Christchurch was the starting point of our journey and also marks our mid-way point before heading to the North Island. It's an area bustling with activity and despite many years since the 2011 earthquake, is still a city being rebuilt.
What is Christchurch Like?
Christchurch is the biggest city in South Island with a population of close to 400,000 and third largest in New Zealand after Auckland and Wellington.
Day 31
Distance travelled - 293km (3h 53min)
From: Twizel - Pukaki - Tekapo - Fairlie - Christchurch
Twizel to Christchurch Journey
This was an eventful road trip where we stopped at Pukaki, Tekapo and Fairlie to sightsee. Overall, it was a highly eventful day where we could experience the beauty of the lakes, the escapism of farmlife and the memory of urban life (the first since Queenstown!).
Distance travelled: 11km
Pukaki
We had visited Lake Pukaki some 8 years ago and they changed the parking spot we visited quite a bit. They added a salmon shop and a monument of a goat.
Distance travelled: 50km
Tekapo
Lake Tekapo (Place to visit - Free)
Further on, Lake Tekapo waterfront is a beautiful spot to take shots of the Church of Good Shepherd and a monument of a dog (very similar to the goat though the dog came first :).
Distance travelled: 41km
Fairlie
Fairlie is a small town on the way to Christchurch that we had planned to stop at as we had heard there is a place where we could hang out with alpacas (ah, the joy). Don't know what one is? Read on.
Fairlie Bakehouse (Restaurant)
We found that this bakery would be ideal to cater to the demanding tastebuds of our children. Indeed the food was very much up to our liking, with a pie, croissant and pastry chalking up all the points.
Gem Alpaca Stud (Place to visit)
Ok, this was what we came for - a visit that would allow us (and kids) to hang out with the goats, sheep and alpacas. In case you don't know, alpacas are very similar to llamas. If you don't know what llamas are, well, tough luck! Our children had a whale of a time hanging out and feeding the animals though Xavier had his boots stuck in the mud every now and then. Great place with a friendly owner.
Outskirts of Fairlie (Place to visit)
At the recommendation of the owner of Gem Alpaca Stud, we drove to this riverbank where we had picnic of sorts while the children threw stones into the water.
Distance travelled: 184km (2h 16min)
Christchurch
After the entire day travelling, we finally hit our destination, Christchurch. We headed straight for...
Colonial Inn Motel (Accommodation)
Yup, obviously we needed to plonk ourselves down to rest. It's a squeezy though charming and cozy spot.
Hachi Hachi (Restaurant)
Scouting whatever restaurants there were in the vicinity, we settled on Hachi Hachi for a very good meal of ramen, topped with beer (ahh....).
Coincidentally (and randomly), today also marked the last day of John Key as Prime Minister of New Zealand. Just sayin'.
Day 32
Christchurch Botanic Gardens (Place to visit - Free)
We decided to take it easy the next day so the obvious choice was to head to the Christchurch Botanic Gardens.
T'was a wonderful place to relax and breathe in the air. The children had a great time feeding ducks in the pond, running around the park and hanging out at the playground.
Canterbury Museum (Place to visit - Free)
The Canterbury Museum was a good place to visit. There were quite a few exhibits and a nice eating place at the top. There was one particular exhibit that caught the eye which was...
the Air New Zealand 75th anniversary exhibition. We had a glimpse of how the company evolved in the past years. To top it off, there was VR setup where we could experience how their 787 Dreamliner was like. Good appetizer for our upcoming flight in January 2017.
Pak n Save Moorhouse (Supermarket)
Yup, we had to stock up since the last stop was at Pak n Save Queenstown.
Day 33
Christchurch Tram (Attraction)
If you don't like walking, the Christchurch Tram is a great way to visit the inner city. You have some jolly tram drivers who can share stories of the city as the tram rolls.During the trip, we visited the vestige of the ChristChurch Cathedral which was boarded up, but not totally away from prying eyes (like ours). As we had visited some 8 years back, it was a pity to see it in this desolate state.
Basically, we had a chance to visit modern and ancient landmarks (such as the Bridge of Remembrance below). We stopped by every now and then to take in the sights and sounds.
Re:Start Mall (Place to visit - Free)
The Re:Start Mall was one such place we visited. It's an outdoor mall that is 'glued' together by containers all joined together. As the name implies, it's a temporary mall created as a result of the 2011 earthquake to jolt businesses back to life. It's a vibrant place and we made it a point to have a cappuccino before moving on.
Ballantynes (Department Store)
Alright, this was the very first department store we had visited since we had touched down. Yup, the first in a month so we popped down, looked around at the very X'mas-sy decorations and got our girl some nice Havianas to use.
Day 34
Margaret Mahy Family Playground (Place to visit - Free)
So the babies had to be let loose. What better place than a massive playgound in the middle of Christchurch? Only problem was that other schools had the same idea hence a rather crowded playing field where we had to make sure our kids weren't crushed by the crowd. There were a few pesky kids infringing on our children's space. We duly had them swatted off after a chit chat with their much more understanding teacher.
Samurai Bowl (Restaurant)
Yup, we had to have our share of Japanese so we popped down to have a decent meal.
South City Shopping Centre, New World (Supermarket)
As this shopping centre was closeby, we decided to pay a visit to enjoy urban living (yup, a mall!) before heading back to the great outdoors (where we'd spend the next 3 days at).
Transitional Cathedral (Place to visit - Free)
We had heard quite a bit about this cathedral, partly because we had visited the original cathedral that collapsed resulting in the creation of this transitional iteration. Thus, our visit.
It so happened they were holding a Choral Evensong so we made it a point to attend. We had not attended church in quite a while so it was more than nice to have a peaceful respite.
The interesting part of the cathedral is it is made of cardboard, hence its nickname the 'Cardboard Cathedral' and is in the general shape of an A-frame. It's essentially a architectural beauty produced as a reactive output from the outcome of the earthquake. A splendid accomplishment.
What is Christchurch Like?
Christchurch is the biggest city in South Island with a population of close to 400,000 and third largest in New Zealand after Auckland and Wellington.
Day 31
Distance travelled - 293km (3h 53min)
From: Twizel - Pukaki - Tekapo - Fairlie - Christchurch
Twizel to Christchurch Journey
This was an eventful road trip where we stopped at Pukaki, Tekapo and Fairlie to sightsee. Overall, it was a highly eventful day where we could experience the beauty of the lakes, the escapism of farmlife and the memory of urban life (the first since Queenstown!).
Distance travelled: 11km
Pukaki
We had visited Lake Pukaki some 8 years ago and they changed the parking spot we visited quite a bit. They added a salmon shop and a monument of a goat.
Distance travelled: 50km
Lake Tekapo (Place to visit - Free)
Further on, Lake Tekapo waterfront is a beautiful spot to take shots of the Church of Good Shepherd and a monument of a dog (very similar to the goat though the dog came first :).
Distance travelled: 41km
Fairlie
Fairlie is a small town on the way to Christchurch that we had planned to stop at as we had heard there is a place where we could hang out with alpacas (ah, the joy). Don't know what one is? Read on.
Fairlie Bakehouse (Restaurant)
We found that this bakery would be ideal to cater to the demanding tastebuds of our children. Indeed the food was very much up to our liking, with a pie, croissant and pastry chalking up all the points.
Gem Alpaca Stud (Place to visit)
Ok, this was what we came for - a visit that would allow us (and kids) to hang out with the goats, sheep and alpacas. In case you don't know, alpacas are very similar to llamas. If you don't know what llamas are, well, tough luck! Our children had a whale of a time hanging out and feeding the animals though Xavier had his boots stuck in the mud every now and then. Great place with a friendly owner.
Outskirts of Fairlie (Place to visit)
At the recommendation of the owner of Gem Alpaca Stud, we drove to this riverbank where we had picnic of sorts while the children threw stones into the water.
Distance travelled: 184km (2h 16min)
Christchurch
After the entire day travelling, we finally hit our destination, Christchurch. We headed straight for...
Colonial Inn Motel (Accommodation)
Yup, obviously we needed to plonk ourselves down to rest. It's a squeezy though charming and cozy spot.
Hachi Hachi (Restaurant)
Coincidentally (and randomly), today also marked the last day of John Key as Prime Minister of New Zealand. Just sayin'.
Day 32
Christchurch Botanic Gardens (Place to visit - Free)
We decided to take it easy the next day so the obvious choice was to head to the Christchurch Botanic Gardens.
T'was a wonderful place to relax and breathe in the air. The children had a great time feeding ducks in the pond, running around the park and hanging out at the playground.
Canterbury Museum (Place to visit - Free)
The Canterbury Museum was a good place to visit. There were quite a few exhibits and a nice eating place at the top. There was one particular exhibit that caught the eye which was...
Pak n Save Moorhouse (Supermarket)
Yup, we had to stock up since the last stop was at Pak n Save Queenstown.
Day 33
Christchurch Tram (Attraction)
If you don't like walking, the Christchurch Tram is a great way to visit the inner city. You have some jolly tram drivers who can share stories of the city as the tram rolls.During the trip, we visited the vestige of the ChristChurch Cathedral which was boarded up, but not totally away from prying eyes (like ours). As we had visited some 8 years back, it was a pity to see it in this desolate state.
Basically, we had a chance to visit modern and ancient landmarks (such as the Bridge of Remembrance below). We stopped by every now and then to take in the sights and sounds.
Re:Start Mall (Place to visit - Free)
The Re:Start Mall was one such place we visited. It's an outdoor mall that is 'glued' together by containers all joined together. As the name implies, it's a temporary mall created as a result of the 2011 earthquake to jolt businesses back to life. It's a vibrant place and we made it a point to have a cappuccino before moving on.
Ballantynes (Department Store)
Alright, this was the very first department store we had visited since we had touched down. Yup, the first in a month so we popped down, looked around at the very X'mas-sy decorations and got our girl some nice Havianas to use.
Day 34
Margaret Mahy Family Playground (Place to visit - Free)
So the babies had to be let loose. What better place than a massive playgound in the middle of Christchurch? Only problem was that other schools had the same idea hence a rather crowded playing field where we had to make sure our kids weren't crushed by the crowd. There were a few pesky kids infringing on our children's space. We duly had them swatted off after a chit chat with their much more understanding teacher.
Samurai Bowl (Restaurant)
Yup, we had to have our share of Japanese so we popped down to have a decent meal.
South City Shopping Centre, New World (Supermarket)
As this shopping centre was closeby, we decided to pay a visit to enjoy urban living (yup, a mall!) before heading back to the great outdoors (where we'd spend the next 3 days at).
Transitional Cathedral (Place to visit - Free)
We had heard quite a bit about this cathedral, partly because we had visited the original cathedral that collapsed resulting in the creation of this transitional iteration. Thus, our visit.
It so happened they were holding a Choral Evensong so we made it a point to attend. We had not attended church in quite a while so it was more than nice to have a peaceful respite.
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