Christchurch

We arrived into Christchurch in the middle of the night, landing at 1am where we battled our way through the rather long immigrations and customs process. New Zealand, like Australia, is very strict on bringing plant and natural-material matter into the country and we dutifully threw away an apple and told them we were carrying mayonnaise and peanuts but didn't consider disclosing our hiking boots. It might sound extreme but we were sent to a screening area where our slightly dusty boots were taken away to be scrubbed clean by a border officer - they're like new!

Anyway after collapsing into bed in an airport pod-hostel (Google Jucy Snooze Christchurch Airport if you're curious, it's pretty cool!) we slept soundly until time to collect our rental car a few hours later.

At the rental office we knew we'd booked a budget car but didn't expect the scuffed-up, scratch-and-dent covered rust bucket we were presented...but hey, it was a car! We were about to leave after we'd figured out how to fit our bags into the tiny boot when the manager offered us a car that he wanted returning to Auckland (our end destination!) as an upgrade. It's a much larger and more comfortable car so it was a real win-win!

Our first stop was to drop our bags at our hostel in central Christchurch, then we left the car behind and headed out on foot to have our first experience of the country. A short walk along a grassy riverbank pathway and then we started walking down the streets and we immediately started to recognise the damage the city has suffered due to nature's power. For every building there was one derelict adjacent to it and for such a large city (by NZ standards at least) there were so many empty spaces where we assume buildings stood. It was truly harrowing to see.

A short walk took us to the city's heart, Cathedral Square. Before a series of earthquakes during late 2010 and early 2011 that decimated the city and wider state of Canterbury this square was ringed with classic buildings, almost all of which are now gone. Most difficult to see is the still damaged cathedral, missing it's frontage and tower. Despite the damage we'd seen so far the city has a very positive feel to it, with re-building and intuitive use of the empty spaces within the city an ongoing feature. In the square we found a food market where there was dozens of options for a delicious and cheap lunch which we couldn't resist!

Next we continued to Re-Start Mall, uniquely made from dozens of brightly coloured shipping containers, another clever way of rebuilding. In and amongst the shops were cafes, bars and many clever sculptures and art installations. We enjoyed a couple of hours there wandering in and out of the shops and eating cake in the sun!

Just over the road from the mall we went to a museum called Quake City, which interactively and interestingly tells the tale of the earthquakes that damaged the city and state as well as claiming nearly 200 lives. Inside we found 'why do earthquakes happen', displays of damaged things from the city and a film of survivor stories which were truly harrowing and gave a real idea of what the situation was like as it happened.

As we walked around the city during the rest of the afternoon we kept seeing reminders of the pain the city had felt but like I said before, there's an energy in the ongoing rebuild and the council has big plans for a modern city. We'd be interested to go back in 5 or 10 years to see the difference. The residents remember the earthquakes but moreover remember those who died, with a memorial of 185 empty white chairs laid out in an empty patch of grass in the middle of the city, one for each casualty - very moving, especially if I quote the artist's blurb that "...the installation is temporary, as is life."

The following morning we headed out of the city and south into the countryside, leaving behind the concrete boxes and soon we were beginning to experience the stunning scenery that NZ is so famous for. Our destination was the village of Franz Josef nearly 400km away, high in the mountains of the West coast. It took us five hours to do the journey, mainly as we kept stopping for photos and to admire the scenery. Most jaw-dropping of all was Arthur's Pass where the road is etched against sheer mountainside, at times passing through small tunnels and under falling water. We're going to enjoy driving around the country over the month we have here.

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