Blogs from Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 7

Geo: -43.5316, 172.637We really didn't know what to expect - Christchurch is described as the most English city of NZ, but what we saw was the power of an earthquake and the resilience of people - plus much beauty and a great evening of Maori culture.Thanks to our hosts' suggestions, we arrived at the Botanic Gardens by 9 am, walked around - even this early in spring the flowers were great, and trees huge. Then we caught a 90 min "Restart" tour to highlight the devastating earthquakes of 2010 and months later. The first killed no one, the second over 150, mostly in one building. 90% of the city center was damaged. Our guide was asked, along with many, to leave her home in 10 mins. The city is taking the op to gather like-items together ... read more

Making my way south from Picton I decided to start my South Island part of the roadtrip going down the eastern coast. No real reason for this reasoning, the drive just looked nice on the map and in reality I was not disappointed. Winding curves hugging the rugged New Zealand coast with its emerald green waters were my companions until I ended up at my first destination - The Kaikoura Peninsula. This area is billed as being rich in marine biodiversity and I was excited to hike around the area and see for myself what was on offer. The first thing that stood out for me here (other than the massive fur seal populations lazing about) were the large snow capped mountains jutting up from the coast just up from the sea. I cannot think of ... read more

Day 1 in New Zealand – Christchurch! Today was my first day in New Zealand (on this trip - I had been here previously in 2013) and I spent it in Christchurch. It was partly cloudy, and a lovely 7C / 44F. • Avon River • Construction around the city • Arts Centre • Botanical Gardens • Christchurch Art Gallery - Te Puna o Waiwhetu • Cathedral Square • Christchurch Cathedral • Isaac Royal Theatre • Tramway Lane & New Regent Street • Old Government Buildings (Heritage Hotel) • Cashel St Re:START Mall • Bridge of Remembrance • Mumbaiwala Indian Restaurant A great first day! ... read more

Christchurch Wandering I didn't have a lot of time to get back to the hotel before I was due to meet the tour group, but I just took my time wandering back to the hotel.... read more

Rebuild Tour Before I left home, I booked a ticket on the Rebuild Tour, as I wanted to get a local's insight into how things had changed, and to see the major sites that had been rebuilt since the earthquakes. Brunch I had some time to spare, so I headed to the Cashel Street Re:START mall for some brunch, and ended up having a german sausage with onions. Yumm. Cambridge Terrace The bus took us along Cambridge Terrace where we were able to see the new Deloite building, and another building under construction. These buildings both had new earthquake technology for their foundations, which allows the buildings to move should a substantial earthquake occur in the future (minor ones occur on a daily basis). I was able to see the 'shock absorbers' that are used. Cathedral ... read more