One day in Christchurch
Eleanor Hughes explores the beauty and history of the garden city.
The destruction of the 2011 earthquake is still evident – containers stacked four or five high support damaged buildings, sites are boarded up or empty, reinforcing steel twists from shattered foundations, brickwork is braced – and rebuilding continues.
But with flat streets, the narrow Avon River tranquilly winding through, heritage and modern architecture, colourful murals and quiet pace, central Christchurch is a pleasure to explore.
Morning Wake up at Urbanz
Sure, it’s a hostel, but Urbanz has a lot going for it. It’s clean, modern, reasonably priced and located in the central city.
About five minutes’ walk to an airport bus stop and opposite Margaret Mahy Family Playground, its ground floor has a lounge bar with alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, bar food and snacks.
Movies are shown on some nights and there’s free, unlimited wi-fi. Family rooms, and some double rooms, have ensuite bathrooms, while there are also dorm rooms or doubles with shared bathrooms.
Order Urbanz’s continental breakfast or prepare your own in the large communal kitchen/ dining area. Make up a picnic lunch while there and you’re ready to hit the streets.
■ 273 Manchester St
Christchurch Tram
Discover the history of the city and some of its buildings, information on the city’s rebuild, spots to visit and recommendations on cafes and restaurants on a vintage tram.
Christchurch tram’s booking office, stop one, is about two minutes’ walk from Urbanz, although it can also be booked online.
Running every 15-25 minutes through the central city, the 17-stop circuit takes around 50 minutes... unless you’re hopping on and off.
Although the route is easily walkable with some stops barely 100 metres apart, the driver’s commentary makes it worth doing.
■ Cathedral Junction (Shop 13)
109 Worcester St
Canterbury Museum
Travel through time from moa and Ma¯ ori, to the settling of Christchurch. Wander into late 19th-century businesses in a mock-Christchurch street, discover Antarctica through bygone explorations while checking out Ed Hillary’s Scott Base tractor and a sno-cat then visit Bluff’s Fred and Myrtle’s Paua Shell House.
Stop 12 on the tram tour, the Canterbury Museum is free and an hour can easily be spent exploring its two levels.
■ 11 Rolleston Ave
Botanic Gardens
The Botanic Gardens, founded in 1863, lie beyond the museum and cover 21 hectares. Hemmed by the Avon River, the gardens, featuring plants from around the world, are free to stroll and get lost in.
Bush walk in the New Zealand garden, amble the rock and water gardens or wander beneath the shade of arches in the rose garden.
Conservatories house a fernery where ‘‘moa’’ lurk, carnivorous plants, desert cacti and rainforest while Gilpin House is perfumed by orchids. The Visitor Centre showcases the story of Christchurch and Canterbury through plants and people.
The riverside or seats throughout the Botanic Garden are perfect spots for a picnic, but if you haven’t brought one along, Ilex Cafe at the Visitor Centre has delicious looking food. The slices in the cabinets were very tempting. Dine outside or with a view into the garden’s nursery inside.
■ Hagley Park, Rolleston Ave
Afternoon Antigua Boat Sheds
Exit the Botanic Gardens via the gate nearby the 1920s Curator’s House, now a restaurant serving Spanish cuisine, to check out the green and whitestriped Antigua Boat Sheds. A Category 1 Heritage New Zealand-listed building built in 1882, boats have been available for hire from there ever since. Punting in the Park offer punts along the river, or a few sheds along, kayaks are available.
■ 23 Cambridge Terrace
Back on the tram
If you haven’t finished your tram ride, get back to Stop 12 and return to Cathedral Junction where it’s a short walk to . . .
Quake City
Witness the moving story of the Canterbury Earthquakes. From the Ma¯ ori legend of
Ru¯ aumoko, the god of earthquakes and volcanoes, continue on to view a timeline of Canterbury’s quakes since the 1800s.
Then it’s all about February 22, 2011. Items from damaged structures including the cathedral’s spire are displayed along with many photographs.
The TV ‘‘breaking news’’ broadcast and an hour’s footage of people’s personal stories of the
day the earthquake hit are quite heart-rending. 299 Durham St North
The Avon River
The riverside along Oxford Terrace, between Armagh St and Cashel St is peaceful and scenic. Along this stretch is the Kate Sheppard National Memorial to Women’s Suffrage and Mill Island, a tiny island near the Hereford St bridge where an 1859 flour mill stood. The Bridge of Remembrance, a War Memorial in front of the Cashel St bridge, was erected in 1923 and is lit up in the evening.
Oxford Terrace
Riverside Market
Small, local businesses selling a huge variety of food products – sweets, baked goods, fish, sauces, salt, cheese, and vegetables.
There are also craft beers at Canterbury Brewers Collective and boutique distillery The Spirits Workshop.
You’re spoilt for choice at its eateries, bars and restaurants, open until 9pm, Thursday to Sunday, including Vietnamese street food at Hanoi Alley, El Rancho Riverside’s Latin American cuisine, burgers at Shaka Bros, or Dim Sum Cantonese and Shanghainese-style food at Midnight Shanghai. Other choices include El Quincho’s Argentinian barbecue, or check out Kaiser Brew Garden.
96 Oxford Terrace
Evening Explore New Regent St
Picturesque New Regent St, a pedestrian thoroughfare of pastel, heritage listed, terraced buildings built in 1932 is home to gin gin. This cocktail bar, which according to a Christchurch tram driver is perfectly respectable because there are church pews out the front, is done out in pale pink and has two bars and often live music.
New Regent St is also home to The Last Word, a must-do if you enjoy whiskey, and there’s also a great selection of cocktails, craft beer and wine. Sit out in armchairs on the street and enjoy. Best of all, they’re just around the corner from Urbanz.
The writer travelled on her own dime.