When I left Nelson yesterday it was partly cloudy and no rain which I greatly appreciated as I started on my 5+ hour drive over the mountains to Christchurch. It was what seems to be a typical New Zealand state highway – two lanes of sometimes very windy road with an occasional passing lane to get by trucks and other slow movers. The other interesting thing is the “rest stops”. They are fairly frequent but consist primarily of a turnout with a picnic table or two but no restroom facilities – I guess that’s what all the bushes are for!
As I started to come down from the mountains, it started to rain and it continued to rain or drizzle the remainder of the day. After I got settled in my motel, I put on my rain jacket and went for an exploratory walk in the drizzle. I walked down and around the Central Business District which is undergoing major reconstruction after the devastating earthquakes in 2011.
Two major quakes hit Christchurch in 2011 and the city was hit hard. Two major buildings in downtown Christchurch collapsed but in the end 1,400 multistory buildings had to be razed because the damage was too extensive to reoccupy them. In addition, 10,000 houses had to be leveled, which given there were only 110,000 houses to begin with, meant almost 10% of the families were displaced. In addition, 185 people lost their lives. It was a huge blow to a city with a population of 400,000.
But they are rebuilding with a vengeance although no building will be allowed to be greater than six stories. Some areas of the Central Business District are still not open and others have only opened in the last few months. But, from my perspective, they are doing a beautiful job. Some areas of downtown are already vibrant and active with lots of shops and restaurants.
There is a trolley that you can take (which I did) which gives a nice tour of the city. There is an absolutely beautiful and very large botanical garden right downtown. And there is also a gondola on the edge of town that whisks you up above the city for some amazing views in every direction.
I wasn’t sure that my side trip to Christchurch was worth it yesterday when I drove here in the rain. However, today was sunny and I spent most of the day exploring and I was really glad I made the trip. It’s a beautiful city and I can only imagine what it will be like in another 5 years.
Tomorrow I drive back over the mountains to a little place on the west coast called Greymouth. Google says it should take only a little over three hours but I’m expecting another Mr Toad’s Wild Ride since the road is a smaller road than the one I took to get here. However, there is a train that makes a similar journey that is billed as one of the five best train journeys in the world so I’m hoping the scenery lives up to that billing. And I’m in no rush – I have all day to get there.