Two Years After the Christchurch Earthquake
It’s been over two years since the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake that destroyed large areas of the city and killed 185 people, and yet, when you stand in the central streets, you could be forgiven for thinking it all happened yesterday.
Ghost town
Construction in progress
The old cathedral
Produce still scattered across a dusty floor
Everywhere you look are barren patches of ground, construction sites or, eerier still, cordoned off buildings with stock laying exactly where it fell all those months ago.
A major problem was not how many buildings crumbled following the quake, but how many were deemed to be structurally unsafe afterwards. This has led to whole blocks becoming derelict as their owners wait patiently for them to be razed to the ground.
When I spoke to locals, the general feeling was that the situation was improving – but exceptionally slowly, with the main issue being disputes between insurance companies and surveyors from the Earthquake Commission as to whether or not specific buildings could be saved.
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What does the future hold?
While there are clearly major issues to address and it will take many years before Christchurch is restored to its former state, it was encouraging to see progress being made.
Throughout the city are projects aimed at brightening up the streets and providing temporary shelter for businesses. None stands out more than the Re:START project in the central business district, where brightly coloured shipping containers have been brought in to provide retail space for over 50 businesses, including cafes, gift stores and fashion boutiques.
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Taking a city tour
While many tourism operators suffered a loss of business or closed down all together, there are a number still running tours throughout Christchurch and, along with the surrounding Canterbury Plains, it still has plenty to offer.
People have started to leave Christchurch out of their New Zealand itineraries or to only use it to break up their journey down the east coast, but I’m a huge advocate of tourists staying a night or two in the area. It’s important to support the local economy at a time like this, and to help spread the message that aid is still needed.
I took part in a city tour run by Welcome Aboard, which included punting on the river Avon, a ride in the Gondola for panoramic views of the city, and a tour of the botanic gardens on a bright green electric-powered ‘caterpillar’ vehicle.
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Punting
Probably my favourite quote of the day was when our tour guide Ian said ‘So, you’ve come all the way from England to the antipodes to go punting?’
I guess when he put it that way, it sounded a little crazy, but I’m actually glad my first experience of this relaxing pastime was on the other side of the world from England. It made it more unique that my exquisitely dressed punter was from Fiji rather than being some high-league Oxbridge student trying to make a few extra bucks.
The experience was made yet more enjoyable by the fact that they gave us each a hot water bottle and blanket for the duration of the trip. I could have stayed on board all day.
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Gondola
At the top of the Gondola, you have the chance to grab some lunch from a wide selection of hot and cold meals in the hilltop cafe.
There’s a gift shop to look around, and if you’re lucky your Welcome Aboard tour guide might give you a 10% off voucher to spend there.
If you have time, you should check out the Time Tunnel – a 7-minute gentle ride through a museum in electronic carriages. Included in your Grand Tour ticket, this exhibition is made up of sculpted scenes and video information on the history of New Zealand. Since the basic premise already bears close resemblance to a ghost train, it’s fitting that the girl used to narrate the movies (apparently, the General Manager’s daughter) is more than a little creepy!
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Botanic gardens
Winter perhaps wasn’t the best time of year to take a tour of the botanic gardens. Once again, they provided blankets and, as we huddled under them, our enthusiastic guide told us pretty much everything there is to know about the local and imported species.
Plants aren’t really my thing, but it was a pleasant tour, and we also got to see an impressive sculpture by the Mexican-born artist Hector Zamora. The large-scale installation called Muegano was intended to ‘generate reflection about the implication of traditional house structures in Western culture’.
The piece would have been placed in Victoria Square but, when the earthquakes happened, it was instead given a temporary home in the gardens.
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Time to spare?
At the end of your tour, it’s well worth taking the time to wander through the city. The Canterbury Museum has free entry, and you can also visit a moving memorial to those who lost their lives.
Each chair represents a life that was lost in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake
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Getting to Christchurch
Intercity Buses provide services to Christchurch from the following popular destinations (rough times in brackets): Kaikoura (3 hours); Mt Cook (5 hours); Picton (6 hours) and Queenstown (8 hours + with the option to spend a bit of time in Mt Cook). Further transfers are available from these locations. See the Intercity website for a full list of their services and bus pass options. To get between Christchurch and the west coast, the Kiwi Rail Tranzalpine Scenic Train to/from Greymouth is your best bet. It takes just over 4 hours, the scenery is fantastic and there’s plenty of interesting commentary too.
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Where to stay
I stayed with a friend in Christchurch so am not in a position to recommend a particular hostel. However, I would advise that bookings are made ahead of time, even in low season, because hospitality has been limited since the earthquake.
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I was a guest of Welcome Aboard as part of my partnership with 100% Pure New Zealand. They did not request that I write a favourable review and any opinions expressed here are my own.
You can follow my Kiwi adventures on Twitter via the hashtag #ScaredBritless or check out my Facebook updates here. For more information about travelling in New Zealand, visit 100% Pure New Zealand.
Themocracy
We drove into the red zone when we first arrived in Christchurch back in January and couldn’t believe what we saw! It was so eerie – even just walking around it felt like a ghost town at times.
It’s a lovely city and hopefully it can get back to what it used to be like!
Kieron recently posted..Burger Wars: Finding The Best Burger In NZ
Yeah, I was so surprised. I’ve never been anywhere like it before. It’s not surprising so many people have moved. I hope it recovers soon too.
I was there when it happened and it is so strange to see your pictures. Many of my friends have visited since and come back with varying reviews of what its like now, but I’m glad you enjoyed your time there and its so nice to see that they are actively working on tourism there. Aren’t the people there some of the nicest you’ve ever met?
Hope you enjoy the rest of your time in NZ, it is one of my favorite countries.
Laura recently posted..Am I too Sentimental?
I can’t imagine what it must have been like to actually be there for it. Sorry if my pictures were upsetting to see. Yes, the people there were so upbeat and fantastically friendly. There wasn’t one part of New Zealand I didn’t like!
I wasn’t aware the Christchurch was so badly impacted by the quake. But I think it’s very cool that shipping containers have been converted into businesses!
Dana Carmel @ Time Travel Plans recently posted..Ummm…This is NOT a Class 1 Rapid! (Rafting in Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic)
I didn’t realise it was still in such a state of disrepair. It’s incredible how some buildings have just been abandoned with produce lying on the floor or tables still set up for lunch. I love the shipping container idea too!
I’m so disappointed that I never made it to Christchurch while I was in NZ – I thought I’d be there for MUCH longer and then I didn’t get my Essential Skills Visa and had to leave :( Hopefully in the future I’ll go back to the NZ for a holiday and see Christchurch because it looks lovely!
Beverley | Pack Your Passport recently posted..Where to Live in Auckland
That’s a real shame. I’d hate to have to leave a country earlier than expected. I bet you had all sorts of travel plans in your head. I hope by the time you return, Christchurch is back on track.
I wrote a post just like this a couple of days ago – I couldn’t believe the extent of the damage and I was a bit overwhelmed by how far they still had to go. But despite that, when you walk around you can still tell how beautiful the place once was (and hopefully will be again) xx
Elle-Rose Williams recently posted..The Ultimate A-Z of Round the World Travel
That’s very true. In time, I have no doubt that it will once again be a beautiful city to visit. Let’s hope it’s sooner rather than later :)
It is sad that after all these years people are still trying to rebuild their lives in Christchurch. And NZ is a rich country, so it makes me think how places like Indonesia cope with earthquakes. Christchurch looks like a nice place and I think I’d rather go punting there than in snobby Oxford or Cambridge. ;-)
TammyOnTheMove recently posted..Flashback Friday: The day I met Diego Maradona
That’s a very good point. I guess maybe there’s more to rebuild in a rich country though. And worries about insurance claims, etc probably get in the way more. But it’s absurd how quickly natural disasters like this leave the front page and, sadly, for the rest of us it’s ‘out of sight, out of mind’.
This is a great post, Arianwen. And before I forget that picture of the chairs for the memory put a lump in my throat. I will absolutely go to Christchurch when I make it to New Zealand someday :)
Mike recently posted..Juicy Lamb Loin And Fluffy Three Cheese Mashed Potatoes
Thanks Mike. Yes, it was emotional standing there looking at the chairs. It makes it all seem so much more real when you can see the huge number of lives that were lost, each reflected in a chair’s design.
I didn’t realize it was still so badly damaged nearly 2 1/2 years later. I hope those poor people can get their insurance claims settled soon and rebuild.
Jennifer recently posted..Grotto of Catullus and Sirmione
Yes, I hope so too!
Great post…I remember hearing about the earthquake as I was working in Sydney at the time, but I didn’t realize how much damage there still is, two years later. I flew into Christchurch to take a tour of the South island in December 2011, but unfortunately did not spend too much time in Christchurch. Looks like it would have been a great place to visit.
Charlotte recently posted..How a Kitten Brought Out my Spanish Skills
Ah, you were sensible visiting the South Island in their summer. It was so cold when I was there! I think people avoid Christchurch because a lot of it is still a ‘red zone’, but you can spend at least a day in the centre and I heard that the surrounding beaches and Canterbury Plains are beautiful too. If anything, I would have liked to have stayed longer :)
I did read about the earthquake when it happened. Sad to know they’re still in the process of rebuilding now, but I’m also glad that the NZ tourism is working with bloggers. NZ is so beautiful.
Freya Renders recently posted..10 Amazing National Parks in the USA
It really is stunning!
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