We headed off for Christchurch really early as we got up to go whale watching which was at 7.45 am, this though was cancelled so we just left there and then. The roads here are really quiet and easy to travel on, although there are some really winding bits up, usually followed by really winding bits down, as you hug the sides of mountains.
The traffic started to build up as we neared Christchurch which was a clue we were nearly there. On entering the city centre the roads are chaos, traffic cones, road works, traffic lights, cranes, rubble and a lot of traffic. Christchurch is still rebuilding itself after the disastrous earthquake which happened in 2011, killing 185 people. A lot of damage was done to the city centre. We drove around aimlessly for a while, following temporary road signs, not really knowing where we were going, so we put the address of the information site into the satnav and headed for there.
The problem was finding a parking place, we managed to get a slot at the side of the road but could only stay there a short while but this gave us time to nip into the i-site. Once again they came up trumps, the i-sites all over New Zealand have been brilliant. After asking what we would like to see they gave us a map, highlighted them and suggested other areas we might like to see and drew a route on the map to show us best way to do it. They then told us where we could park for three hours for free, which was basically just down the road.
The car park is actually part of the Botanic gardens, in which the i-site is also based. After parking the car we walked through the gardens to get to the city centre, what I saw made me determined to walk around them properly if we had time later on.
The waterfall in the botanic gardens.
One of the giraffes that are dotted around the city centre, they are going to be auctioned off to raise money for projects in Christchurch.
The cathedral , this is right in the middle of the city centre and was badly damaged in the earthquake. There is an ongoing debate about what to do with the building. Apparently the people who own the church want to pull it down and rebuild while the locals want it to be restored. Money wise there is not supposed to be a lot of difference in it and according to one article I googled about it, financially
it would be better to restore. In the news the other day they reported about two men who went in recently and took photos of the damage, this was eerie to see, with chairs and books still sitting as they had been left. The men were saying that there some sections which were not that badly damaged at all. It is a lovely old building, so I hope they restore it.
A structure beside the cathedral which was put up in 2000.
Another giraffe, and below are sheep these were dotted around the city centre, I think they are supposed to be seats, I really liked them, a bit of fun amongst the rebuilding.
Another giraffe.
This is a lovely little street, very pretty and nice shops to look around, but I felt under pressure of doing everything in three hours so didn't dally.
This tower block looks alright until you look at the bottom where you can see a lot of damage. There are a lot of boarded up, empty buildings in the centre and many spaces too, where I presume buildings used to be.
This the transitional cathedral, which has been put until they decide what to do with the old one. A lot of it has been made from cardboard tubes.
The night that we were there a carol concert was on, which I really fancied doing but the thought of driving back into the city centre at night put us off.
This is a memorial to the 185 people who died, an empty chair has been placed to represent each one. 
In the city centre a group of businesses got together and decided to make a temporary shopping centre using shipping crates. This was nice to wander around and David found his first can of Irn Bru, put a smile on his chops. Cost a fortune though! We had previously seen Irn Bru for sale in a Pak 'n' Save but it was diet. Hoots min we were having none of that.
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At the end of our city centre yomp, we headed back to the botanic gardens where we had time to wander around. In one of the conservatories they had a Christmas tree made out of poinsettias.
There is a River Avon in Christchurch on which you can go for a punt, we didn't do it but it did look relaxing. There is a guy at the back who does the punting I would rather have a go myself.
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