The saga of Tuesday March 4, 2025 in Christchurch, New Zealand (Cruise)
This entry is part of my cruise series where the focal point is the day trips we took and less about our day to day. Each entry begins the same way. If you’ve already read the first entry, skip to the third paragraph to read about this day trip.
When Chaim and I were planning our yearlong adventure, we figured building in a cruise after five weeks in India would be a great way to help give me some personal time while the boys hung out and were overseen by other adults in the youth lounge. We also felt like it was a great way to experience a cruise and get a taste for different areas of Oceania without having to pack up every few days. Overall, it was a great choice. The boys, especially Matanel, loved the youth lounge and the opportunity to hang out with a few other children on a regular basis playing games and participating in crafting activities. Even with everything going on, the boys were still able to complete their schoolwork.
We all agreed we’d love to try another cruise, but perhaps a shorter one because two weeks with multiple sea days was a bit much for some of us – okay just me. The reality is we had an insular room with no window. We could feel the rocking of the ship and the lack of a window made time feel elusive, even with our watches and phones keeping time for us. If we were to do it again, I would pay every cent I had for a window. Heck, I’d sell my own leg for a balcony.
The following are excursions and experiences from our first week of the cruise: Below is Entry 3
There were no excursion options for our port day in Christchurch that struck our fancy. This ended up being a gift. We loved the opportunity to explore the city on our own, especially since a Christchurch local on our cruise highly recommended the Margaret Mayhew Playground. According to him, it is the largest playground in the southern hemisphere.
When we disembarked, we took a bus from Lyttleton into Christchurch. The architecture is really interesting. Sleek and modern. Stores and restaurants, both unique and chains, line the city and a small, beautifully kept river runs through the center of town with wildlife and humans sharing space together. Victoria Square is a space dedicated to the bicultural or blending of cultural pieces. Sculpture art, graffiti, and signage are purposely curated to merge Māori and British history in a “harmonious” way. The area reminded me of Iceland. Chaim and I thought it would be a lovely city to spend a few days hanging out or having work meetings.
On the way to the playground, we walked past an unmanned dance installation where anyone can walk up and start dancing to music on a platform in public. The boys had a field day hamming it up.
The Margaret Mayhew Playground was a great space for the boys to run around. The playground is set up in such a way to inspire a love of rock climbing, scrambling, exploring nature, taking calculated risks, and challenging oneself. There were ziplines, trampolines, and a water feature with an engineering focus. The boys loved the huge slide that all six of us could fit across. Of course, we all tried it together. I spent a lot of time there thinking about how a playground like this in America would be considered dangerous or only for older kids. Instead, there were kids from 0-15 years old playing all over.
The public toilets nearby were some of the coolest toilets I’ve ever seen. Each toilet is in its own mini “building”. Everything is automatic. When you enter, a voice comes on to instruct the user on how to lock the door. Then, the use has ten minutes before the toilet will flush and the door will unlock automatically. If you happen to finish in time, the toilet flush turns on once the handwashing is activated. The whole system is an ingenious way to keep people from doing anything untoward in the bathroom and making sure people wash their hands. However, we did wonder what happens to the poor person who is having stomach troubles!
We walked back to the boat along the promenade which follows the river. The views were beautiful. The waterfowl all looked familiar yet different. It felt like we were in some strange, more beautiful, alternate universe. If you happen to be in this part of the world, we highlight recommend visiting Christchurch.
