Arrived in Christcurch at 1am so straight to Sudima hotel and bed.

We got a taxi but the taxi driver said there was a free shuttle bus as it was close by. He told us where to ring from and helped us get all our gags back out of the taxi. If this is a typical Kiwi we will be well pleased.

22^nd

In the morning we collect our campervan. It is a Britz supposedly the same as the last one but this is a much better design with no permanent bed at the back but seating that converts into a bed if needed. The whole layout gives a much more roomy feel so I think our new home will be good.

We drive into Christchurch and the results of the earthquake in 2010 are clear immediately. The city centre is like a building site. We find a vacant lot and park up to take a closer look.

 

 

First we have breakfast in a street built in the Spanish Mission style.

I think it is called Tatterswall lane.

This harks from the same period as Art Deco and the buildings are painted in quaint pastel shades. It is one of the few streets that seems to have come of relatively unscathed. All the buildings were single story and made of wood.

Incidentally at it’s end is the remains of the PWc building. Now just a few twisted girders sticking from the ground. It was at 27 stories the tallest building in Christchurch before the earthquake.

Hope they were insured.

I go to the barbers and apart from hearing about how to bring up a 14 year old, where the best fishing is at present and why selling water containers to farmers in Australia is hard work, I also get some useful information.

What roads are impassible from the earthquake of a few days ago.

What way to head from the city.

How the coastline North of Christchurch has been changed in a few minutes more than it would have changed in a few 100,000 years.

Houses that were on the beach are now 70 metres from the beach as the ground rose, while others that were well back now are beachside properties.

Great source of information.

 

We decide to take the tram on a tour to hear about more about the centre.

The trams here are historic much like the tourist one in Melbourne. They go every 12 minutes so it is easy to jump on and off.

Each tram driver seems to be a character and they all have there own slant on the tour. Some are down on the council because of the slow pace of some of the renovation. One woman tells us how here will be the new convention centre “if it is ever built. They have been on and off for so long it might never happen”.

I saw the damage on the news in the UK like everyone else at the time. The thing is a lot of the buildings that seemed to be left standing were not safe so were pulled down. One man we spoke to later said that most people from Christchurch had just stopped visiting the city centre as there was nothing there anymore.

 

That is not quite true but there are huge empty spaces where there should be buildings. There is a lot of graffiti where walls were left. Some of it is really good but not what you would expect in a city centre. The rest of the centre is one huge building site with new builds or scaffoldingholding up what remains.

The restart centre, a shopping centre of shops set up in shipping containers shows a resilience and is a beakon of hope among the damage.

 

We visit the oldest Anglican church in the citySt. Michaels and speak to the verger.

 

 

His church survived intact as it was build from wood. As he said it creaked a lot but didn’t fall. This seems to be a common theme.

He reakons it was protected by the Awoke carving near the cealing which they use to hold the sacrament.

Down the street are the old provincial government buildings. The newer bit made f stone is held up with scaffolding and is need of heavy duty restoration the older original part in wood stands next to it unharmed.

The problem is every old building is in need of some TLC. New Zealand just doesn’t have that many stone masons never mind the cost.

A case in point is the old university where Alexander Rutherford studied in the 1880s before leaving for London and ultimately helping in the destruction in Japan from his success at splitting the atom. The restoration here is costing 290 million and is being overseen by a Scot who has moved over here after completing work on Windsor castle.

 

On the roof of part of the building is a sculpture by Ronnie van Rousin with his face in a hand. Apparantly it looks like Donald Trump?

 

I must say we leave the city centre with a sadness that what will grow from the rubble will never be the same.

Progress?

 

So we leave and plot a route up to the hills above Christchurch.

We climb to Sumit Road and once over the top we see our first New Zealand beauty. We look down towards Lyttletown and across the bay towards Diamond Harbour.

So it starts.

After taking the obligatory pictures we drive down to Lytteltown and park up beside the oil terminal by the waters edge for the night. If you are going here definitely climb the hill in your vehicle. There is a tunnel to get to the same spot but you would miss out bu doing so. We meet a lovely Canadian couple from Vancouver Island, home of my Canadian relatives, and share a glass of wine and chat about our travels. They have just left Australia as well so we swap some stories.

So ends our first full day in New Zealand.