We slept in this morning, mostly because of the time change. After nice, long hot showers (still appreciating them after the navy showers on the boat and anticipating more navy showers in the camper), we walked to a coffee shop for some breakfast. Today is Labour Day so most people are off.
Christchurch feels more like a town than a city. The population in the city proper is about only 180K. The downtown felt quite empty this morning. We see evidence of the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes, specifically buildings with braces and the main cathedral is missing a section.
We talked to some locals and they said that the city was still recovering. After the earthquake many businesses moved out of the city and signed 10 year leases so they haven’t come back. Many of the people left with the business. Neither have returned. There are empty lots which use to be building sites everywhere . They expect it to take 15-20 years for the city to fully recover. I question whether that will ever become a reality.
We decided to start the day by taking a gondola to the summit of the Port Hills. We took a bus to the gondola and took the gondola up the hill. There is a walkway at the top. From there you can see Christchurch and Banks peninsula, both of which look pretty flat. In the distance you can see the mountains which make up the southern alps. Here are some pictures.
While at the top we talked to some nice people from Phoenix and compared notes on where were going. I heard a lot of American accents today.
We took the bus back to Cathedral Square, the site of the Cathredal damaged in the earthquake that is pictured above. There were a lot of food trucks in the square with food from all over the world so we found some food, sat at a small table and ate. Rick had Egyptian food and I had fried chicken. It was a beautiful spring day and there was a guy singing in the square. Very festive and tasty! We enjoyed the whole scene.
Christchurch is called the garden city and I can see why. There are lots of parks and green areas. Our next stop was the botanical garden. Founded in 1863, the gardens sprawl over an area of 21 hectares and lie adjacent to the loop of the Avon River. It was very pretty and tranquil.
After a relaxing walk through the park we walked over to the Canterbury Museum. It was primarily a natural history museum and told the story of the Moari people and the “British invasion.” It’s like most places during the British colonial period, they arrived, promised the world, stole everything and the indigenous population was banished to the least desirable locations. Sound familiar? We wandered around the museum for awhile and then walked back to the apartment.
That evening we ate at an Indian restaurant. I haven’t mentioned it but our apartment is very convenient to town. It’s about a block to the central business area. Dinner was delicious.
We packed up because tomorrow we pick up our campervan.