A wander around Christchurch

A few more photos from our second attempt at wandering around the city. Our feelings last time were quite negative. We were back in a city after weeks of gorgeous mountains and forest so we were already not really in the mood for it, but to then find that the city is so disjointed aswell, with just snippets that seemed to offer some of the life you look for in a city.

So this time we decided to give it another go and really wander around the place. We went in on the bus and shortly before the central station there are lots.of Road closures and works and just a huge expanse of space that was clearly once home to several buildings. It is odd in a city to be able to see so far without anything to block your view. I think now that this may be the red zone, the once CBD of the city. There was some large pieces of graffiti artworks on the buildings we could see though and signs of festivities as people wandered the street either side in all shades if powdered dyes after the festival of colour that was being held.

We arrived at a modern station and made our way around the city. I was keen to photograph a lot of the buildings that were still desolate, condemned or under demolition. It might seem depressing but it's also quite interesting and shocking to see and is really the only way to give a feel for it. A girl who lives and works here describes it almost like the aftermath of bombings and I can see what she means. Very sporadic in both the location of the destruction and in the levels of rebuild. Some areas are all go and others are just left in suspense, held up by steel bars or just a sitting sea of gravel that is only now useful as one of the many carparks that make use of old plots.

The official figure is 50-60% of building were damaged/condemned but the non official figure that most locals would apparently give you is about 75-80%. I have to say we are inclined to believe the latter.
What amazed both if us too was that not only were so many buildings non existent (even though you dont know what was there before you still get the sense something is missing) but that people were non existent too. This was a Saturday afternoon and the streets were empty. The shops, well, I don't actually know where they are. I headed for the high street and after the first section which houses one department store and one high street store we got to a crossing. The street supposedly continues but it just looked like more empty space to us.

The only real places that felt alive were the restart mall where we enjoyed a nice cup of tea, a playground and the Botanical gardens.
Don't get me wrong, there are gap filler projects all over. Little pop up cafes and random installations like a dance o mat where you can plug in your phone to a washing machine that plays your music, all to help deliver something where there is nothing. It's s bit fun for a tourist but I don't imagine it quite cuts it living here. Signs and messages of thanks and of hope show that people here don't plan on sitting around and are keen to move on and rebuild but from reading we know it isn't as easy as that and there are still people waiting for insurance and still the need for charities to raise money for those affected.

Where there is development though it looks modern, fresh and interesting. I imagine once it all comes together it will be a fantastic place. For now though the developments add to the feel that it is still a broken city with all the fencing, street cones and cordoned off areas. I will get some photos of the new developments on our next jaunt I think.

One Street that was cordoned off but now has new life is regent Street. Very cute pastel houses with shops and cafes underneath and the tram line which runs along it too. The trams are old fashioned and offer tours around the city whilst also adding to the feel like you have gone back in time. It will be strange I think to see the odd examples of older architecture and style juxtaposed against the new and modern buildings that will one day dominate the city.

All in all we enjoyed our second tour of the city. Weird and eerie yes, but it isn't the cities fault and it is still interesting to see. The gardens were a nice break and a much needed dose of greenery too. Not the best we have seen in New Zealand, Hamilton wins that award, but they had a nice river where we fed ducks and watched the punters and a gorgeous rose garden, the smell of which just reminded me of my Grandads old garden, a very comforting smell now. I didnt pick the petals to make perfume though.

We enjoyed some Lebanese Street food for dinner from stalls at the restart mall, it was the only open eatery we could find in the vicinity, despite being s Saturday night, and was next to the only bar in the restart mall so we got to enjoy a drink too.

After feeding scraps to the very adorable sparrows, one of which nipped at my finger in the hopes it might contain food, we went and enjoyed a game of ping-pong on one of the free tables on the street. It kept us entertained until sundown when we eventually headed back to the station to catch the bus home for our last night in our Campervan.Read more