Our first stop in New Zealand was Christchurch, a small city on NZ's southern island. Back in 2011 the city experienced a terrible earthquake (on February 22, under a month before the earthquake in Japan), and the place is still recovering from the inflicted damage. Things are however moving forward, and Lonely Planet even rated Christchurch as one of the top ten cities in the world to visit in 2013.
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| Someone's daddy at work |
As we walked through the town we saw building projects everywhere. Office buildings, houses, at least three churches.. And a grand casino that didn't seem to have taken any damage at all. Some places it seemed like the time had stopped since 2011, but there are also many positive and passionate people working to develop Christchurch into a new and better city.
We arrived in the city in the afternoon, and with a tight schedule we didn't have that much time to explore the city as we perhaps should have. We strolled down to the Cathedral Square to take a look at the city. As it started to get late most of the streets were empty, and we didn't meet too many people on our way. Here are some of the photos I took on the way:
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| Rebuilding Knox Church |
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| ..The Christchurch casino didn't seem like it was affected by the earthquake.. I'm not a big casino-fan but this bench was kinda cool.. |
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| A chocolate cafe bus |
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| Art project made from blue pallets. |
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| Charity event in Christchurch |
Although these pictures make it seem like the city hasn't recovered much since the earthquake there are many projects in the city meant to ensure Christchurch a speedy recovery process. In April they'll be holding a charity boxing event to support the local community in Christchurch. If you're in the area and want to take part in it you can get tickets from their homepage.
There are also many hidden treasures in Christchurch that we didn't have the chance to discover. To view some awesome videos from Christchurch, check out Bare Kiwi's videos on Youtube.
Hotel Booking:
Hotels in Christchurch
Hotels in Wellington
Hotels in Picton
Traveling from Christchurch to Wellington via Picton
One way to travel from Christchurch to Wellington is by driving to a small town called Picton on the northern edge of New Zealand's southern island and catch a ferry to Wellington from there. The drive to Picton takes about five hours if you travel none-stop, but there are of course places along the way where you might want to take a break or two.
About half-way to Picton the road takes you down to the ocean, and you can enjoy the beautiful sight of the endless water and the steep mountains. There are also many animals to see along the way, and the coolest part of our road trip was definitely getting close contact with a group of sea lions.
The Edwin Fox Maritime Museum in PictonIf you are spending a day or two in Picton you might be interested in visiting the Edwin Fox Maritime Museum situated by the city's harbor. This museum tells the amazing story about the ship Edwin Fox, the world's oldest surviving merchant sailing ship. After she was built in Calcutta in 1853 she was used for a wide range of purposes such as carrying troops during the Crimean War, and later she also carried prisoners from Britain to Australia. On her older days she was used as a floating freezer hulk in New Zealand, and she first came to Picton in 1897 where she was utilized as a coal store hulk.
New Zealand is known worldwide for its magnificent nature, and one of the unique natural experiences you can make while in the country is a visit to the famous glowworm caves in Waitomo. Waitomo is a Māori word that means "water enters", and in the area you'll find many caves that has been formed by the rivers digging into the ground made of limestone.
Photo credit: Spellbound Glowworm and Cave Tours
The Hobbiton movie set is part of a 1250 acre sheep farm outside of Matamata, and the place is a must-visit for anyone with a slight interest in Tolkien's Middle Earth Universe. It is also the movie set to visit for people who generally don't like movie sets, simply because the surroundings are so amazingly beautiful and extraordinary that you wouldn't want to miss them.
New Zealand is definitely a country to visit if you're interested in trying out extreme sports, as the country is known worldwide for its adventure tourism activities. If you still have not had the chance to try bungee(/bungy) jumping you have the opportunity to make your first jump at the place where it all started; the Auckland Harbour Bridge. Or at least, this is where you find the world's first organized commercial bungee jumping company, AJ Hackett Bungy. The man behind the company was AJ Hacket, who made his first amateur jump back in 1986. His company is still going strong, offering bungee jumping and bridge climbing to anybody up for a real challenge.
A Day in Wellington with John's Hop On Hop Off City TourWellington is New Zealand's capital and the country's third largest city. It is also home to the famous movie director Peter Jackson, and has gain increased attention from the international community after he filmed parts of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit in the city. These movies were also very much in focus during our trip around the city with John's Hop On Hop Off City Tour. Actually, our driver's name wasn't John, but Todd. He could tell us that his main job was being an actor, and that he had starred in the third Lord of the Rings movie. He showed us the scene he was in, and that was one of the most epic scenes of the movie if you ask me. Can you imagine having a Harad Leader as your bus driver for the day? Pretty awesome!
About Anette
Anette came to Japan as an exchange student in 2010, met the love of her life and got stuck. From her base in Tokyo she writes about her experiences as a full-time worker in Tokyo and about her travels in Japan and abroad. She's a free-spirited adventurer who enjoys both the great outdoors and her urban lifestyle.
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