldine, somehow Jock - our Mum’s cousin, suppose our second cousin - knew which bus we were on as despite the delays he was waiting for us at the bus stop. After greeting Jock we piled our bags in the bag of his car before heading round the corner to Plums Cafe - where Aaron worked - to say Hi and grab a good breakfast.

We spent the afternoon chatting to Jock and finding out about Geraldine and what he had been up to since we had last seen him - over a year ago. Also took the opportunity to get some clothes washed and dried, don’t think Jock realised what he was in for when he made the offer as we ended up washing several loads of clothes.

With Aaron back from work we decided to go for a walk along the nearby river bed before dinner, though Rob was recovering from the drinking in Christchurch so slept instead. The sun was still beating down and despite being 4pm it was really hot, fortunately the walk took us across the shallow river several times so could nicely cool our feet off.

Arriving back at the house after the nice walk we had dinner sat outside on the patio with a couple of beers, before heading back into the shade of the house for the rest of the evening. Having eaten dinner Aaron suggested we went for a walk around the neighbourhood before stopping on the way back for ice cream, wandering around the area we got a good idea about the size of the Geraldine as well as all the gossip. After getting some ice cream from the nearby dairy we ended up spending the rest of the evening catching up and chatting before finally heading to bed much earlier than we have been of late.

Waking up early I chilled out in the hostel before heading down to the supermarket to buy some food for lunch to kill time until Rob re-appeared. I decided to treat myself and had big lunch involving some New Zealand Lamb steaks - first actual lamb in New Zealand! Rob eventually appeared early in the afternoon and after picking some things up we headed out to spend the day with Kylie.

We headed over to Kylie’s for a bit before heading out to see the Pier at Brighton Beach in the sunshine this time, parking the car we walked along the beach before heading up the stairs to the large pier jutting out into the ocean. Strolling down to the end we watched a couple of crazy surfers who were riding big waves through the legs of the pier and coming out the other side. As the wind picked up we headed back to the safety of the large library, that overlooks the beach, full of people sat reading by the large viewing windows. In the small shopping street of Brighton we stopped for some food and managed to get a really good Venison pie before heading back to the car and towards a pub.

The first pub we stopped in was at a small golf club on the edge of Christchurch and though the atmosphere was not the best it was really nice to sit out and enjoy a beer in the sun. Leaving that pub we moved on to one just around the corner from Kylie’s house and sat outside enjoying some beer though apparently it was a really rough pub and definitely not one to drink it at night.

With a few beers inside of us we headed back to Kylie’s house as she had promised to cook us a meal the\ night before, once her kids were in bed we sat down for a large pasta meal which was really good and then started on the drinking. The night soon deteriorated into drinking games and after a while even they became too much so the atmosphere relaxed and we ended up drinking wine and chatting.

Getting up earlier than usual we decided it was probably time to move on and after phoning Jock - our Mums cousin - to let him know that we would be coming down to see him in a few days we went to the reception to inquire about buses down to Geraldine where he lived. With us finally beginning to start the ball rolling on moving on headed to the kitchen to get some lunch. While we were enjoying our lunch of scrambled eggs, beans on toast we received an invite from Kylie to go for a drive and see some of the surrounding countryside. 

After sorting ourselves out we headed outside to find her waiting in her car with her friend Aileen - a nice lass from Ireland - and were soon on our way to see some of the country. With Kylie having grown up in the area we had our own personal guided tour and got to see some good stuff, we first headed to Lyttleton where the first European settlers of the South Island landed and unsurprisingly ended up in a bar overlooking the dockland areas for a beer. Moving on from there we headed to Sumner Beach, where we sat on top of a massive rock which overlooked the beach before heading through a large cave worn through the middle of the rock.

With the weather turning worse as we drove to New Brighton Beach, we ended up just sitting in the car looking at the pier as the rain pelted down, and lightening forked overhead. Eventually we decided to call it a day and headed back towards the centre of Christchurch, where we stopped off at an Indian restaurant for dinner.

After having an argument with the waiter about how hot I wanted my Lamb Vindaloo, apparently their is 3 times of hot - Kiwi, Indian and English, I finally managed to get him to give me Indian hot. The curry was actually really good though we had far too much food for the 4 of us. With as much eaten as we could manage we headed down to the Bard for some more beer before heading off to His Lordships to listen to some really good live music and drink more beer.

Though Rob disappeared off early I managed to stay out until closing before walking back to the hostel and heading to my bed.

Getting up at a reasonable time and no sign of Rob I headed out to the supermarket for some food and ended up returning with some New Zealand Lamb to eat. While eating I discovered that something had happened to my tooth and every time I bit down there was a sharp pain on one side of my mouth. A complete disaster as New Zealand is one of the most expensive countries in the world for dental treatment - 800-1000 NZD for a crown (300-400 pounds).

After managing to eat everything on the other side of my mouth I went to a mirror to check out the damage, nothing was immediately wrong but the whole inside of a large molar could be waggled back and for away from the filling in it - the only plus side was that the tooth had had root canal treatment so it was only the gum causing me pain!

Rob eventually appeared and headed straight to bed as he was feeling very sorry for himself, he had gotten little sleep after being out drinking until 3 in the morning with Kylie and others, though while she had been behind the bar she had been feeding him quad vodkas and mixers and he was suffering as a result! After getting a couple of hours sleep we headed out to meet Bryn and Kirk down at the Bard for some more beer though Rob was in a bad place and would not stop complaining about how rough he felt.

James appeared during the afternoon and we continued drinking in the Bard and eating some food, eventually more of the regulars came and went before Rob, Bryn, James and myself headed out to a nearby pool hall to give Rob a chance to recover.

After a few games of pool and Rob still feeling ill we moved on to a few more bars and even stopped by Lenny’s flat - conveniently located above Vespa - before heading down to Vespa for some shots and beer. With Rob still looking like death we headed back to the Bard, where we found Kylie was behind the bar and once again pouring ridiculously strong drinks if we ventured of beer. As time wore on we decided to call it a night at around 12 after quite a good day of drinking and socialising despite Rob feeling really bad.

Unsurprisingly we got up late again and Rob was as bad as ever with a large hangover and still a bad cold, though that was not going to get any better with all the drinking. We had resigned ourselves for a quiet day involving mainly sleeping in Robs case and then a big night on Saturday. As Rob dosed in bed I ate a bit more chocolate and read some more, biting down on one particular chunk there was a nasty crunching nice which sounded like one of my teeth shattering, having a quick check I could not see anything immediately wrong and after deciding it must just have been the chocolate I carried on as before.

Around 3pm we got a text from Bryn with a summons to “HQ” for a catch up and a few drinks, with neither of us in the mood to cook any food we decided why not and were soon in a taxi heading back into town. In the pub I opted on not drinking and saving myself for the following night and was on the lemonade instead much to everyone’s amusement - though with Rob propping himself up at the bar we did look a sorry pair! While chatting to someone I had a feeling that a bit of tooth had come loose and fallen out of my mouth, though looking on the floor I could not see anything and everything felt ok so I just put it down to my imagination.

Several pints of lemonade later for me I gave up and decided to have a beer, somehow we managed to have some food while we drank more beer and soon found ourselves in amongst a growing crowd of regulars. After a brief barney between a Kiwi bloke called Scott and Bryn a few of us headed out to sample some different bars. Rob, Bryn, Kirk, Stu and myself headed out down the “strip” - the set of bars by the river front - for a few beers before heading to His Lordships and “Sol Square” a small square surrounded by bars and the main area to go out drinking in Christchurch. After a few more beers and other drinks we ended up back at His Lordships at 11pm, some more beer later we decided to call it a night and after saying bye we went our separate ways. Though by this time Rob was pretty wasted and completely missed everyone leaving, after waiting around for a while outside the bar for him to leave I decided he had other plans and I walked back to the hostel.

After waiting up for a while to see if he was going to appear and even ringing the mobile to see how he was getting on I eventually gave up and headed to bed.

Getting up earlier than usual we had moved all our stuff into our new room by 10am and were enjoying our new 7′ long bunk beds - long enough for even us! With everything sorted and after handing in the keys for the old room we chilled out for a bit before heading into town to do some sightseeing of Christchurch though we were going via the Bard on Avon to see James.

Arriving in the Bard we decided to have lunch there before heading out, since we were getting a sandwich and we were in a pub it seemed rude not to get a beer as well. By the time we had eaten our sandwich a couple of the locals had appeared and we were chatting with them so it seemed rude not to have another beer. 5 pints later and the bar had now got pretty busy and we finally gave up on pretending we would be doing anything sort of sightseeing that day. Having gone through all my money I got directions to a nearby cash machine and decided I could have a quick look of the city while I was out. 

Nearby to the pub was a large park with a small river running down its side on which people were enjoying a days punting, following the river around I found a large wooden totem pole - not sure that’s the right word for the Marui object - commemorating the Marui people in Christchurch. Heading back towards the pub I took another detour via the Cathedral and had a wander around its outside before finally calling it a day and heading back to the pub.

By this time the crowd had gotten even larger and we were soon outside enjoying a beer in the sun, it turned out it was the birthday of one of the regulars - Dave a lad from Essex - so we gave up any notion of a quiet day and got ready for a long night of drinking. Out of the crowd of regulars drinking only 2 were Kiwis - Jess and Kylie - the rest were English - Bryn from Newcastle, Kirk from Middlesborough and Stewie from the Midlands. They were all really nice and quite a good bunch to be drinking with though we soon ended up drinking various shots including one suggested by Bryn which consisted of a flaming Sambuca but involving a second glass for collecting the vapours which you sucked through  a straw before downing the drink - bizarre!

We eventually left the pub at around 1 and completely failed to flag a taxi down so ended up walking home which in our state took longer than expected. Once again we had to use they key code to get back in the building!