December 24, 2014
We were absolutely shocked at the devastation from the earthquake of February 2011. The city center is still a huge mess and it has been nearly four years since the quake. Entire city blocks are just empty, and some still have the rubble to be cleared away, like this one on Victoria Square.
It was so sad for me to see the Cathedral in this state, as I had visited it 25 years ago.
The food was really good. Jason and I had chicken satay which came out on these really hot stones, and you cooked it yourself. David had fish and chips, and Danika had BLAT, Bacon, lettuce, avocado, and tomato sandwich. It was enormous! Needless to say, we were absolutely stuffed by the time we left
We got up early and headed out around 7:15 a.m. We had a longer drive today, five hours. I drove the first 2 1/2, then David drove the rest.
I feel like it was national road kill day. It seemed like there was something in the road every few hundred feet! We lost count after awhile. Still not sure what they were, but they were bigger than a squirrel with dark fur and a fluffy tail. No pictures of the roadkill, but this is the only picture of the scenery I took along the drive...
We ate the lunch we packed while we were on the move, and the kids were so tired from yesterday's Abel Tasman hike and getting up early that they napped most of the way. We made really good time and got into Christchurch before noon.
We checked into our little apartment, and it is fabulous! We are staying at Merivale Manor and the people working here are so nice! Also, this is the view as you drive up...
Our place is a three bedroom, three level, two bathroom place. The bottom level is the master bedroom and bath. There is a little back patio on this level with table and chairs, very private. The next level up is the living room and kitchen area. (This level also has a washer and dryer, YAY!)
There is a balcony on the main level where the kitchen and living room are. It was nice to be able to sit outside. The top level has two bedrooms and a bathroom with a really large shower. The kids are loving having an entire floor to themselves. We are pretty happy about it too!
Our place is a three bedroom, three level, two bathroom place. The bottom level is the master bedroom and bath. There is a little back patio on this level with table and chairs, very private. The next level up is the living room and kitchen area. (This level also has a washer and dryer, YAY!)
There is a balcony on the main level where the kitchen and living room are. It was nice to be able to sit outside. The top level has two bedrooms and a bathroom with a really large shower. The kids are loving having an entire floor to themselves. We are pretty happy about it too!
After settling in, David and I went shopping for Christmas dinner. We found this great little butchery, Trateur, which was a short walk into Merivale (a very nice suburb of Christchurch).
We bought a traditional New Zealand meal of mince pie, shepherd's pie, and beef beer and bacon pie. We also bought a beautiful fruit flan as a typical Christmas dessert. Then we went and bought a little chocolate as a surprise for the kids for Christmas morning.
We bought a traditional New Zealand meal of mince pie, shepherd's pie, and beef beer and bacon pie. We also bought a beautiful fruit flan as a typical Christmas dessert. Then we went and bought a little chocolate as a surprise for the kids for Christmas morning.
After getting the food put away, we got the kids and headed for our walk into central Christchurch.
We walked through North Hagley park and stopped at Victoria lake (everything here seems to be called Victoria!) where Jason took this picture.
We walked through North Hagley park and stopped at Victoria lake (everything here seems to be called Victoria!) where Jason took this picture.
We started seeing these giraffes all over town, so Danika and I took pics with them.
We were absolutely shocked at the devastation from the earthquake of February 2011. The city center is still a huge mess and it has been nearly four years since the quake. Entire city blocks are just empty, and some still have the rubble to be cleared away, like this one on Victoria Square.
It was so sad for me to see the Cathedral in this state, as I had visited it 25 years ago.
They have shipping containers holding up the old facades. I love this picture that David took.
Next we went to the Cardboard Cathedral. It was built as a temporary structure, but should last 50 years. The roof support is cardboard tubes!
While walking through the city, many of the large building walls have been painted. This was one of our favorites.
Here is what it looks like at night...
While walking through the city, many of the large building walls have been painted. This was one of our favorites.
We had picked out a few places for dinner, but each time we walked to one, it was closed. We headed through this cute part of town called New Regent Street and Danika bought a hat here.
While walking back, I wanted a picture of these bridges over the Avon river because I remember them from when I was here 25 years ago.
We had walked over five miles and were getting a bit tired, so we headed to this pub, The Brewers Arms, near our apartment to get some dinner. It was FABULOUS. First of all, it was OPEN, and second of all, it was PACKED with people. It was a nice change from the eerie silence we had been walking through the city downtown. It was really nice to be surrounded by lots of happy people on Christmas Eve.
The food was really good. Jason and I had chicken satay which came out on these really hot stones, and you cooked it yourself. David had fish and chips, and Danika had BLAT, Bacon, lettuce, avocado, and tomato sandwich. It was enormous! Needless to say, we were absolutely stuffed by the time we left
Back at the apartment we had just settled in when the whole apartment started shaking. Yep, earthquake! It was a bit unsettling since we had just walked throughout Christchurch and witnessed first hand the devastation from four years ago. We later found out that it registered 4.0 on the richter scale.
Later on we sat down and watched Home Alone with the kids before turning in for the night.
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