The view from the Gondola ride near Christchurch

On the one sunny day here, I took a few pictures after taking a gondola ride outside of Christchurch to the top of a mountain. It was about a 30 minute bus ride to get here, then 15 minutes in line, and then a 10 minute ride to the top. I really did get the sense that Christchurch is basically Canterbury Plains, surrounded by hills and the ocean. Here are some views.

You can’t see these mountains really in Christchurch, but from here they abound.

Christchurch in the winter is mostly cloudy and rainy. A little altitude outside the city changes the perspective, though some days from up here, you can’t see Christchurch.

At the top and to the north, you can see the harbor where Lyttleton is and where a lot of shipping happens. It’s another 10 minutes on the bus out from Christchurch, but the beauty was stunning.

The gondola itself felt a bit like being on Ferris Wheel going down with a touch of rollercoaster. It swayed a lot, and I was grateful it wasn’t a windy day like we’d had the day before.