Christchurch and the seaside

I had been told that Christchurch had seen hardly any sunshine at all during June, so I had packed all my thermals. But luckily the sunshine arrived about the same time as I did, and stuck around for the whole week! My friend had somewhat of a family laundry backlog to catch up on though as a result of the recent inclement weather.......

One of the things I love when in Christchurch is the chance to walk along some long beaches. Tuesday saw three of us embark on the walk from Spencer Park to the Waimakariri River mouth, sometimes walking along the sand beside the beach, and sometimes slightly inland amongst the dunes closer to the lagoon. The sunshine lulled me into leaving my good windjacket behind, just taking my raincoat in case of need, but the risk paid off, and I enjoyed walking in the gentle winter sunlight in calm conditions. Once we reached the lagoon at the estuary end, we spotted some spoonbills and shags hanging out. It was quite muddy in places walking back on the inland track, which had unfortunately been rather torn up by some recent 4WD activity. It was sad to see the damage inflicted on areas where crabs etc clearly abounded.
Two days later I had another beach walk with some other friends. We started by the Waimakariri rivermouth this time, but on the opposite bank. Another lovely day for another great beach walk. Winter heaven.