Arriving in Christchurch – Backpackneymoon

By June 29, 2012July 21st, 2012New Zealand

We arrived in Christchurch separately mainly because Susan had issues with her Australian visa. We stayed in a nice little hotel near the huge Hagley Park which was paid for by my dad. If we had to pay ourselves, we would have stayed at one of the many backpacker hostels in town.

Susan walking to the Brighton Pier before being offered a ride!

Susan walking to the Brighton Pier before being offered a ride!

We had six days in Christchurch before we picked up our campervan. And it turns out that six days is just too much time to be a tourist in Christchurch because there isn’t that much to do. In fact, it’s even worse now since an earthquake destroyed a large part of the city and killed hundreds of people. The sad reality is that Christchurch is simply not as vibrant as it once was.

During our time in Christchurch we did a few things:

Christchurch Gardens

Christchurch is full of gardens. It sounds boring, but some of these gardens are absolutely beautiful and quite fun to walk around. Our favourites were Mona Vale and Riccarton Bush. Mona Vale is filled with rose gardens, a stream and lots of ducks and is very picturesque. Riccarton Bush is the last remaining natural forest in Christchurch — the rest of it was chopped down. This piece of forest is also home to some Kiwi birds, but we didn’t see any on our visit.

Ducks in a Christchurch Garden? Makan dulu!

Ducks in a Christchurch Garden? Makan dulu!

Brighton Pier

In the east of town is the town of Brighton. Brighton is most famous for it’s 300m long pier. We planned to walk there from the Recycled Clothing Store and after about 3km, a lovely lady stopped her car next to us and asked us if wanted to ride in her car for the rest of the way. Of course we said yes. Because it’s winter in New Zealand right now, it is cold. Really cold. So when we were at the pier, the wind was blowing really hard which made it feel even colder. Bitterly cold. Anyway, it’s a nice place to check out the birds and watch people attempt to surf, despite the freezing conditions.

Big bird at Brighton Pier

Big bird at Brighton Pier

Shag Rock & Cave Rock

In the southeast of town on the coast is a small town called Sumner. At Sumner are two tourist attractions. The first being Cave Rock and the other being Shag Rock. Cave rock is simply a big rock that has a cave in it. Because of the earthquake, the rock is now unstable and you aren’t allowed to enter it. Shag Rock used to be a massive column reaching towards the heavens, but today it is simply a pile of rocks – the 2011 earthquake finished this landmark off and it’s now a sad shadow of its former past.

Shag rock after the Christchurch earthquake

Shag rock after the Christchurch earthquake

Apart from those things, we really didn’t do a whole lot else of interest. Of course we did things like visiting the malls to buy stuff for our trip, but that doesn’t warrant a write up.

Destroyed house at Sumner

Destroyed house at Sumner

Stayed tuned to find out what happens next when we pick up our campervan — it includes snow!

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If you’re looking for accommodation in Christchurch, make sure you check out Agoda. Best price guarantee!

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