A Different Island, a Different Vibe...

Boxing Day Itinerary

Christmas has been a long day for us, and we were happy to have the very nice hotel room.  We all slept well, even though we did have to get up earlier than usual.  This morning we were to fly from Wellington down to Christchurch, which is on the south island.  Our domestic flight was to leave at 9:05 am.  We did not know what to expect, so we left our hotel after breakfast, shortly after 7:00 am.  The airport was close-by, and there was no traffic of which to speak.  It was 26 December, or Boxing Day in the British empire -- current and former.  Evidently this originated under Queen Victoria in the 19th Century, and was traditionally the day when English servants were given the day (or some time) off of work, as well as a "Christmas box" from their masters.  While it is still marked in New Zealand, and is in fact an official bank holiday, it has since morphed into their equivalent of Black Friday.  It is a day when huge sales are held across the country.  When I had been watching Die Hard on Christmas Eve, every single commercial was for Boxing Day sales.

Our Hotel in Wellington

The car rental desk was not even open when we arrived at the airport, due to the holiday, but it was no problem to just park it and drop the keys.  The airport itself was, however, very busy, with many, many people heading on vacation.  Multiple domestic cities are served from Christchurch, along with many cities in Australia, and a few international destinations, to include Singapore and Doha, Qatar.  We managed to have plenty of time to deal with security formalities and even spend some time in the lounge before our flight.

Our Plane for the Short Flight to Christchurch

A Statue of Gandalf Riding a Golden Eagle in the Wellington Airport

Taking Off From Wellington

Our Approach into Christchurch

It was a short 40-minute flight to Christchurch, the largest city (400,000 people) on the south island.  New Zealand has about 4.7 million people in total, and only 1.5 million of those live on the south island.  So, Christchurch is home to almost a third of the entire island's population, but still had a very small-town feel to it.  We had arranged a transfer upon arrival, and for a while it looked like two of our bags were not going to show up.  They did, eventually, each with a large "misdirected" label on the outside, but our driver was more than happy to wait.  She was a middle-aged woman and life-long resident of Christchurch.  It was about a 20-minute drive to our hotel, in the center of town, and she shared her recommendations for sightseeing, as well as stories about her experiences during the devastating earthquakes of 2010 and 2011, the latter of which killed almost 200 people.  Huge areas of the city were flattened, and the city is still pockmarked with buildings which have been deemed structurally unsound, but which have yet to be taken down.  The mixture of new, old, and barren all contributed to the city's odd vibe.  We drove into town through beautiful suburbs, with gorgeous ranch homes and lush gardens.  As we neared the city proper, you began to see buildings with obvious cracks, cleared lots, and sparkling new buildings, all with unique features.  It felt incongruent to me.  You could see where large shock absorbers, for lack of a better term, where built into all of the new buildings, while renovated ones often had complete exoskeletons built around them, to keep them from collapsing in a future quake.  Our guide back at Hobbiton, from Indiana, had compared Christchurch to Portland, which is known for being strange and unique.  Our driver explained how the first earthquake, in September 2010 had been short but violent.  No one died in that one, but it damaged many buildings.  A much larger, dual-axis quake followed in February 2011.  They said it was dual in that two fault lines, each running in a different direction, erupted at the same time.  That earthquake lasted for 45 seconds, which I'm sure felt like an eternity.  The first quake hit in the dead of night, whereas the main one was in the early afternoon, which likely saved some lives.

The unfortunate symbol for modern-day Christchurch is their cathedral, in the heart of the city, which was severely damaged in the second quake.  It stands as an odd memorial, though agreements have been made to build a new one on the same location.  For now, it stands as a sad landmark.  Our brand-new hotel, built to the new maximum height of 10 stories, was located directly across from the cathedral.  We arrived around 10:45 am, but were pleased to discover that our room was ready and waiting for us.  After making some Christmas calls back to the States (it was Christmas afternoon then, in the U.S.), we headed out for a hop-on/hop-off tour we had already booked.  That took us around for an overview of the city, past the main sights, and permitted us to decide what we wanted to see in greater detail.  Our first tour was by bus, and included, as part of its regular route, a stop at the Christchurch shopping mall.  It is the largest mall in all of New Zealand.  That said, it was still Boxing Day, and when we got on the bus, we were told that their schedule was thrown way off by the horrible traffic at the mall.  Sure enough, it was like going to Tysons Corner Mall on a Saturday before Christmas.  We sat back on the upper deck of the open-air bus and watched as cars sharked the parking garages looking for spaces, and people swarmed the sidewalks, overloaded with packages.

Christchurch Cathedral, Damaged in the 2011 Earthquake

On the Hop-on/Hop-off Bus

Boxing Day Traffic at the Mall

Our Just-Completed Hotel, Across from the Cathedral

We got off that tour back at Cathedral Square, and then took a second tour, this one on the historic trolley the crisscrosses central Christchurch.  That was particularly fun, especially as every trolley was a little different.  They were all original, but they came from different decades, so each one had it's one unique character.  K and I decided we wanted to take a further tour through the world-renowned botanical gardens, while Anna opted to go back to the hotel, to shower and "detox."  The weather, by the way, was beautiful, if not a little cold.  High's were in the 50's (and this is summer), and it was windy.  The gardens were absolutely mammoth, but our tour was on an electric tram, so we got to cover a lot of ground....literally.  Christchurch is unique in that their water table is very close to the surface (due to the tectonic plates underneath), but the soil is also sandy and not swampy.  That unique combinations means that plants, and trees in particular, grow extremely quickly.  We saw trees less then 10 years old that could have easily stood for 100 years elsewhere.  We also saw many trees hundreds of years old.  It was a great tour, and the guide (from Ireland) was tremendous.

Entrance to the Botanical Gardens

Rose Garden

Only Poinsettias We Saw the Whole Time; They Were in a Hot House

On One of the Trollies

While on one of our earlier tours, it was pointed out that the bar located in the old city hall next to our hotel, has consistently been voted best in the city.  We opted to validate that claim, with pre-dinner drinks.   It was a fun visit, and the bartenders and serve staff were all dressed from the 1920's, and the cocktails were presented with great flourish.  For dinner, we opted for a well-reviewed restaurant known as the birthplace of the King of Snake cocktail. I had never heard of this, but evidently it is well known in Asia.  The food was Asian fusion and was outstanding.  We each tried the signature cocktail, which features ginger, Thai chili, palm sugar, vodka, and Grand Marnier.  It packed quite a sinus-clearing pop, especially that first sip, but we all enjoyed ours, after adjusting.

Pre-Dinner Drinks at the OGB (Old Government Building) Bar

On the Walk to Dinner

King of the Snake Cocktails

It was a very pleasant walk home, though Victoria Gardens, and over the river where they still punt boats.  In fact, that entire area looked as though it has been extracted from Oxford or Cambridge. 

Walking Back to the Hotel