Sunday February 16, 2025

After breakfast we caught the bus into the city.  The bus interchange is a new, bright and airy building with a couple dozen bays for the various buses to pick up and drop off passengers.  There’s lots of signage, schedules and maps, everything is very clearly marked.  We started at Cathedral Square.  The old post office is on the square, and there are murals and works of art everywhere.  As we walked through the city we could see older buildings that have stabilizing steel beams attached, buildings that are still standing but boarded up and obviously not safe to enter, empty lots where buildings once stood, and new buildings built since the earthquake.

Even though the main earthquake was on Feb. 11, 2011, there were two other large ones in 2012 that further damaged the cathedral.  Stabilization finally commenced in 2020 and restoration work began in 2023.  Skilled stonemasons and stained glass workers are working on the reconstruction, and are training new workers so those skills won’t be lost.  The site is blocked off with informative photos and signage all around the fencing.

We then went to Quake City, which is all about the history of earthquakes in the South Island, and especially the 2011 quake.  It was very informative and moving, as it includes videos of various people speaking about their experiences during and just after the quake, then near at the end there is further video of them being re-interviewed in 2020 to speak of how it has affected them in the 9 years since.

We headed to the Riverside Market for lunch, which was very busy.  There are dozens of choices for food, plus it’s a market with fish, meat, cheese, bakeries and a pantry full of local goods to purchase.  We shared a table with a couple from the UK who are just starting their tour of the South.

Next on the list was the Botanic Gardens.  There is a rose garden, a native tree and plant section, the Avon River with ducks and Canada Geese, a fruit, veg and herb garden that their café uses, and a stage with a live band and hundreds of people attending the show.

We made our way back to the bus interchange and caught the bus to the shopping centre just before the airport.  We picked up some fruit and snacks, then had (gasp) McDonalds for dinner, which the Kiwis call Maccas.  We walked the kilometer back to our hotel, putting in over 6 kms of walking today.

Christchurch is the jumping off point for military and scientists heading to Antarctica.  US and Aussie air force and army members stay here at our hotel before they fly south, as it is the closest hotel to the airport.