Thread: Crocman in N.Z

The Dragon Lady and I had to travel back to the land of her birth for family matters recently so when I had a few spare moments I took the opportunity to re-acquaint myself with a few places of old.
I lived in Canterbury for about 10 years during the seventies and it was a good place to be.I travelled about the place as much as I could at the time and probably saw more of the South Island than most Kiwis.I spent a lot of time around the rivers fishing,jet boating or just racing around the river beds in a succession of beat up old cars.
The Torlesse Ranges



View of the ranges form my sister in laws driveway


The Canterbury Plains are criss-crossed by many alluvial rivers that are fed by the run off of melting snow.The Waimakiriri river was close to where I lived and I pulled some nice fish from her waters.

The Waimak.






I lived in the city of Christchurch which is a very "English" style city with many familiar named places such as Brighton Beach and the Avon River and streets named after Worcester,Gloucester Manchester.

Brighton Beach Pier on a typically bleak summers' day.


The Avon River in the middle of the city where it is possible(if you don't get caught) to catch beautiful brown trout.Not too many cities in the world where you can do that.




Unfortunately Christchurch ain't as pretty as she once was thanks to forces of nature.I wasn't able to take a lot of photos of the damage caused by the earthquake as a lot of it is fenced off and to be honest it was a bit sad just looking at it.



Buttresses holding up a church.


Search and rescue leave their mark


Happily the Kiwis are a resilient bunch and are bouncing back as evidenced by the shopping precinct now opened amongst the ruins of the old.




All to soon the Dragon Lady announced it was time to head home so I didn't get to visit everywhere I wanted but at least I got a little look back in time.
I lived here in 1970 and it is only just standing today.

Great pics, crocman. Green if I can. I appreciate your commentary on the recovery after the earthquakes. I love how they're using containers as businesses. New Zealand has been on my wish list since I was a kid. I would absolutely love to go there.

So your wife is a Kiwi? Where are you from? I'm just curious. Thanks again for the thread and do you have any more pics?

Originally Posted by natalie8

Great pics, crocman. Green if I can. I appreciate your commentary on the recovery after the earthquakes. I love how they're using containers as businesses. New Zealand has been on my wish list since I was a kid. I would absolutely love to go there.

So your wife is a Kiwi? Where are you from? I'm just curious. Thanks again for the thread and do you have any more pics?

Can certainly recommend N.Z as a place to visit and discover.Great scenery,good people and plenty to keep you busy while you are there.(bit of a clue )

Great pics, thanks! I recently visited NZ for the first time in November - it has also been on my wish list for decades since we had Kiwi neighbors in the US in the 1970s (an interesting side note, despite no contact for years I was able to find them on google and had a great visit in Wellington when I was there).

I had a fantastic time and was very impressed by the country, and especially the breathtaking scenery. I totally recommend a visit to anyone that is considering!

Great pics. I'm heading back in a couple of weeks, have rented a lake house with its own private jetty etc.

Really looking forward to it!

Originally Posted by AntRobertson

Great pics. I'm heading back in a couple of weeks, have rented a lake house with its own private jetty etc.

Really looking forward to it!

Sounds good.Which lake are you heading to?

I am glad you had the opportunity to visit and explore such a beautiful country. As chance would have it I am heading there next weekend, for a grand total of thirty hours. Fly in, big party, fly out again.

Should be good.

Originally Posted by crocman

Sounds good.Which lake are you heading to?

Hey mate... It was lake Tarawera (BOP, just outside Rotorua).

Sorry for the three years later late reply but I think I was banged up in TDH about that time.

Nice place. Don't they ski on the volcano there?

Originally Posted by crocman

Nice place. Don't they ski on the volcano there?

No you are thinking of Mt Ruapehu that has the ski feilds and is still active.
Mt Tarawera was a volcano that erupted in the !880 and took out the famous pink and white terraces and buried a few maori villages.

Originally Posted by diverken

Originally Posted by crocman

Nice place. Don't they ski on the volcano there?

No you are thinking of Mt Ruapehu that has the ski feilds and is still active.
Mt Tarawera was a volcano that erupted in the !880 and took out the famous pink and white terraces and buried a few maori villages.

Sorry. You are correct, my memory of NZ geography is fading more the longer I have been away.

Did you know, apparently Tarawera literally translates to "burning vagina".

"Brighton Beach Pier" brings me memories as I was born in Christchurch and the beach there was a hang out seemed ok at the time, but as Left there 20 years ago to go to Auckland and then Australia, its now just a dim memory.

^ We used to hang out "up the ramp" which is slightly north of where the pier is. I left ChCh before the pier was built. There was locally famous businessman who owned a beautiful E Type and he would lend it to his son some Sunday's and we would do laps round the ramp in it. Flash eh!

Where the library is, at the start of the pier, there used to be a cabaret/nightclub establishment called The Shoreline. Cause we were "local boys" they used to let us in underage.