Boxing Day is, allegedly, the busiest travel day for New Zealanders so we set off early from the hotel to give us plenty of time to catch the flight to Christchurch. In reality the roads were almost deserted and the airport not busy at all so we were at the gate with plenty of time to spare. Jet Star, the airline we'd booked on, has the reputation for being cheap, cheerful with poor service (UK readers - think Ryan Air) but we were pleasantly impressed with the ease of check in and the overall flight, which is a relief as we will be travelling with them from Tasmania to Thailand.
Once we'd collected our bags we wandered outside to find the bus and met the friendliest, most helpful driver ever. He asked all passengers where they were staying and either directed them to a more suitable bus or took a note of their name so he could call them at the appropriate stop and direct them to their hotel. What an introduction to Christchurch.
The walk to our small but well equipped studio apartment and the check in process went smoothly and we were soon out exploring the city on foot. As you will doubtless remember, in 2010/11 Christchurch was hit by two earthquakes in close succession that virtually wiped out the city centre and rendered much of the surrounding suburbs inhabitable. Consequently it is a bizarre experience to walk between Victorian façades propped up with old shipping containers, bare patches of ground where buildings had been demolished or building sites where their replacements were being constructed, all interspersed by the odd building that had somehow escaped damage. Despite all this many of the empty spaces have been converted to impromptu artistic features, playgrounds or local projects. All signs of a community working hard to make a fresh start.
Being boxing day and the start of the kiwi holiday season the city centre was very quiet with very little open, but we found a small Thai restaurant for our dinner and then wandered back to our hotel for the night.
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| Old building façade propped up with shipping containers. |
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| An ad hoc community art space - the coloured wooden sheep are all over the city centre. |
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| The remains of the cathedral following the collapse of the bell tower and spire. |
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| Glenn knocks out a tune on a plastic pipe marimba in a sound park. |
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