The train ride down from Blenheim was lovely – beautiful scenery from vineyards to rolling hills to rocky coastline. Luckily it wasn’t too busy either so I had a double seat to myself.
Arriving in Christchurch at 8pm, it was already dark and I hopped in an Uber to head straight to the hotel, the Ibis Christchurch on Hereford St. I noticed that my favourite pizza place, Hell Pizza, has an outlet right up the road from the hotel, so dinner was sorted.
For my one day in Christchurch, I wandered around checking out bookshops, the revamp-in-progress Cathedral, and headed down past the university to the Botanical Gardens. These gardens are a mix of native plants and exotics, including a couple of rose gardens and a lot of beautiful tree species. Some of the flowers were looking tired at the end of summer, but there were lots of areas that were loving autumn life.
The last time we were in Christchurch was before the big quake, and it certainly feels like a different city. There’s lots of rebuilding, renovating and renewal going on all around the place. Let’s see how it looks next time!
Two Weeks Away 