Timaru part 1

Saturday, 21st December.

Where shall we find coffee? Well it would require a walk AND to manage to find anything open before 9am. We headed up the hill and into the acclaimed Top 10 place in NZ Caroline Bay, with its Piazza and palm tree lined pathways. 

We found a cafe which was catering to a different audience. Enormous coffees seemed the norm with a merch line that maybe was trying to mirror another, larger institution. 

Going to Timaru over a, weekend wasn't the best and wisest plan. The shops that did open was most often at 10am, often closing by 1pm. Seeing time march on, we figured it would best to get the boys to meet us, and bring the camera and my phone. 

We found some things open, a farmers market and Te Ana, a museum about Ngai Tahu Rock Painting. It was awesome. We had a guide take us around where we learnt many things. By this time is must have been after midday. So armed with a map and local Intel, we planned to check out some caves later. 

We tried to get to an op shop some streets away from the main Stafford Street. Map reading errors, sore knee bringing sore walking, only Logan carne with sunscreen and water......

Well we made it, and didn't find anything we wanted. So we had lunch at a great Cafe on Arthur Street.

Then we went church hunting, a truncated historical building tour. First the Basilica - an incredible pice of architecture. 

I mean it was incredibly amazing.

Then we went to a very obvious-on-the-skyline church with no signs, not on the historic buildings list, and even disappeared from Google Maps.


The next was the Anglican church. Very much in the style of Christchurch's. It's the church on Church Street, so despite not being as grand as the Basilica, I guess it calls dibs on the city. 

The final church was originally for the Presbyterian's, but now is the Coptic Church. 

Church tour done, home via Caroline Bay to show the boys, and ice cream and some exercise, and a lighthouse later and we were home. 



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