Tuesday 10th April 2007. Christchurch, New Zealand.

In planning the settlement of Christchurch the Canterbury Association London brought out about 3,550 settlers on 25 ships between 1850 and 1853. Sparsely inhabited the area supported a few nearby Maori settlements together with those Europeans already here.

The Pre-Adamite Settlers of Canterbury...From 1830-1850 the territory now known as Canterbury, long the home of the Maori, saw its first Pakeha settlers. Referred to later as the 'pre-Adamites' these settlers came from the British Isles, Europe, Australia, North America and other parts of New Zealand. Most lived on the Banks Peninsula. Akaroa where the French began a settlement in 1840 being their principal community.

They worked as flax traders, whalers, bush cutters, boat builders, carpenters, farmers, housewives, clergy, artisans, nurses, hotel keepers, merchants, domestics and general labourers. Active also in this area were the agents and surveyors preparing for the arrival of the first Canterbury Association settlers in December 1850.

Today I am taking things a little easier and I will begin my day with what they call High Tea (although it is only lunch time) at Warner's Historic Hotel in the heart of the City.

It is strange that in the England of the Antipodes Afternoon Tea is not a common or popular event...you would think a half descent tour operator would offer such a delight alongside events such as punting on the Avon.

The presence of a hotel building on the Warner's site dates back to 1863, when John Coker established "Cokers Commercial Rooms". The following year Mr William White took over and the building was renamed "The Commercial Hotel". He was succeeded in 1874 by William Frances Warner and forever afterwards the hotel became known as Warners.

The hotel remained in the Warner family until 1900. William Warner died tragically in a boating accident in the estuary in Sumner in 1896 and the hotel license was transferred to his wife Alice.

In 1900 a devastating fire consumed the front two storey wooden building and, Phoenix-like, a handsome and substantial brick building arose to take its place. The new "Warners Hotel" opened in October 1901.

Mr Percy Herman proprietor took over the running of Warner's Hotel for two years and was succeeded at fairly regular intervals by no less than eight licensees in the next 12 years.

Warner's originally was a three storied building designed by noted architect Joseph Clarkson Maddison. Around 1910 Luttrell Brothers were commissioned to add an extra storey to the hotel and were also responsible in 1917 for the demolition of the northern section of the building to make way for the construction of the Liberty Theatre.

The south facing portion eventually establishing the existing architectural character was completed around 1920. The hotel went through an extensive renovation and refurbishment in 1934 with several pieces of furniture remain today from that time.

For the last 50 years of the twentieth century the hotel went through various changes. Although undergoing a refurbishment in 1987, a drop in tourism numbers and competition from new hotels saw Warners accommodation change to a backpacker hostel.

During the mid 1990's a battle to save Warners began. The threat of demolition had been mooted in the 1960's and it came close again several times during the 1990's. In December 2000 the building once again changed hands ensuring it's survival.

Then began a complete restoration of Warners. The vacant section, left by the demolition of the Savoy Theatre, formerly the Liberty Theatre, is now Bailies Garden Bar. The ground floor bar and restaurant have been restored, with many features retained. The two magnificent Victorian Lantern ceilings, the oak panelling, and exposed floor boards have all been preserved with gas now replacing the original open fireplaces.

Did you know that Christchurch had the first telephone exchange in New Zealand? Well today it feels a bit like those days as I sit at my High Tea surrounded by a gaggle of blue haired old ladies...what makes women of a certain age dye their hair blue? If a teenager did this they would be considered a rebel. Oh, and the high tea, it was pretty poor, but the service was good.

It is another sun-drenched day in Christchurch as I sit here in the cosmopolitan atmosphere of Cathedral Square enjoying the street performers. I am off down to the river before I head out of town to Willowbank.

The city is famous for its weeping willow trees but few know the illustrious history of this flora. After landing in New Zealand on the French whaling ship 'Le Nil' in 1838, Francois Le Lievve planted weeping willow cuttings in Akaroa that were taken from Napoleon's grave on the island of St Helena. The first willows planted on the banks of the Avon grew from cuttings taken from these trees.

Taking Shanks' pony it's quite a hike out from Papanui to Willowbank Wildlife Reserve which has developed out of a love and respect for wildlife and the environment, and the hike is well worth it!

The New Zealand Conservation Trust which manages this site is a charitable trust aimed at preserving New Zealand species. The trust has been very successful in the breeding, and thus the survival, of the kiwi and it is a key partner in Operation Nest Egg.

Operation Nest Egg allows eggs to be removed from the wild and flown or driven here to Willowbank where they are incubated and hatched. Once the chicks are strong enough they are taken to predator free islands until they reach the weight of 1-1.2kg. This allows them to get through the stage where they are critically vulnerable to predators. When they attain the magic weight they are returned to the area where the egg came from.

We need to remember that until the arrival of Europeans (in the last two hundred years) all of New Zealand was a predator free island where only birds and the Maori existed.

I spend a wonderful afternoon visiting the Wild New Zealand and Heritage New Zealand parks where I am introduced to many native species such as the Arapawa Goat, the Auckland Island Pig and the Pukeko and to introduced species such as the Llama (one of the world's longest domesticated animals, now over 6000 years), the Clydesdale (that Scot's work horse that was introduced worldwide from its home in the Clyde Valley)and the lovely (and very small) Red-Eared Turtle.

My attention though is grabbed by an animal you are unlikely ever to see. The story of the Waitoreke (the New Zealand Otter) began with the landing of Captain Cook who is credited with its first sighting in a pocket of native settlement in Dusky Sound.

Many theories persist as to whether this creature has actually survived here in New Zealand. Since Cook's time there have been additional otter sightings by a variety of people the earliest of which was by Haast in 1861 who wrote

"In the upper Ashburton River in a region never trodden by man I saw its tracks, the same as the European Otter only smaller".

Many years later G.A.Pollock took up the quest discovering Maori knowledge of the creature. Many theories exist to explain the otters existence, the most credible being that it was brought to New Zealnd by Southern India's Tamil navigators who used the animals as fishing guides, in a shepherding manner to help them catch fish.

The Tamils were certainly in the Weka Pass and some believe they could have landed in Canterbury with the otters escaping and dispersing southwest to Southland and Westland.

This is an excellent reserve providing a wonderful insight into our natural history. I am particularly enamoured of the Heritage New Zealand section with its old farm machinery and a look into what life must have been like for those early settler farmers.

Tonight I am taking a nocturnal tour of New Zealand's birds and reptiles and you can certainly feel the cold nights drawing in. The highlight naturally was the Kiwi and I got to see around twelve. I could not have come all the way to New Zealand and not have seen a kiwi and I must say they are larger than I expected.

Weta's are often mistakenly taken for the kiwi but the clue is in the beak, the Weta has a much smaller beak. New Zealand's wildlife is largely nocturnal and so this tour is a must...I even get to learn that just as in the UK, all the swans in New Zealand are the property of HM The Queen.

Dined tonight at Thai Square in Papanui.