15th February 2017
The George Apartments weren't a great choice. They were very noisy at night (somebody had a party well into the wee hours both nights), are under the approach to the airport and also within hearing distance of some sort of transport yard where you were treated to the reversing beeper on vehicles just about continually all night. So I took yesterday as a day off the bike and did nothing - which was time well spent. Today I book a night in a motel a few minutes away (which specifically had 'quiet and peaceful' in its feedback
) and explore Christchurch a little...
It's a glorious day and already in the low 70s F as I leave the apartment at 0915. I'm struck by the sight of a large plume of smoke on the horizon - there's clearly a brush fire of some sort up on the hillside there...
Christchurch suffered a earthquake of magnitude 6.1 on the 22nd February 2011 - and the city is still showing many signs of it...
There are a lot of very new buildings (apparently built with the influence and help of Japanese architects, who know a thing or two about designing earthquake-resistant buildings)...
...but also a great many buildings fenced off...
...and shored up - like this church - as they wait their turn to be rebuilt.
I am actually quite surprised at the amount of vacant lots in the centre of town - and of the number of buildings awaiting repair, six years after the event. That said, I guess there are a limited number of builders - and I suppose a lot of the buildings would not have been insured for the damage (or would not now be re-insurable if they were)...
I make my way back to the Harvard I spotted the other day and turn down the side road beside it to visit...
The New Zealand Air Force Museum.
What a great little museum...
First of all, admission is free. Jean, the kind lady behind the enquiry desk, allowed me to store my helmet and jacket in a cupboard so I didn't have to lug it about with me...
It's a modern building - built onto the front of a hangar, but clean and bright as a new pin...
...and doesn't make the mistake that many aviation museums I have visited do, by overstuffing rooms with too many aircraft...
It is laid out so you can get a good view of everything...
...has interesting and informative captions explaining each exhibit - I am not posting these details because you're all going to identify these for me - aren't you?
I drop into the café for a quick spot of breakfast - and note this charger - what a good idea...
I manage to force down a flat white and a muffin - plus some chocolate fish...
Right - where now?
In the main hangar, which is kept at a low light level for reasons that escape me...
I find a Link Trainer! My ATC squadron used to have one of these. They are basically an instrument flying trainer and are powered by pneumatics and various relays (which were great fun to keep serviceable) - it allowed you to fly a route under instrument flying conditions - thousands of WWII pilots trained on these...
There are various small displays - like this Wellington turret...
...and this cutaway Merlin engine...
...as well as weapons I'm more familiar with...
...and then there's the main display - again, not overcrowded...
All the aircraft are in first class condition...
...and have been set up in dioramas with period vehicles and other props...
So, come on - what's the make/model/year of this car?
There are lots of interactive things - aimed at children - around the museum...
...and a small school group was going around and seemed to be enjoying themselves...
Have you ever heard the howl that comes off a Mustang as it's pulling high G into a turn during a display?
I always thought it was the belly intake that made the noise - but it's actually caused by the inboard gun on each wing being set back further than the others and the sound created is similar to the effect you'd get from blowing across the mouth of a bottle...
New Zealand has always had a modestly sized air force, but their contribution to the RFC, RNAS and RAF in both world wars was quite disproportionate to their population...
There are a few old newsreels playing in a loop showing the WWII aircraft in action...
...and featuring each type displayed. They show the conditions the crews had to live in when flying and fighting in the South East Asia theatre - a remarkable feat of arms...
Almost done with the main display now...
I climb the stairs to the first floor...
Where this Sopwith Pup is suspended...
...and where there is a comprehensive display of medals.
It also contains a plaque commemorating
William Barnard Rhodes-Moorhouse VC, the first ever aviator to win a Victoria Cross (for my USA readers, this would be the equivalent of the Congressional Medal of Honour), the medal was, alas, awarded posthumously.
Rhodes-Moorhouse was born in New Zealand...
The museum his starting to get a bit busier - I look at the clock and am surprised to see two hours have passed...
Looks like they were a little careless positioning the Vampire...
There's an excellent Roll of Honour section on the ground floor...
I thank Jean and the other staff - I really recommend this museum if you find yourself in Christchurch.
I get kitted back up and continue my mooch around the downtown area...
The brushfires are still well alight and the wind seems to have died - the smoke rising almost vertically...
Plenty more boarded and fenced off buildings downtown...
Look at this old gent!
Any guesses?
This basilica, I'm told, has had its stained glass windows removed, then had the domes pulled down as they were unsafe. It will be rebuilt and the original windows reinstalled...
It's getting very warm (the bike's thermometer is reading 92°F), so I decide to call it a day.
I check into my little cabin at the Addington City Motel, unpack and then take a stroll over the road for a spot of lunch and a planning session...,
Ideally, I'd like to go cross-country (road-wise) to Queenstown for a couple of nights. The problem is, the prices of Queenstown hotels are literally three and four times as expensive as I have been paying, so that's a non starter.
It's forecast to be a good week's weather for the south east coast, so I decide to retrace my steps. I'll go a different route back to Dunedin tomorrow, then the next day make may way to Invercargill for two nights. I'll do a day visit to Queenstown from Invercargill and then make it up from there on.
Good day...