Christchurch

Kia ora!

Welcome back to New Zealand. In 2014, I told you about my road trip around the North Island, this time we will discover the South Island.

The adventure starts with the gentleman who sits next to me in the flight between Paris and Dubai.
At some point, he is going to spill one of his many glasses of alcohol on me.
Good news: this time, it was white wine, the stains won't be too bad (knowing that he also had red wine and whisky during the flight).
Bad news: my only pair of long trousers, the warmest sweater I had for the trip, the shoes and the backpack will smell of white wine during the next 3 weeks...

When we reach the Western Coast of New Zealand, you understand why the country is called Aotearoa in Maori, "the land of the long big cloud".

In Christchurch, there are not that many historical buildings to be seen, as the 2011 earthquake destroyed more than half of the buildings, mainly the old ones.
But the population has done an incredible job in less than 7 years, rebuilding a significant part of the city, and using temporary solutions for the rest, such as shipping containers for shops, or a temporary cathedral.

  

 

Where a church once proudly stood, the 185 white chairs each represent one of the 185 lives lost in the earthquake.

 

Not sure which kind of wildlife I will be able to spot during the trip, better to have a first glance at it thanks to the Willowbank Reserve:

 

And as a bonus you can always view Maori sculptures around the park:

By the way, this is the international airport. Not bad, is it?