Timaru, Christchurch

Sunshine greeted us this morning as we left Knottingley Park, bound for Christchurch.

Parked up at the arboretum

A forced stop in Timaru to get a failed brake light bulb fixed gave us the opportunity to explore the seaside town. Actually, it's more of a port town as its shoreline has been heavily developed to handle the shipping of large containers.

Despite the obstruction of a freight railway, I managed to find a beautiful spot tucked away at Caroline Bay. Incongruously surrounded by the highway and the container port, access to the bay is difficult but rewards with a view of the sea and Southern Alps from the same spot.

Man sandwiched between nature

After our brief pitstop, I drove us the 200km north on the arrow-straight SH1. After the wiggly mountain roads of the west coast, this was the most boring drive of the trip so far. Once we reached Rolleston - the epicentre of the 2011 earthquake - we were in sight of the (by some margin) largest city  on the South Island. From the industrial outskirts, it took us some time to penetrate to the centre.

After a restorative coffee stop, we met up with two friends from the UK, who are joining us for the next two weeks of our travels. We both parked up at Amber holiday park, just west of the town centre in Riccarton. Our small camper van looked decidedly puny next to their much larger and plusher 'mobile home'.

Say hello to the RV

Fortunately, the weather had cleared significantly for our friends' arrival. There was good sunshine but a stiff and slightly chilly breeze. Local papers reported that the unseasonable snow was the first time since 1992 that Christchurch got a dusting in April.

After a quick catch-up, all four of us ventured into town. Being slightly farther removed from the CBD than I had thought, we took the bus. The centre of town was hard to recognise at first. The aftermath of the earthquake is still very much apparent and many of the roads are blocked for constant building work. It was a desolate and shocking sight that we had not anticipated.

Many of the buildings are still standing (or may have been repaired quickly). One of these is Cassel's brewpub. Arriving fortuitously at happy hour, we set about their wood-fired pizzas and locally brewed beer. A particularly fine example was the single-hopped One P.A, showcasing NZ Cascade hops.

It's not all keg

A quick check revealed that the Chch (as Christchurch is known locally) craft beer scene revolves around Pomeroy's Old Brewery Pub. With a traditional name and a decidedly traditional English ambiance, it had a most untraditionally long tap selection from the NZ great and the good.