Flavor of Merry Old England in New Zealand

Little wonder that this is called the most English city outside Great Britain, what with the Avon River weaving through town beneath willows and stately poplars, canoes gliding under stone footbridges, and a church or two that could have inspired Thomas Gray’s “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard.”

That’s about what John Robert Godley had in mind when he named the place in 1848 after his old college at Oxford, setting the stage for the Anglican church in Maori country.

The city devotes an eighth of its ground to parks and recreation areas. Hagley Park is a green anchor at mid-city.

Yet the Tudor houses, Victorian buildings and bucolic greenery don’t paint the whole picture. This is a hotbed of recreational activity in the Canterbury region of New Zealand’s South Island.

Lovely rivers and rugged bays lace the Pacific coast; you can ski the slopes of the Southern Alps to the west; fish, sail or raft the streams, or just take off and drive the endless beauty of Canterbury Plains. And Mt. Cook, New Zealand’s highest, is due west of town. One look at that one will redefine your idea of beauty.

Here to there: Take Air New Zealand via Auckland; United or Continental to Auckland, Air New Zealand onward. A bus will get you into town for $1.50 but takes forever; a cab is about $5.

How long/how much? A couple of days will do for Christchurch, another day for the ride out to Banks Peninsula and the charming old French town of Akaroa. After that it’s across the plains and into the Alps with all the time you can spare. Lodging is moderate, good and substantial food a bargain.

A few fast facts: New Zealand’s dollar recently was valued at U.S. 58 cents. Best times for a visit are the warm months, October through May, unless you want to ski.

Getting settled in: Park Hotel (50 Park Terrace; $52 double) has everything you need in an excellent location across from Hagley Park, the Avon running between. Neat contemporary rooms, color TV, a snug pub with plowman’s lunches, the River View dining room with cheerful and efficient waitresses. All rooms with tea- and coffee-making gear.

Avon Hotel (356 Oxford Terrace; $50 double) is the Park’s counterpart across town, also on the river, an older place with same comfortable feeling, pool, saunas, fitness center, restaurant, and a newer wing.

Latimer Lodge (30 Latimer Square; $52 double) is a large motel within walking distance of city center, as are all of these. Pool, spa, restaurant, fridge and mini-bars in all rooms, TV, and tea- and coffee-making gear.

For a step back to Victoria’s days, try the Clarendon (78 Worcester St.; $46 double), which looks like a 19th-Century bank. The lounge with its formal bar and Lillies restaurant carry out the theme: red velvet and a rather stuffy London-club feel that grows on you. Center of town; Queen Elizabeth II once stayed here.

Regional food and drink: Canterbury Plains is farm country, so there’s plenty of fresh produce. The usual beef, veal, lamb and game dishes, but seafood is more interesting. Try Akaroa cod, John Dory, orange roughy, rock lobster, hoki and the Maori warina , something like snapper or grouper. New Zealand wines are very good to exceptional.

Moderate-cost dining: Pescator (Shades Arcade, Hereford Street) is run by Gorg Spiteri, whose family has been Malta fishermen for 500 years. Reservations a must; marvelous lunches and dinners for less than $12. Seafood crepes in cream-brandy sauce $4.50; squid in garlic, olive oil, capers and red wine sauce for $8; venison sauteed with mandarin oranges and cognac at $9.50.

Mykonos (112 Lichfield St., upstairs) for souvlakia and other hearty Greek dishes. Not much from the outside, but all’s well within this touch of the Mediterranean. Southland Grill in Hotel Christchurch will serve you chops and joints in a pleasant setting.

Going first-class: The town’s newest showplace is Hotel Christchurch (Worcester and Oxford; $85 double), drawing Queen Elizabeth for tea recently. Grill mentioned above, the Waitangi restaurant considered city’s best for the likes of medallions of venison with black cherries, Ostend sole, pheasant terrine. Rooms and all facilities at hotel first-rate, service crisp.

On your own: Start with Cathedral Square and make your own judgment on its neo-Gothic center piece. Then stop in the Arts Centre for a look at potters, glass, cane and other handicraft workers; a couple of good restaurants here.

Take a turn through Hagley Park, visit the 75-acre Botanic Gardens, then have a look in the Canterbury Museum for its reconstruction of colonial Christchurch, a display on Maori culture.

The city’s Red Bus two- and three-hour tours will wheel you past most of these, some taking you out to the harbor town of Lyttelton. Tours about $5, children $2.50.

The highlight of our trip was a drive through the green hills of Banks Peninsula to Akaroa, founded by the French.

Akaroa is a pretty little town on a lovely bay, a good place to absorb the quiet tempo of Canterbury. Akaroa Village Inn is a fine overnight stop at the end of Rue Lavaud, $35 double, a restaurant that serves Akaroa cod, hoki anglaise or flounder for $4.50. It’s a member of Best Western chain, typical Akaroa architecture, family units for as many as seven.

For more information: Call the New Zealand Government Tourist Office at (213) 477-8241, or write (10960 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles 90024) for a brochure on Christchurch and Canterbury, a 54-page book on New Zealand with additional information on Christchurch. Ask for the Canterbury package.