Today, we got all zen with nature, starting with a leisurely stroll through the Christchurch Botanic Garden, where we tried Bliss Balls at the local café. We meandered through nature walks, encountering some pretty wild sights, like the trippy amanita muscaria mushrooms (gorgeously looking, but definitely not for the faint-hearted), a fearless NZ fantail that basically adopted Marat as its personal fan club, a paranoid paradise shelduck who was 100% convinced we were up to no good, and a ton of “regular” ducks and geese just living their best lives.
But the real showstopper? The rose park. The aroma? Heavenly. Honestly, it was like being in a perfume ad, but better. And the rose names? A total trip. “Serendipity,” “Sexy Rexy” (yes, that’s a real thing, and I’m not joking), “Raspberry Ice,” and “Moody Blue.” If roses were celebrities, these would be the red carpet names.
After lunch, we drove up (no, we did not hike, please—we’re not that crazy) to the viewing point in Mt. Vernon Park, where we were treated to some jaw-dropping views of ChCh, Rapaki Bay, and Quail Island. Bonus: tons of mountain bikers doing their tricks like they were auditioning for the next action movie. So cool, but again, we drove. Don’t judge us.
