We made a short visit to Christchurch, and to be honest I wasn’t impressed. Famous because of an earthquake that killed 185 people and almost destroyed it back in 2011, the place still feels nostalgic, quite gloomy.
The traces of destruction follow around. Like a bad memory that you can’t leave behind- or that you don’t want to leave behind?
We arrived to the town early enough to visit the Akaroa Harbor. We had plenty of time to take a look around and take a few pictures of the lighthouse. Beautiful landscape covered up by dense fog. As if it didn’t want to be seen. As if it didn’t want to be discovered. Hidden, mysterious.
Next on our list were the famous Newton’s Falls. Free car parking, not a lot of people around. A very easy hike that didn’t take more than 5 minutes. Really? We thought the walk was longer than that!
We did go through the falls. We remember the ones we saw in the pictures, but we were very close to the parking lot. That couldn’t be it!
Were we seeing the right thing? We continued with the hike, but a very slippery uphill stopped us. Are we sure there was a way up? Probably not. My husband decided to investigate a little further and apparently there was no path that continued above. I guess that was all!
Don’t get me wrong, the falls are fairly pretty. Water contrasting deep moss. For sure, worth seeing. You be the judge.
Finally, we got to the city. Our first thought was to take the City Tour through the Tram. It was only $25 per adult, included 17 stops, and ran from 9am – 6pm daily. It was a no brainer. Indeed, the experience was quite memorable. The driver was dressed up like the old times. The tram didn’t fill up. It was just for tourists!
After the tour, we decided to have some lunch and go for a walk. The Cardboard Cathedral was first in our list. The place carried some magic because they built it after the earthquake destroyed the main cathedral.
This structure was supposed to resist any other replicas -and it did. The funny thing is that residents decided to keep it as memorabilia. The building is very simple but very pretty. Lovely colors and vibes. The sweetest people inside.
On our way back, we went through Cathedral Square and right next to it we saw the Bridge of Remembrance. Certainly, a nostalgic place that cries out loud to destruction. A place that continues, but that refuses to forget.
We kept walking and without even noticing it, we had reached the Victoria Clock Tower. Just little but cute details of what appears to be a ghost town of memories.
Last but not least, we headed up to the Gondola. We have tried to get on it in the morning but the fog was so deep that services had stopped. The afternoon was once again, our only chance.
This time, we were half way lucky. The Gondola was running. The fog was still there. Well, we are probably not coming back to Christchurch so me might as well try it.
We bought the tickets and got straight up. Not much to see, but a lot of freezing breeze going around. We stayed within the enclosed building at the top, hoping that the fog would leave and allow us better views but two hours after we decided to let it go. Good Bye New Zealand! See you next time!
Wookitu 