Our New Zealand journey began in Christchurch. It was a wonderful place to get over our jetlag and begin exploring New Zealand. It has a compact Central Business District (CBD), a hop on/hop off tram with informative drivers/guides, and great food!
There were two earthquakes in Christchurch in 2010/2011. They call them the big one and the bad one. After those major earthquakes over 80% of the CBD and 15,000 houses were destroyed. Twelve years later the city has not only survived, but thrived. There are still signs of the destruction, but it is impressive how far the city has been rebuilt. They have decided to rebuild the cathedral which is still undergoing stabilization work. We visited the Quake City museum which gives a thorough and fascinating look at the earthquakes and their impact.
There were plenty of activities to keep us busy. We wandered around the massive botanical garden with an impressive variety of plants from around the world. We went punting on the Avon River and saw river eels and diving ducks. We also got to see a limited time exhibit called SHIFT at the Canterbury Museum. Since they are about to gut the museum they brought in street artists to display their art throughout the empty building. It was interesting to see the creativity and variety of artwork.
Once we picked up our car we headed east of town to Velocity Carts to try our hand at BloKarting. It was lots of fun sailing on the land!
The following day we headed to Akaroa, southeast of Christchurch. We had a wonderful fish and chips lunch on the waterfront, toured the Giants House gardens, and took a hike out to the Akaroa Head for amazing views. The House of Giants is owned by an artist who has spent 20 years adding whimsical characters to her garden covered in extensive mosaics and beautiful plants.
We enjoyed dining in Christchurch on Oxford Terrace by the Avon River. Great food and lots of fun people watching. One activity was Dudu Guru doing a silent disco tour of Christchurch. Led by an energetic guy dressed in neon, everyone had headphones on and was listening to the same music. They would sing and dance around the area in unison. Unfortunately they were sold out so we could not join in.
Next we head north for more adventures!
Awesome stories and photos! You are living it up my friend. Can’t wait to see more posts, and live vicariously through your adventures 🙂
Thanks!
ʇɹɐʇs pooƃ ɐ oʇ ɟɟo sdᴉɹʇ ǝɥʇ ǝʞᴉl sʞool ‘ɐᴉlɐɹʇsn∀ uᴉ ʇᴉ pɐǝɹ llᴉʇs uɐɔ sʎnƃ noʎ os ǝɹǝɥ ʇuǝɯɯoɔ uʍop ǝpᴉsdn sᴉɥʇ ƃuᴉʌɐǝl ʇsnɾ
The trip is off to a good start! Leaving this comment upside right for everyone in the northern hemisphere
Very clever Owen!
Your adventure is off to a great start. Enjoying your updates and photos. G’day!!
G’day!!
Will you make the Summer Skiing in Christ Town? Love Dunedin…are you headed South into the Mountains….it’s so beautiful once you do. I am an Honorary Fire Bridgad Captian up the Northern Island. I can’t recall the large Bay but it where they raise all the Greenlip Mussels and pickle them. The sleepy town comes alive after dark in the town Pub!
We had not planned on summer skiing, but snow is always possible on the Milford Track! We’ll drop your name on the North Island and see if we get a free beer 🙂
Looks like a great start to the trip! Stunning photos 😃
Love the pictures and updates… Y’all really have a knack for travelogues and trip planning!
Thanks! We are enjoying the results of all that planning. Fortunately we left many plans flexible so we can work around the weather. We have been getting rain every few days.