March 7 - 8
Wellington to Christchurch
March 7
Wellington to Christchurch
A beautiful morning. The taxi arrived at 09.15 and took me to the airport. I checked in, awaited the plane and flew to Christchurch in calm, clear skies. Once there, I collected the rental car and completed the drive to John and Anne's in half an hour - without incident.
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Benny was very pleased to see me - the first time for two years. Like most of us, he is starting to show his age. We quickly gave him lunch and then walked round the corner to the local craft beer pub for our own. I wasn't excited by the beer but the food was good.
Once home again, we lazed around the house, with me still feeling tired.
Dinner was good, after which we watched a little sport on TV before retiring early.
March 8
Christchurch
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Sunday at John & Anne's means shopping at the Opawa Market. After a good night's sleep, we set off on a cloudy morning to drive a couple of kilometres to the market. It was the same as I remember it. Not many stalls but interesting produce. I bought some fruit and some Italian style cheese for my journey. We returned home, ate some of the bread and buns that we had purchased in the market and drove into Christchurch. |
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My aim was to see the changes that had taken place since my last visit two years ago. The earthquakes nearly ten years before had caused major damage in the city centre and re-building has been progressing ever since.
We parked alongside one of the many sites that is still vacant and walked past another which has been partially re-developed. The banks of the Avon have been re-landscaped and looked pretty.
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One feature of the re-development has been the amount of street art which has appeared. This one contrasts with the hotel behind, one of the few that escaped the quakes almost unscathed.
The new Town Hall is now open for concerts etc and has a good bed of flowers in front.
Another new building, the huge Convention Centre, is still under construction. Will it be finished in time for my next visit? The Piano, also new, is a performing arts complex. An interesting design.
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Both of the city's cathedrals were destroyed. While the Anglicans have had a long, bitter and public row about the fate of theirs, the Roman Catholics seem to have been more contemplative and have decided to build a new one on an empty piece of ground in the city centre. This currently features a lake and some derelict concrete columns.
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We wandered along New Regent Street, a hive of activity on a sunny Sunday, and climbed to the top of the new Library building. This is not much to look at from the outside but has interesting staircases internally.
There are viewing platforms on the top floor, offering excellent views over the city centre, the old Anglican Cathedral, the Post Office and so on.
It was even possible to photograph some of the more functional street furniture.
 The Great Hall |
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The Peace Arch was a sad sight when I was last here, bearing huge cracks which threatened to rent it asunder. It now appears to have been fixed and is open to the public again.The shops and cafes have all been rebuilt over the last couple of years and were doing a roaring trade. There was even a brass band playing on the river bank. A food market and court has been constructed in one of the new malls and offered some interesting looking food. |
The Arts Centre survived the quakes remarkably well. given its age, but has been under re-construction ever since. We had coffee and a cake - not much sugar I was assured - and then walked into the Great Hall, a magnificent concert venue.
The Craft Market outside had a lot of interesting things on offer. Unfortunately for the stall holders, I wasn't buying anything. Finally, with a little drizzle appearing, we returned to the car and drove home. We had been walking for over four hours and had seen a lot. We had a quiet evening, with a very passable Indian take away.