Another long (400 km) drive, to this beautiful mountainous peninsula south east of Christchurch. We stayed on the coast in the French nuanced ( slightly twee?) seaside village of Akaroa in a b and b that managed to convey the impression of being at an English country house party with drinks and canapés for all the guests at 6 pm! We had one of the best walks of our trip in the national park and certainly the sunniest and hottest.
Spectacular views of the coast around the peninsula!
We also visited the Giant's House, a former banker's residence taken over by a sculptor and horticulturalist who had filled every spare inch of her garden with wacky mosaics in a style reminiscent of Gaudi and Dali.
Though we knew our Christchurch hotel was close to the middle of the city we found it difficult to believe we were there because of its spread out and low rise nature. The still devastated central district after the February 2011 earthquake we were expecting, and a excellent city walking tour gave us more understanding of the psychological impact on the residents as well as the physical damage.
 |
| 185 Chairs, a moving memorial to those whose lives were lost |
Shipping containers abound including the Re:START shopping mall made entirely of them, with the plan to replace them with more permanent structures. Getting businesses back into the central area is proving difficult.
 |
| Christchurch Cathedral: Future still uncertain |
 |
| Cardboard Cathedral: Very elegant interior and now expected to last for 50 years |
 |
| New Regent Street, 1930s Style, first street to reopen in the central district |
No comments:
Post a Comment