After Chris’ first full week of work, we decided that a happy hour on Friday night was well-deserved. So, we met up with some of our ultimate playing friends for a nice night at the local bar, DuxdeLux, for some home brewed beer. While there, we somehow decided that a pancake party was in order for Saturday morning before heading out for our tramp at Godley Head.
After we filled up on delicious pancakes, bacon, eggs, and muffins (it was quite a feast), we drove out to Godley head (about 30 minutes from the city) and started our hike. The views on the way out there were amazing and we saw lots of paragliders. Once we got there, we explored a bit and saw the abandoned shelters and military bunkers that were built during World War II when New Zealand thought that they might be attacked. These military buildings were set up all along the coast as a form of defense (we thought that the enormous Pacific Ocean was enough of a defense, but apparently they didn’t want to take any chances). Well, no one ever invaded New Zealand (big surprise right?) so the buildings went unused and have been abandoned for years. They were cool to see, but I can’t imagine spending months and months in them just waiting for someone to attack. As our friend, Liz, said, they probably got really good at playing cards.
Next we took the coastal walk and then went through a cool tunnel/cave to come out on right near the rocks in the water. We found ourselves on the shaded side of the hill at this point and got a bit chilly pretty quickly. That’s the thing about New Zealand, when you’re in the direct sunlight, you can be sweating, and then when you step into the shade, it’s suddenly freezing. There’s no happy medium. So, we headed back out to the sunny side to continue our hike. We started off with the intention of going to a nearby beach, but we got on the wrong trail and ended up weaving our way through lots of sheep instead. It was actually really good and we got some more great views of the coastline.
After about 2-3 hours of tramping, we were ready to head down to the beach (by car, that is) and relax a bit. We went to Sumner beach (about 10 minutes drive) and had a nice leisurely walk before calling it a day. By the time we made it back to Christchurch, everyone was beat, but it was totally worth it for a fun day out on the trails!Next weekend we’ve already scheduled a St. Patrick’s Day/Going Away Party for Liz and possibly a scavenger hunt. Stay tuned!
The crew checking out the view from the roof of one of the bunkers
Taking a break on the trail
6 comments:
I agree that it must have been pretty boring just sitting and waiting for an attack, and it would have been a shame to let those buildings go to waste. That's why I like to think that the New Zealand army divided up into shirts and skins and ran drills.
I know I missed my chance to comment on the last post, mostly because I was mesmerized by the video. (That's a catchy song!) But at least I'm the first one to comment on this one.
dean white, do you wear your 7x jersey every day?
It was to protect against the sheep, not the Japanese! That's why they built those fortifications. Unused, pshaw, they were vital in the Great Sheep Uprising of '53.
Don't they teach history anymore?
every day i go tramping with four lovely ladies
Chris worked a full week? Chris,
please don't tell me you are following guys out to their cars for money again.. You said that was going to stop once you got out of college.
Chris worked a full week and Elliot Spitzer was implicated in a prostitution scandal. Coincidence?
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