We had a two night stop in Christchurch, arriving in the south island’s biggest city via the TranzAlpine train at 6pm on Sunday. As the shuttle took us through the city to our accommodation for the first night, we were immediately struck by the extent of the damage still rife throughout the city centre as a result of the devastating earthquake that struck three years ago.
Of course we were very aware of the quake as it made international headlines at the time, but the extent of the damage still visible three years on was nevertheless, rather shocking to see.
Aside from the obvious large-scale destruction, it was the boarded up windows and abandoned shops that we’re most humbling, as some looked almost untouched since the disaster, with products scattered on the shelves and floor, furniture laying on its side and entire streets in ruin.
On the first night, we found online that there was a Dominos Pizza place just a two minute walk away from where we were staying. We headed over, only to find that the contents were empty and the sign askew.
Initially, we were surprised that stores of such high profile brands were still in ruin three years later, but we were of course naive to the realities of this kind of situation. The cost to rebuild the city is astronomical, the insurance disputes are still far from resolved and the decisions on whether to save or demolish each of the countless damaged buildings are complicated affairs.
Christchurch’s most iconic building, probably even more so since the quake, is the cathedral, built in the 1800s and far from able to withstand such a severe quake. This is a prime example of the complications surrounding the rebuild. After the church called for the damaged building’s demolition, the deconstruction work began, only for local citizens and politicians to oppose this after just half a day’s work! To this day, the situation remains unresolved, with some arguing that it should be saved due to its heritage status and others suggesting it should be replaced with something contemporary. The likely outcome will probably be somewhere in between, perhaps salvaging parts of the old and building the new around it.
Anyway, enough of the gloom. Christchurch is a lovely city and it will be extremely interesting to see how it progresses as the rebuild continues. It’s also home to some rather nice gardens and the very picturesque River Avon, which explains why it’s often referred to as ‘The Garden City’.
Another nice spot is the ‘Restart’ area, which has come about as a result of the quake. Many of the shops, banks and cafés have been temporarily rehoused here in shipping containers, providing a quirky and colourful new centre for consumers. Although it is supposed to be temporary, I actually think it looks really cool and aesthetically awesome – hopefully they will keep it in some form.
For the second of our two nights in Christchurch, we ended up in prison! Don’t worry, we didn’t kill anyone – we actually paid for the privilege! It was a converted prison, formerly Addington prison and now known as Jailhouse Accommodation. It was actually really cool; the corridors still looked the part as did the rooms/cells. There were even a couple of showcase cells displaying some of the graffiti and artwork of former prisoners. It was active as recently as 1999, only 15 years ago!
All in all, we enjoyed our stay in Christchurch and I think it will be one of our more memorable destinations. The effects of the quake really struck a chord with us and we will definitely keep an eye on the city from afar to see how the rebuild progresses.