Christchurh Revisited

After breakfast we transferred to our new hotel for the next two nights; The George, this was the best hotel we stayed at during our New Zealand trip, everything was just right.

We walked down to the museum had tea and then into the Botanical Gardens in Hagley Park and took a trip on the Caterpillar Train. The 'Christmas Tree' is the second picture.

Another cup of tea at Robert Harris (specialist New Zealand coffee roasters and Cafes) and then set off back towards our hotel to find dinner in the area.

Earthquake damage was being repaired at Christchurch College.

We passed a clock tower with the time stopped at the moment of the 2^nd quake in February 2011, the reason for the heavy human toll was that it happened in the  middle of the day (12:51 pm) when many people were at their desks or walking around in the city.

Spaglimis restaurant was quite a hike but the food was good. On the way back to our hotel, there was a cleared area with a sign for Dorset Tower, Gwen decided it was now Dorset Flat. There were many closed up properties within a few hundred yards of our Hotel which suffered only very minor damage and never closed it’s doors.

The next day we went on a tour of the City Centre Red Zone (Properties mainly being demolished and non reconstruction personnel normally not allowed), but we went on a Beyond the Cordon Tour into the zone, we had to sign a document giving up our rights to anything that might happen.

The first site we passed was also the most poignant, 189 empty chairs representing the final death toll.

Next we came to a small area were the buildings were being repaired.

However there were many properties awaiting demolition.

There were many areas where the remnants of the buildings were being crushed to be recycled, we saw a very large hole being filled with the stuff.

The builders hadn’t lost their sense of humour.

Many buildings have been brought back into use, the Ibis hotel re-opened a few weeks ago.

The building that most people know about is Christchurch Cathedral, which is in limbo, demolition was started and then stopped, most locals apparently want it rebuilt but the cost is 3 times more than building a new one, I’d like to see it rebuilt.

Gwen went for a punt and got the front seat with a blanket, all that was missing was the champagne.

Before going back to the Hotel we visited the Canterbury Museum for tea (of course) and a visit to the Antarctic Exhibition with displays from Scott’s and Shackleton’s expeditions before the 1^st World War. The major part of the exhibition was about the Commonwealth expedition of the mid/late 19050’s, with film from the trans polar crossing and exhibits of equipment used then, Gwen tried out a skidoo for size.

We ate in the hotel Bistro that night, very good, like the rest of the hotel.

Next morning off to the airport for our flight to Australia.