Day two in New Zealand started off a little shaky - literally.
I awoke early this morning with the feeling that someone was shaking my bed. My eyes popped open and I looked at the clock. It read- 3:3? a.m. - I couldn't read the last digit. Then, I heard the picture above my bed rattle - but only for a brief moment. While still a little drowsy, I wondered if I was experiencing my first earthquake? So I waited to see if anything else was going to happen or if I needed to grab my passport and shoes and dash for the door... then waited some more... but nothing else happened and no one was moving about. It must have been a dream, I thought, so I rolled over and drifted off to sleep.
Prepared for an earthquake - I've got my passport, wallet and shoes ready - just in case there is an earthquake.
At about 7:00 a.m., I got out of bed and asked my roommate if she 'felt' anything last night around 3:30. She hadn't, so I didn't think anything else about it. And we went about our day as planned.
This was our 'Ice Day'. If all goes well and the weather holds out, we'll be taking our ice flight this evening. So, since it may be some time before our team sees vibrant colors again (other than blues and whites of Antarctica), we decided to venture off to Christchurch Botanic Gardens - and what a treat it was!
Christchurch Botanic Gardens
Christchurch Botanic Gardens are situated close to the city center and showcases some of the most beautiful flora New Zealand and other parts of the world have to offer. I entered the park at Peacock Fountain and, of course, had to get my picture take.
Alex at Peacock Fountain.
From there, I wandered on a meandering path through very green, very beautiful gardens. A large, unusual tree caught my attention. It had a thick, short trunk with large sprawling branches. The lowest branch looked as though it might be a tempting playground for young children. My next stop was the Central Rose Garden.
Majestic tree at Christchurch Botanic Gardens.
Central Rose Garden
As I approached the garden, I noticed it was encircled by a number of dahlias - a fairly full flower all with vibrant colors. More colors - Yea! Here are a few of my favorites.
A beautiful light pink dahlia at Christchurch Botanic Gardens. Can you count the number of petals?
Another beautiful dahlia - but look closely at the unusual petals!
But the stars of the show - were, of course, the roses. What I found most fascinating - besides their beauty - was their smell. I gave my sniffer a good workout during my escapade and to my 'untrained nose' most roses smelled like a 'typical rose' but the Burma Star - my favorite - had a sweet almost honey-like scent.
The 'Burma Star' rose - my favorite smelling rose!
The 'Serendipity' rose - my favorite color rose!
The 'Courage' rose - what a beautiful red color!
Back to the hotel
It was starting to get late so the team headed back to the hotel - to finish our last minute packing. When we checked in with the receptionist to make sure everything was on schedule for our shuttle to the airport, I asked her if there has been an earthquake last night. She said 'yep and 3:38 a.m. - we had a 4.2 '. Amazing!!! My first earthquake! Luckily, there was no damage!