Christchurch has the reputation of being the most “English” city outside of England. We got our first inkling of the reason for that as we approached the dock and were met by a bell-ringer in full yeoman warder costume. It was a unique greeting, I must admit. I’ve been piped ashore, greeted by marching bands, singers, dancers, etc. but this was the first time for bell-ringing. It was different….We actually were docked in Lyttleton, the port serving Christchurch, about twelve kilometers away by a highway which ran through a mountain tunnel more than a mile long. I have no idea why that’s important but it seemed worth mentioning. Greg and I had again booked the same excursion, the “High Country Explorer” into the Southern Alps. It was another all-day trip, promoted as the chance to see things that the natives seldom see. It had been the last excursion that I booked for a couple of reasons. First, it was another all day trip and I had already scheduled a lot of those. Second, it was the most expensive excursion I booked, about $360 for the day. After thinking about it, it occurred to me that this was pocket-change in the grand scheme of things and I would only be doing this trip one time. So let’s not miss anything! I’m really happy that I made that decision.
The bus picked us up around 8:00 am and we made our way through the tunnel and into Christchurch. We did a short drive around town with the guide pointing out the sights. I have to admit that I was very much impressed with Christchurch. It was a very pretty city and very English in style, architecture,
gardens, etc. We drove along the Avon River for a pretty good while and it got narrower as we went along. I suppose we were getting closer to its source but I’m just guessing. Anyway, after a bit more sightseeing, we stopped at the Mona Vale Gardens. This wasn’t listed in the tour description but I’m really glad it was on the agenda. As I’ve said, it was early spring and the gardens were putting 
on a magnificent show. I’ve never been so impressed with flowers and shrubs! And the setting was almost pastoral. There was a stream running the length of the left side, ducks with ducklings, magnificent homes with formal gardens along the stream and everywhere you looked, flowers! I can’t ever remember enjoying a garden so much. I was one of the last people to make it back to the bus. It was a very pleasant start to the day.
We left the gardens and headed for the Alps. One really weird thing about New Zealand is that, as soon as you leave the city, the roads are virtually deserted. We drove for miles and only saw a handful of cars. The scenery was as gorgeous as usual but nothing like what was to come. As we drove along, we began to see the mountain range ahead and, as we got closer, the view went from gorgeous to spectacular! We were trying to get pictures from the bus but just couldn’t do it justice. So the driver simply pulled onto the 
shoulder and let everyone off to take some pictures. No traffic is a good thing! The Alps were magnificent, about six thousand feet high and snow-capped. I got a picture of a flock of sheep grazing in a pasture with the mountains behind them. I’ve been told that it almost looks as though the background was painted into the shot. But the picture is genuine, I swear!
After a few minutes for photos, we re-boarded the bus and drove into the mountains. It was a very scenic drive on very smooth paved roads, which was a pleasant change from my other mountain adventures. As always, we passed flocks of sheep grazing in fields bordering the road. We made a couple of stops for pictures, eventually ending up at Flock Hill Lodge where we were to have lunch. The lodge is a hostel, providing accommodations for hikers, backpackers, cyclists, etc. The setting is like a scene from the Sound of Music, surrounded by tall snow-covered mountains, flowers, pastures, etc. There’s even an enclosure with reindeer and sheep. We spent about an hour or so having lunch and looking around the grounds. Then it was time to board our next mode of transportation, four-wheel drive mini buses. Uh-oh!Remember my earlier mountain safaris in Napier and Wellington? The ones where I stopped looking and said a few silent prayers? The ones that terrified
me right down to my soul? Those were the kiddy rides that led into this E-ticket adventure! That’s the problem with shore excursion descriptions, they don’t always tell you exactly what to expect. As I recall, this one said something like “board your next mode of transportation for a scenic drive through the mountains” or some such wording. I suppose that “prepare for the most terrifying ride of your life” or "make certain that your affairs are in order" might discourage folks from signing up for the trip but that would have been much more accurate. Oh well, we’re here now and we have to get back to the ship so we boarded the buses and took off down a dirt road at the rear of Flock Hill.
There’s really not much to say about the ride except that it was both fantastic and terrifying at the same time. We went straight back over the mountains on dirt roads that were narrower and more winding than before and this time we were several thousand feet higher. Need I mention the lack of guard rails? But again, the scenery was majestic! We made a couple of photo stops, including one at the edge of a cliff overlooking a deep valley where every view was amazing. At some point on the drive, a lady asked whether she should buckle her seat belt. The driver’s response was that if we went off the road, it 
wouldn’t matter one way or the other. I almost forgot to mention that. In any event, we made it over the mountains and ended up at a very blue, very shallow river. And waiting for us was a Hamilton jet boat! You’ve seen travel documentaries where they’re flying down a river at fifty miles per hour, doing 360s every so often? Yep, that’s a Hamilton jet boat! We boarded the boat after donning life jackets, packed in like sardines, and started down the river. I don’t know how fast we were actually going but it seemed like we were flying. 
And it was actually fun! Not too far from the take-out point, we did the obligatory 360 and I assumed that the excitement was over. I was wrong. I’m not sure exactly how he did it but the driver nosed the bow under the water, then ran the water up the bow, over the windshield and directly on top of my head. It was as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water over me. The bad thing was that I had my camera in my hand and it got soaked. I’d dry eventually but I’d be very upset if I lost all the pictures I had taken on the trip. Fortunately, the camera was fine and I did dry out. All’s well that ends well, I suppose….They had coffee waiting for us at the boathouse and the bus was standing by to take us back to Christchurch. We boarded the bus and started back, with no real sightseeing along the way. It had been a very long day with beautiful scenery interspersed with moments of absolute terror. That may be a slight exaggeration, but not too much! Anyway, I’m really glad I did it. Once!
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