Christchurch

Christchurch is noted as one of the driest areas of New Zealand, nestled on the east coast at the edge of the Canterbury plain. Apparently there is on average 5 days of rain January, we were there for 6 of them! The last time we visited Christchurch was 1999, and our enduring memory of that visit was that it was cold and wet. Regardless of the weather, we had a wonderful week. We took a day off when it poured rain all day, but our AirBnB was set up beautifully so we had a great “chill” day. We walked one of the coast paths near where we stayed, but other than that, not much opportunities for walking, too much rain.

Friday we visited a friend for tea in the morning in Christchurch and then we were off to the Antarctic Centre. Cool experience that started with a brief visit with a husky (Vinnie) then onto a short trip on a Hagglund, a Swedish designed tracked vehicle used extensively in the Antarctic. The inside tour was interesting with a lot of historical background on how the current international cooperation agreements came into place that explicitly forbid any militarization of the Antarctic, and identifies the entire continent as a protected area. They also have a storm simulator that you get to experience the sudden drop in temperatures from -8C to - 18C. For Cathy and I, quite comfortable, and not too bad considering recent weather at home in Nova Scotia, where wind chills have been around -35C!

Saturday we took the ferry across to Lyttelton to wander around the local market. The ferry service is great, about a 13 minute crossing, saving a 30 minute drive. A bit grey but the rain more or less held off while we were there. Nice market with a great selection of local produce, meat, and bread. We were pretty much stocked up but we did find a cool coffee shop, Spooky Boogie Killer Coffee. Had a chat with the barista about the differences in coffee roasting between Canada and NZ. NZ roasters do not do a dark roast, they do aged medium roasts instead. We bought some coffee and we’ll be into it in the next couple of days.

Our next foray was out to Akaroa, about an hour south. We stopped along the way at Birdlings Flat for a planned hike along a beach but the wind was bit fierce so we cut that short. The breakers were crashing in and I managed to get a few good pictures. There was one guy fishing, waiting to find a short break in the waves too cast his line out, he waited a long time. Just when we were leaving, another couple drove in and unloaded a bait cannon. It was a homemade compressed air cannon that looked like it was a modified propane bottle. You load your bait and line into it, open the valve and it launches everything out past the breakers. The googly eyes on tank really brought the whole look together!

On to Akaroa for a coffee and somewhere tho stop to have our lunch. By this time, it was raining again but we found a place to park that we could look out over the water. Akaroa is a a high end tourist place. Beautiful restaurants, cafes and shops. Saw a couple of Maseratis so guessing the median income is probably higher than we’re used to! We decided to take the scenic route back to Diamond Harbour. More twisty windy roads, but this time with narrow lanes, or one lane, and dirt roads (OK, mud roads). The views were worth it. Only met 2 other vehicles, and there was just enough room to pull over and pass, VERY SLOWLY.

Monday was forecast to be sunny (finally), and it was, so off to Christchurch for the day. Instead of going over Dyers Pass, we kept to the coast and went to Lyttelton and through the new tunnel. Completed in 2016, it’s 2km straight through the mountain and brings you into east Christchurch. Lyttelton is a major port on the east coast, so it makes a lot of sense to have a road that trucks can use to goods back and forth without having to negotiate the mountain passes. We had a couple of errands to take care of, wash the mud off the car and get an oil change, all easy then on to visit the Quake Centre. It was built after the 2011 quakes that resulted in 183 people loosing their lives. There is a history of large quakes in the regoon, and in 2010 a magnitude 7.1 quake hit. Some damage, but no loss of life. 2011, was a different story. The 2011 quake was 6.3, and hit mid-day. It resulted in a massive international rescue effort and totally transformed downtown. Rebuilding efforts are still underway on some historic buildings, most notably the cathedral. We’ve felt a couple of minor shakes in NZ since December, it’s just the way it is in New Zealand.

Lunch took us down to New Brighton Beach and a walk along the pier. Nice little seaside burb that is struggling to be relevant again. In the 1970’s, when Sunday closing was the law in NZ, exceptions were made for tourist areas, and New Brighton beach was in its hey-day. When the laws changed, people stopped coming, shops closed, gangs and drugs moved in and it slide downhill. There are a lot of efforts to clean up the town, rebuild the downtown to attract more tourists and generally re-vitalise the area. It’s a beautiful spot and I hope that when we come back this way in the future, the changes have continued.

Back into Christchurch to catch some of the World Buskers Festival, then off home to finally BBQ our steak dinner. All in all, a great week in the Christchurch area. Not as much walking as we would have liked, but still managed to see and explore lots of places we hadn’t been before, which is why we are here!