Gorge at Oxford

We drove to Oxford to the gorge.  The Waimakariri river is a braided river that cuts through the Canterbury plains from the Southern Alps to the ocean just north   of the city of Christchurch.  Oxford is a small town about 20 miles inland in the foothills. 
The water is always cold, even in the summer.  And the bridge rattled fiercely when seven milk tankers passed directly overhead. 
The cliffs were made of slate.  Chance had to give climbing a go and Gigi was not going to be outdone--even with a freshly broken arm.  I had to ask her repeatedly to stop monkeying up the face of the rock.