Christchurch

We left the gorgeous Lake Tekapo and headed to Christchurch on Saturday 5th of April. We were extremely lucky to be able to stay with family friends, Leon and Adrienne, the former who attended university with my dad, rather than stay in a hostel. This also meant that we got our very own lovely and personal tour of Christchurch which was brilliant. 

As everyone knows Christchurch was struck by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake in 2011, killing 185 people whilst destroying many parts of the city centre and the surrounding suburbs. As silly as it may sound, I did not realise just how devastated the area still is over 3 years on. Just ambling around parts of the city showed us the true extent of the damage inflicted on Christchurch. Many buildings are abandoned and boarded up awaiting demolition. Many gaps, sometimes surrounded by a smattering of rubble or weeds, exist where buildings once stood.

The earthquake destroyed the spire, part of the tower and the structure of the famous cathedral and therefore the future of it is uncertain with different groups embroiled in legal battles over whether to demolish it or keep the remains of the original. However, the cathedral has been deconsecrated and partially demolished before this was halted due to legal proceedings. 

What remains of the city feels ghostly, eerie and slightly surreal. Despite this the people of Christchurch have rallied together creating things such as the Cardboard Cathedral and the Re:START shipping container mall, breathing life back into the ruined city. 

After a quick tour of the city we were treated to a Nandos lunch by Leon and Adrienne which was lovely before heading back to their house where they ever so kindly put us up for the night. It was such a pleasure staying with them and escaping hostels for one night. 

We headed out for a drive around the local area although the weather wasn't overly co-operative for sightseeing purposes. Driving up through the hills gave us a good view of the city and surrounding land and coast line, when the clouds lifted. However, the grey misty clouds added to the rugged landscape and made for some good pictures. Unfortunately I cannot remember the name of where we were (this is what happens when you get behind on blogging) but it was extremely beautiful in a rough and wild kind of way.

What I do remember Leon telling us is that the road was severely damaged and eventually closed, just past this point, due to the earthquake. It seems unlikely that it will be reopened, or at least not in the near future, as other projects will take priority. It is a shame because what we saw of it made for a drive full of exquisite scenery and I can only imagine what the rest would have been like. 

Following this we headed back down towards the coast, again gobsmacked at the amount of destruction still evident. Buildings hang off cliffs where vast swathes of land have fallen and crumbled away exposing muddy, perilous looking cliff faces. We stared incredulously at the sights of homes ripped in half still standing and not yet removed 3 years on. However, as Leon noted there had been many other issues to sort out before the demolition of structurally unstable houses. In the aftermath there was the slow search for survivors and then all the sewer and water pipes had to be mended or replaced. Buildings close to collapse had to be safely torn down and the road network had to be rebuilt. 

Christchurch was meant to be less prone to earthquakes as it was believed that the nearest fault line was inland along the mountains. Therefore, it was lacking some of the defences or earthquake proof buildings that can be seen in other major cities near fault lines, such as San Francisco. 

The shipping containers below line the road incase of a other landslip or to stop falling debris reaching the road. A few were covered in beautiful pieces of art, some of the local resilience shining through. 

The beach we visited next was absolutely gorgeous. Again the name escapes me but I liked the sandy bay shrouded by the two rocky areas of land jutting out to sea. 

The last part of our tour was through some of the abandoned and desolate suburbs that are awaiting demolition. As well as becoming structurally unsound due to the earthquake, the last three years has meant that nature is slowly reclaiming parts of the land adding to the devastation and sense of neglect. Whole suburbs are completely empty and it is mind boggling. It is crazy to know that in the space of a couple of minutes peoples lives were utterly torn apart. 

Seeing as we had devoured a fairly big lunch we stopped at a 'dessert restaurant' on the way back. We were lucky they had space for us as many restaurants you have to book in advance due to there being fewer after the earthquake. The menu was full of delectable looking sweet treats which resulted in me being completely unable to decide. Eventually I went for the trio of smaller desserts: plum tart, lemon cheesecake and a rich raspberry and chocolate cake, all topped off with fresh fruit. It was absolutely delicious; as mouth-wateringly good as it looks! 

Once our tummies were full with amazing puddings we headed back to Adrienne and Leon's for a nice quiet evening, chatting over a cup of tea. I took the opportunity to FaceTime my dad so that he could talk to his friend for a while and so that I could also give him a blow by blow account on the Blue Bulls rugby match which they were losing. 

After this it was time to slip into bed in a peacefully quiet room devoid of other people snoring. It was one of the best nights sleep in a long time and we were treated to a feast of a breakfast the next morning before we left. Louise and I are extremely grateful to Leon and Adrienne and we had a wonderful time. We got to see parts of Christchurch we would not have otherwise seen and I also got the chance to reconnect with family friends. 

It was a short but undeniably sweet stay and the next morning we were back at the hostel to meet the kiwi experience bus again. Unfortunately, it was time for another goodbye from one of our new found friends as Tom was leaving from Christchurch. We were each treated to a bear hug with promises to meet up at our travelling reunion in December. 

For now though it was time for us to keep moving.

Until next time. 

A x