Christchurch

The first post on New Zealand isn't going to be the most cheerful one. We spent one day in Auckland, trying to figure out  an interesting itinerary before we flew to Christchurch on the South Island, where we picked up a rental car. We found an extremely interesting deal and are paying only 10 NZD, about 7 euro, a day for this new vehicle! But this post isn't about the car.

I am sure you still remember that terrible earthquake, or rather aftershock, in February 2011 that destroyed half of the city and killed 185 people. In Sydney, we had met a guy from Christchurch who told us about that terrible day and the days after and he suggested we'd take a stroll through the city, just to get an idea of how bad it had been and how bad it still is. So we took his advice but despite his lively stories, we hadn't imagined the endless ruins and devastation in the centre. It was quite shocking, to be honest, even more because it's a almost a year and half ago now, so imagine the sight the day after the shock. Even though we saw plenty of houses being renovated, most of the affected buildings were just being demolished and we returned to the car, covered in dust. It was eerie to walk around in the mostly deserted streets, seeing that half of the cathedral had gone, the library was no longer and once cosy shopping streets were closed to the public.

According to the guy in Sydney (who told us all about Christchurch in the jacuzzi on top of the Swissotel), many people have left the city since because they're fed up with the earth quakes or because they've lost their business and are trying to make it elsewhere in New Zealand now. To us, the city seemed quite lively (that is, in the part where the buildings are still erect) and cosy and we were very impressed by the Re:START area, where businesses have found new homes in colorful shipping containers.