The Sign of ...

On the last day of our stay in South Island we took a car around Christchurch again (our flight back to Auckland was 10:20pm so we had almost a whole day to spend). I wanted to go to Akaroa but decided with Oliver it was maybe a bit too far to drive and back, so we decided to drive to Lyttelton taking a scenic route.

We first drove up to The Sign of the Kiwi on the Dyers Pass section of Summit Road. It was a roadhouse, opened in 1917 and apparently you used to be able to stay there but not any longer. Now it is a tearoom and sells some NZ arty crafty things.



The sign of the Sign of the Kiwi



Tea house



This is where we were heading to - Lyttelton

After following the winding road this fantastic view appeared in front of us. I am not sure what it is but the awesome NZ scenery excites me so much even though I have seen it so many times in the past.



We also visited The Sign of Takahe on the way back. It is now a restaurant open for lunch and dinner.



Misuzu and Oliver (for a change...I don't get to be in the photo often)

I learned from Wikipedia that there are four of "The Sign of..." built by a man called Henry George (Harry) Ell as a part of his scheme to preserve the natural state of the Port Hills . These were Sign of the Takahe, Sign of the Kiwi, Sign of the Bellbird and Sign of the Packhorse. I have visited three of them but not the Packhorse which is now a trampers hut.



Great view of Christchurch city (very flat!) from The Sign of the Takahe

I do recommend if you are visiting Christchurch take a drive to Lyttelton and stop at The Sign of...