Christchurch - Travel Diary

I really wanted to visit Christchurch whilst I was in New Zealand. Mainly because it was one of the only places I had heard of due to the earthquakes in 2011. 

Realistically, in 2011 I was a (more) self-absorbed, uni student that was mostly drunk or crying about hating university, so I hadn't really taken much notice of the news or actually how bad these earthquakes were. 185 people lost their lives, and several thousand were injured (Google'd that). The devastation was extreme and 80% of the city had to be demolished and rebuilt (Learnt that on my tour) - something that they are still doing today.

During my time in Auckland, I have met a couple of people from Christchurch who have told me their stories, so I was interested to check it out for myself. Of course, as normal I went too far with my research and ended up lost in YouTube videos of earthquakes, so I was a little bit nervous about this trip - even more so when there was another minor earthquake 2 days before my departure.

I stayed in Breakfree on Cashel. The location and price were perfect for what I wanted. I was in Christchurch Friday evening until Sunday morning, so it was a short and sweet trip. The hotel itself was interesting. I'd managed to pick the hotel right next to the red light district, so alarm bells were ringing that I may be staying in some kind of brothel. Luckily that didn't turn out the be the case, I was, however, staying in a pod. To be fair it was pretty cosy, but there was no window, just a massive mirror which means I basically had to stare at myself the whole time which was a little uncomfortable, and it was quite noisy - but not unbearable. 

First on my agenda was to visit Christchurch gondola (cable car, not the Venetian canal boat) because I needed to add yet another good view photo to my collection, and as Christchurch is a pretty flat city (this made me SO happy), this was the place to go. 

As rain was forecast for the day, I headed there as soon as I got up. My ticket included a shuttle bus as it's a 10/15 minute drive.  

It was pretty quiet there and being on my own I got a cable car to myself, which I was happy about for approx. 30 seconds. As I started to go up, I remembered how scared I am of heights. I literally cry every time I get on a plane, and there I was about to go up a mountain in a little cable car, in the wind, in a city that has earthquakes every now and then. 

Just as I had finally decided I was potentially not going to die, halfway up the cable car jolted to a halt with an announcement that we had 'stopped for loading' and this could take 2-3 minutes. 

STOPPED FOR LOADING. 

So there I was on the side of a mountain in a little pod swinging wildly in the wind convinced I was about plunge to my death

That was fun.

When I eventually got to the top, all I could think about was the fact I had to get back down. I took a few photos of the view and went on a little train ride which I think was meant for children, but I needed a minute to contemplate my life. 

I stood staring at the exit for about 20 minutes and eventually asked the attendant if there was any other way of getting down. There wasn't. She did, however, offer the alternative of riding down with a woman and her toddler. Better than dying alone. These brave people were on their third cable car ride of the day, so they were pros.
Suddenly I was whale-watching (not really) with a 2-year-old, and her mother, who was from England so we also had a common interest.
Life was looking up. 

I also didn't die on the way down, FYI. 

As soon as we got back to the city centre, the sun came out and it turned into a hot day. So I took a little walk around Christchurch Botanic Gardens. If I had more time (and hadn't been on my own) I would have loved to kayak down the river, but instead settled for a wander around, dodging the ton of Lime scooters flying past. For my non-NZ based friends that may be reading this. The lime scooters are pay-as-you-go electric scooters that have in Auckland and Christchurch. Don't worry I have ridden/fallen off yet.







After walking around the park for a while to recover from my earlier ordeal of the day. I decided to do the tram tour of the city (I actually bought my ticket as a package with the gondola ticket). The tram runs all around the city centre, and it has some hop-on-hop-off stops. The driver also gives a commentary (mainly about earthquake damage and top attractions in the city). Although the trams are small and could be quite crowded, I really enjoyed the slightly different way of seeing the city. To loop around the whole track, it took about 40 minutes if you don't get on and off). It was very interesting to see the contrast of brand new buildings and buildings that have been damaged and abandoned since 2011. There is also a lot of car parks and empty open spaces. The driver explained that there were most likely buildings in most of those spaces before the earthquakes, but the buildings were demolished and not replaced. One of the buildings that caught my attention the most was the cathedral. Right in the centre of the city stands a very badly damaged cathedral with one side of it almost completely destroyed. Almost 8 years later and they haven't been able to find a way to restore what was once a beautiful city landmark.


One of the top places that had been recommended to me in Christchurch was New Regent Street. Visually it was a beautiful street, The buildings had an art deco look, and reminded me of Miami - especially when the sun was blazing. For a lone traveller, however, there wasn't much there for me to do. There was a few restaurants and bars but nowhere I felt comfortable going on my own. I did pop into a souvenir shop for my magnet though (side note: it's really hard to find a decent magnet that says Christchurch. It's actually easier to get an Auckland magnet in Christchurch!).

As I exited the street, a lady started walking alongside me and showing me photos of her dead relatives and then asking me for money. I told her I didn't have any on me (genuinely didn't) so she started screaming at me that I was a horrible person, repeatedly, as I walked down the street.



I ended up back in the city centre in search of some lunch. As I was on limited time, I didn't make food a priority on my trip. Normally this would be the most exciting part, but it's not really as fun sitting in restaurants alone. So lunch was my only meal out and I didn't go too fancy. I chose a small American style deli for a hotdog.

Next up was the Art Gallery.
Honestly, art galleries are not really my thing. Which is odd, because I consider myself to be quite a creative person. So I pretended to be cultured for about 15 minutes and then snuck out a side exit to avoid the lady that was trying to make me donate.
It was a nice building though, I'll give it that.
I did, however, appreciate the street art that was dotted around the city.


Instead, I tried the museum (more my thing). The museum is free (donations recommended) so it was nice and busy, with a good selection of exhibitions.
Although, I was kind of cultured out by this point and my feet were starting to ache, so it was a flying visit where I spent the majority of the time eating cake in the cafe. Still counts though, right?

After a couple of hours shopping (weirdly, my aching feet made a miraculous recovery) I decided to head to the new cinema complex in the city centre. I arrived at 6pm on a Saturday evening and EVERY film that night appeared to be sold out, except from Bohemian Rhapsody which started at 6pm (so I was already late after buying my ticket) had 1 seat left - obviously a sign, because it was a really good film and I'm so glad I ended up there.
 The cinema itself was HUGE. I couldn't believe just how many people were in one screen. I had been thinking to myself all day how quiet Christchurch was, turns out the whole population is at the cinema!

My final verdict of Christchurch was that it is one of my favourite places to visit in New Zealand. If I went back again and had some more time, I'd love to rent a car there and explore the area more. But for a flying visit, there was plenty to do in the city centre. I would be interested to go back in a few years as I think the city is rebuilding and growing at an amazing rate and would love to see how this continues.