The ship docks in Lyttleton, a very industrial port, so you cannot just walk off the ship and must take a shuttle into town. It drops you off beside the art gallery, which is very close to the city tram that runs around the town. We prepaid $35 each for tickets to the tram and just hopped on for the tour (about 50 minutes all around).
We got off to tour the Quake Museum, a small but interesting ...
We used the Ship Shuttle to get to the centre of the city. The charge for this was $10 for the return trip. I really liked Christchurch. The city is still being rebuilt on places. We just walked around the city, visiting the Transitional Cathedral, the Quake Museum, the Botanic Gardens, earthquake victims memorials, the Friendship Bridge, main shopping streets etc. ...
We did the Vikings optional Canterbury Sheep Farm tour. Excellent! About a 45 minutes drive inland to Little River, New Zealand. This was the most beautiful drive of the entire cruise, just stunning. There was a brief stop at a community center in Little River to use the restroom and there were a few local craft sellers. Then onto Manderlay Farm where Russ explained how he trained his sheepdogs, ...
What a pleasant surprise this excursion was! After a lovely city tour, we then began a very long ride west for Land of Lord of the Rings. We were rewarded once we arrived with beautiful weather and scenery, as well as backstory regarding the movie. Very happy to have chosen this excursion. And Christchurch's story was fascinating as well. ...
I went on the "Christchurch Town & Country" tour which included a visit to the Manderley Farm which was very nice and I enjoyed the scenic drive to and from the town. We were shown around the town of Christchurch but after the tour, I took the free shuttle from the port back to Lyttelton and enjoyed exploring the town on my own. ...