Trish and I travelled south from New Plymouth to catch the ferry in Wellington and across Cook straits to Picton in south island.

It is only by looking at the map closely that you realise that you head west not south to reach the gateway to south island as the two islands overlap.

The straits are notoriously windy and our crossing was no different  but once inside the shelter of Queen Charlotte Sound the wind died and the scenery

was beautiful, reminiscent of Norways fjiords.

We have been impressed with New Zealands cities, Auckland and Wellington have a vibrant and relaxed feel to them and now here in Christchurch we have

the same impression, bolstered by an annual Buskers Festival that is attracting the crowds as Buskers from all over the world have come here to perform during the 10 day festival.

Christchurch has had a long a continuing history with Antarctica and we were also lucky enough to arrive in the City when there was an exhibition commemorating

the exploits of two of Britains greatest heros (and my own boyhood heros) Robert Falcon Scott and Sir Ernest Shakleton, was being held at the cities museum.

The photographs taken by Ponting on Scott’s expedition and Hurley on Shakletons tell only a small part of their incredible stories.

                                                CATHEDRAL SQUARE, one of the many buskers venues                                

a message taken from Scott’s diaries recovered from his body just  11 miles short of the next food cache

Scott’s wife Kathleen was a celebrated sculptor, she donated this to the City for the assistance the city had given to her husband on his two expeditions to the Antarctic.