Satellite
  • Day 19

    Christchurch and the missing camera....

    October 30, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    We left Kaikoura having had breakfast with a couple of ladies who were also travelling with our agents Audley Travel though they were travelling in the opposite direction to us. They were on the Whale watch today so were interested to hear of our experience.
    The journey from Kaikōura took us south once again hugging the coast and initially was quite slow due to the repair works to the road following the earthquake. Quite extraordinary to see the damage that was obviously done some three years ago. What a task they have had in this area to effect some sort of recovery.
    After about an hour of travelling we turned inland and descended to the plains that lead up to Christchurch. Very different scenery with more agriculture lots of sheep and cows and great views to our right with the Southern Alps a number of which are snow capped.
    Arrived in Christchurch shortly before lunch. Now this city has been in the international headlines for the wrong reasons in the past years the earthquakes in 2010 and 2011 and the terrorist attack in March of this year. We were able to check into our hotel on arrival which was a bonus and after a brief unpack - we are only here one night - we set off into the city stopping en route for a sandwich.
    The damage of the 2011 quake soon became evident. There are a few buildings that were badly damaged that are worth saving and are being propped up notably the cathedral which is in a bad way but the plan is to restore it to its former glory. There are also a number of open spaces being used as car parks that previously had a building on them. We were quite shocked to see an area that has the footings of a building remaining, this was a 22 storey Price Waterhouse office block.
    We bought a hop on hop off ticket for the tram that takes tourists round the city. These are in old trams and is good fun with excellent drivers providing an excellent and informative commentary. We got off for a stroll through the Botanic Gardens and a walk by the river and then off again to see the “Cardboard Cathedral “ which is temporary whilst the main cathedral is out of action. It was at this point I reached for my camera......aagh! No camera. Must have left it on the tram. We walked back to the Tramway office which was only a few minutes away. They were able to contact the tram, but no sign of the camera. Maybe I left it on the park bench near the Botanic Gardens whilst waiting for the tram so walked about twenty minutes to said bench but no joy. A tram then pulled up so we got on it to go back to the Tramway office and lo and behold the first tram had now found it and would be round in about ten minutes. Great relief.
    We resumed our walk of Christchurch and saw the 185 white chairs that are being used as a tribute to the 185 people who lost their lives in the earthquake, very moving.
    Christchurch as a result of the quake, is now being rebuilt and there are new offices and shops springing up. There are also many new apartment buildings as the city is looking to encourage more people to move back into the city. It is a town planners dream to have almost a blank canvas.
    We leave Christchurch in the morning and head to Mount Cook where it is likely to be a tad cooler!
    Apologies about lack of photos yesterday hopefully now sorted! Also for some strange reason yesterday’s blog was dated 3rd April 2014 🤦🏽‍♂️
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