For those of you who don't know, Christchurch was severely damaged by a quake in Feb 2011 which killed 185 people, and the city is still very much in the stages of recovery with scaffolding, building works and fenced off areas absolutely everywhere. The first thing I noticed when I arrived was how quiet the place is; walking to the Re:start mall I encountered pockets of tourists every so often but other than that, Christchurch is a ghost town; eerily empty. Having been told there are a fair number of 'fruit loops' here and advised not to be out alone after dark, I had an early night and left it until the next day to have a proper look around - although like I say there's not heaps going on.
Clear efforts have been made to regenerate and transform crumbled ruins into social, liveable spaces:
But there's still a long way to go. I'd be lying if I said I enjoyed my time in Christchurch, but I did have a lovely walk around the botanic gardens, which is a breath of new life and fresh air in a fallen city. I had a merry old time crunching through autumn leaves and strolling by the river - it almost felt like I was back home.
I was forced back to the hostel by 1) the bitter cold and 2) boredom, where I took full advantage of the unlimited wifi for the next three hours. To Kaikoura! Where the forecast is rain. Doh!
