My trip from Australia back to New Zealand started in Sydney and ended in Christchurch. I arrived in the middle of the night and did not get to my hostel until early in the morning. Check out time was 10 am and I had to get to the airport for a 12 pm pick up, so I had a limited amount of time there. The earth quake that hit in February did a lot of damage and even 10 months later the effects were easy to see. Christchurch is in a big transition. There were churches that were down and churches that were up. There were standing buildings and collapsed buildings. There were abandoned and derelict buildings and recently cleared lots waiting to be used. There were buildings being built and buildings being torn down. The city was morphing into a new place and it was happening at a very visible and measurable pace. The city that was once there is now gone and in it’s place is a city that is trying to survive by any means necessary. The central mall street was filled with containers that had been retrofitted for businesses to use as stores and the new central bus terminal was very well designed. From what I saw the people took what they were give and turned it into an opportunity to improve on what they had. After exploring as much as I could I hopped on a bus to the airport and then met the Jucy van from the airport to the rental office. There I was handed the keys to my relocation vehicle with little interference and started my drive down the east coast of the south island. But first I had to stop at the International Antarctic Centre.
Christchurch
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