M-whY

After grabbing a quick breakfast at a convenience store, I headed straight for Hagley Park, home of Christchurch's Botanic Gardens. Established in 1863 and encompassing nearly 450 acres, the gardens boasts an astonishing collection of plants and trees. I'm no tree lover, but the specimens on display here are mind boggling, most of them too big to to capture on my puny camera. There was a rose garden featuring over 450 different types of roses, a rock and heather garden, a bonsai house, a flower room in full bloom, and much, much, more.

I asked a lady working at the info center how many species were actually in the Botanic Gardens.

"I don't know. They're all in the computer's database, but I can't even begin to give you a rough estimate."

Even the people working there didn't know. That's how many there are.

Then there was the compulsory visit to the Christchurch Art Gallery across the street. Again, I'm not very big on art. I think I went only so I could claim I was in such a fancy looking building. I was in and out in less than an hour.

I got myself some fish and chips (fries) for lunch and settled down on the steps of the Cathedral to enjoy a performance by New Zealand's Navy. (Fish and chips are a big thing in New Zealand, and supposedly Australia too.) There always seems to be something going on city center. Street performers peddling their act, cultural societies celebrating an anniversary, vendors selling their wares... but the most entertaining of them all was the Wizard.

Arriving in I guess what you could call a red VW Beetle, the Wizard has become more or less a permanent figure at the Cathedral. Before going into the man himself, let me first try to describe his funky looking car. Imagine taking two VW Beetles, cutting them in half, and then combining the two front ends. And it wasn't that he just had headlights at both ends of the car, the vehicle looked like it could be driven from either direction. Of course, I only saw him using the 'front' of the car. I have no idea if it could actually be driven 'backwards'.

The Wizard himself sure had a lot to say. I won't attempt to repeat his words. First, because some of what he said could be considered offensive, particulary to feminists, but most importantly, there is no way I could even begin to match his eloquence. First appearing in 1974, he survived repeated attempts by the city to oust him. His use of irony and great exaggeration makes for an amusing delivery. He doesn't try to collect money from his listeners, instead, he seems to truly believe his crazy ideas (such as changing our frame of reference by turning the Earth inside out, and changing the world map by flipping it upside down, so that south is regarded as up and north as down). He's become so popular, he's even mentioned in most guidebooks!

If there ever was a paragon of a bum, I'd say he's the one!

Thanks to everyone for their support and comments! Knowing people are reading keeps me motivated to continue the updates!