A Wander Round Christchurch

Trip Start Oct 07, 2010

Trip End Mar 26, 2011

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Where I stayed

Pomeroy's on Kilmore Christchurch

Flag of New Zealand Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand
Saturday, January 15, 2011

Weather a bit cloudier this morning, but should clear up. Up and out reasonably early for a walk around the city. Our B&B is not too far from the centre, but if you cross the road you can follow the River Avon as it winds its way through the city to the Botanic Gardens. This we did, and what a lovely stroll it was too - very picturesque, lots of weeping willows and a whole selection of other trees. There are quite a few places to stop, including the Flower Clock, Remembrance Bridge, any of the bridges to watch the punters punting along the river, the greenery of Victoria Square. This is very much the area that was affected by the earthquake, and there have been many aftershocks since, the latest one being on Boxing Day! There are lots of damaged buildings, propped up by huge metal beams. All the buildings in the centre have been inspected, and most have a clean bill of health (certificate taped to front door), but quite a few were cordoned off awaiting further work. Back to our walk, we stopped at the Antigua Boatsheds, from where you can go punting, and had a coffee. By now the sun had come out and it was very hot

Church with Earthquake Damage

!

After coffee, we walked into the Botanic Gardens, which looked really good, but it was getting a bit hot, so we stopped at the Arts Centre, which is situated at the original university building - the doorways are marked Physics, Chemistry, etc.! A very quaint location. There are loads of small galleries with some very good (and expensive) artwork for sale. Our favourite was an artist called Min - her work was incredibly varied and really good - it looked like an exhibition by a group of very different but talented artists, but in fact was all done by her! Very impressive! There is also a cinema and theatre in the buildings. Today they also had a big crafts market on in the grounds - great to walk round. The food stalls (mostly oriental food) were good and reasonably priced - the Vietnamese chicken satay was superb! At the corner of the market was the Dux de Lux pub, where we sat for a few hours in the sun, absorbing the heat and the beer - a great way to spend the day, and nice and relaxing!

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