Christchurch

This was our final destination in New Zealand. Were looking forward to meeting up with the last Knox (Callum) and discovering more about the slowly regenerating CBD following the devastation left by the 2011 earthquake.

From our surprisingly picturesque town-located campsite, we walked into the city centre via the really pretty botanical gardens. The first part of the city we walked through was the regenerated part. It had clusters of shipping containers being used as pop-up shops. It was bustling and everyone was getting creative with their shop spaces. There were more pop-up ventures dotted around town; some community based, like a miniature road awareness space and the temporary cathedral made mainly out of cardboard! Some were more poignant like the grassy field filled with white chairs, each one representing a person who died during the quakes.

The council wants to make an example in creating an earthquake-proof city, meaning a slow rebuilding process. In the mean time, the damage to the buildings and infrastructure is still very obvious in much of the CBD.

On our final day before heading to the land of constant heat and kangaroos, we decided to going skiing. We got insider knowledge from Callum and headed to Mount Hutt. It was raining there! The conditions made skiing quiet challenging but we got glimpses of the magnificent green valley floor in the background every now and again, and we have added another continent to our skiing bow.

New Zealand treated us well, providing tons of adrenaline, s
amazing views, and some home-like weather! We spent 37 days in our Jucy van and actually got quite attached to it. It was sad to see her go! We look forward to the next part of our journey, and some heat at last…

The decommissioned Cathedral in the background, redevelopment in the foreground

The new temporary Cathedral made of cardboard tubes and plastic!

Chairs representing lost ones from the earthquake.

Central downtown still looking a bit worse for wear

Redevelopment of the CBD using shipping containers

Botanical gardens

Mt Hutt ski field in the background

Our best view of the day from Mount Hutt ski resort

Bye bye Jucy!