Today we said Au Revoir to C&M who needed to be at Christchurch Airport for noon.
With bags packed, room cleared and enough breakfast consumed to feed an army we duly delivered them and bade them farewell as the prospect of a 14 hour flight to San Francisco now became a reality🛫…and we were left wondering if they’d be sure to wear some flowers in their hair😉🎶
The weather had also turned with the forecast predicting rain for most of the day; unfortunately the NZ Met Service was correct.,😏
So, having realized it was going to be a GoreTex day, we met up with Gail and Ian at the recently built – ie post the 2010/11 earthquakes – Turanga Library adjacent to our hotel. Good call cousin 😊
With the lure of lunch now calling we meandered through the streets towards the Riverside Markets, a must-see that came strongly recommended; it didn’t disappoint 😊
Well nourished on pizzas and the first drinks of the day, and the rain now easing, we decided to head for the Quake City aka The Earthquake Exhibition, which, en route, gave us an extra focus on the surrounding buildings.
The damage done to the Cathedral became the iconic image of the destruction wrought with many posters around the city updating locals and visitors of progress…
But, it still takes some adjusting to…
The exhibition is very informative and educational, accompanied by many moving video accounts from both first responders and those folk trapped inside buildings.
Christchurch has a ‘quake, of varying severity, on average every 10 years, so the local population, and wider afield, are very familiar with the challenges such occurrences bring.
What comes through loud and clear is both their incredible resilience to such devastation and their determination to embrace all the latest construction techniques to both reinforce existing buildings and ensure every new building utilises best practice; quite rightly, this is incorporated into their building regulations and written into law.
The people of Canterbury Province – aka Cantabrians – seem determined that their most famous city’s built environment is preserved as safely as possible; hats off to them and long may that positive attitude drive them forward.
I hope the following images convey some of that spirit 🤞
As often occurs when such tragedies strike, black humour becomes part of the coping mechanism, and this area is no exception…
Some of the new build projects reflect cutting edge design and Te Pai – The Christchurch Convention Centre is, IMHO, one of the best 😊
Another is the brand new National Art Gallery
Being very close to our hotel we climbed the stairs to the bar where Ian kept us amused by confessing he was “suffering” from TMB…Too Many Birthdays (well I’ll drink to that😉) and Gail announced her genuine concern at not having enough AFDs…. Alcohol Free Days…Julie quickly assured her that now was most definitely not the day to start…quelle surprise🍸🍸🍸🍺🍺hic..
This 2 hr session flew by and quickly morphed into “Dinner for Four” before we said our goodbyes, comforted that, in a few weeks time, AFDs would be off the menu when Gail and Ian host us in Hamilton; since I can no longer drink I think we know who the DD will be😉
Christchurch – we’ve loved you😍
BTDU 