CHRISTCHURCH
never a dull moment On her annual trip to Christchurch, HELEN PERRY takes the bus to Lyttleton, a village she hasn’t visited in almost 40 years.
tails at each other without any sign of aggression, put us in a convivial mood too.
For many years Lyttleton has slipped under my radar but not this year. On a crisp Saturday morning, husband and I hopped aboard the 9.32am bus at the Christchurch Central Bus Interchange. It would take us through the tunnel and over the hill to the picturesque harbour town. On my first visit, nearly 40 years ago, I loved the tiny wooden houses nestled on the hillside and I recall thinking how novel they would look freshly painted in a rainbow of colours – much like the colourful houses on the isle of Burano, off the coast from Venice. That vision hasn’t played out but what a delight to re-visit after all these years and on a day when the local Farmers’ Market was all go in the main street where small stores, cafes and shop fronts still reflected a past era. The bus trip took about 45 minutes and, hallelujah, as superannuitants we travelled free of charge! On board were about six or seven other passengers also visiting the markets – we knew that because everyone was busily talking about what might be available.
20 | eastlife | june 2022
After we had our fill of food, flowers and fabulous vege, we wandered the foreshore before taking the bus back to our central Christchurch hotel. As always, we stayed at the Ibis on the edge of Cathedral Square. It’s perfectly situated for shopping and sightseeing, in walking distance of many attractions.
Lyttleton
What fun the markets were! After negotiating the length of the street once, we opted for a breakfast of West Coast whitebait butties and ate them perched on chairs which reminded me of my student days at high school. We followed up with coffee from one caravan and the most delicious, freshly-made, full of natural whipped cream, chocolate éclairs – to die for!
Sadly, not being Christchurch residents, there was no buying from the tables of heavenly, fresh baked bread or stalls laden with sumptuous vegetables. Although our buying was limited to a very aromatic ‘Kiwi’ rub (for steaks, roasts or to add to dips), we could still enjoy the wonderful, varied taste of this and that. What’s more, the happy environment, which included plenty of dogs on leashes wagging their
Of course, while bus tours might usually involve a trip of several days to see parts of the country, for me bus travel usually means a series of short day trips (or less) to take in the sights of any unfamiliar city without having to concentrate on navigating roads or finding parking. Furthermore, a big advantage is being able to look out the bus window and take in places of interest along the route – we nearly made an unscheduled ‘hop-off/ hop-on again’ stop at the base of the gondola but then opted to stay on board so as not to miss the market. Indeed, it was a day to remember but there were more adventures to come ... www.eastlife.co.nz
