Re:START Christchurch

After a few days chilling out in Kaikoura we were due to continue heading south and on to Christchurch, a two hour bus ride away. As you all remember, in 2011 Christchurch suffered a series of severe earthquakes that caused endless damage to the city. Just prior to the 2011 Rugby World Cup, it meant that all the Christchurch matches were relocated to the North island meaning the south missed out on a lot of rugby, and therefore tourists, to the city which couldn’t have helped the rebuilding finances. The city is still on the mend, we wanted to visit the Re:START Christchurch area where a number of businesses have started up (or restarted as you will) after the quake but instead of being based in buildings, they are based in converted shipping containers. Sadly, due to the effects of the quake, a lot of the city centre is actually cordoned off as a “red zone” where demolition and construction is on-going. Many houses and buildings we passed are due to be torn down due to the structural instability from the quake and the hostel we stayed in had visible cracks along the walls – a poignant reminder of the quake, if one was needed.

It’s a shame because Christchurch seemed like such a pretty town, resembling a middle-England town (there is even punting on the river Avon that runs through the city) and a number of grand Victorian buildings serve as a reminder of its colonial past. We walked past the Botanical Gardens, Canterbury Museum, Canterbury University and an open area where the world Busking festival was due to take place the following day. It was a pleasant walk, but upon arriving in the city centre the scale of the rebuilding operation was apparent. Cranes, bulldozers and men in high-vis were everywhere, and the man who ran our hostel (Tranquil Lodge) reckons there will be construction work here rebuilding for the next twenty years at least!

We came upon the Re:START Christchurch area and thought it was really cool, a modern and unique feel to the place. The shipping containers were converted nicely, and they were painted a myriad of colours so it was all visually very impressive. I imagine that if they keep the containers they’ll become an icon of the city in the future; we were well impressed with it all.

We only had the one night in Christchurch, and we were off in the morning for our next destination Queenstown, but we did enjoy Christchurch and we’d like to come back in the future and see how the rebuilding has come along – it really is a beautiful little city.