New Zealand - Day Eight

Today I had to make my way back to the East coast to Christchurch ready for my flight back to Perth the next day. I travelled back up the coast to Kumara and then turned right to Arthur’s Pass.
  
  
In Arthurs Pass the scenery is beautiful with steep banks of sand created by landslides and greenery. I drove along the 440 mt Otira Viaduct which is 35m above the ground. It was built in 1997 with the first vehicles going across it in 1999. I took the photos from the lookout at the top of the pass. There were several Kea parrots, a rare alpine parrot known for their intelligence and curiosity. They made a bee-line for the aerial on top of my car.
             
The next place I stopped at was at Lake Pearson 125 kms west of Christchurch in the Southern Alps. There is a basic camping nestled underneath the mature willow tree and its popular for bird watching and trout fishing.
  
There were many other beautiful views as I drove towards Christchurch.
  
When I arrived at Christchurch I found a motel and then just down the road were still remains from the devastating earthquake that hit the city last year.