Christchurch Travel Blogs | Travelogues | Travel Journals

Today we headed back to Christchurch. Our holiday time is getting closer to ending. :-( As it wasn't a very long drive to Christchurch we decided to go straight to Orana Wildlife Park as I wanted to see the rhinoseros being fed. It was a lovely day so when we got there we had a walk around and saw some of the things a bit better this time and waited til it was time for the feeding.  It was amazing. Although there is still 2 barriers between us and them, it is close enough to get a good ...

We finally got a car delivered to our hotel. It's actually an 8 seater van but we will be heading for Queenstown in it so it was at a cheaper rate as they needed it taken back. We headed out for the beachside suburb of New Brighton. We had lunch in a little place called 'Salt on the Pier'. We were able to look out at the ocean and the snow capped mountains. Our sort of scenery. We then drove to another seaside suburb called Sunmer and walked through a little cave on the beach.  From ther...

Christchurch is one of the most beautiful cities in New Zealand, certainly it is the largest city in the South Island. The city is built along the lovely Avon River, a wonderful asset to the city, with its willow lined banks and fresh open water ways used by many for punt rides and canooing. The wonderful old Christchurch Cathedral, beautifully built of stone, dominates the Cathedral Square, a large open paved area in the centre of the city, where buskers perform their arts and ...

The turtle is an interesting metaphor for the traveller. When you wander around with all your worldly possessions stuck to your back you learn very quickly what is valuable and what is not. You proudly display the national flag and other assorted drawings you inscribed onto the rain ‘shell’ of your backpack. Your propensity to bump into things as you turn corners has increased tenfold and, at times, your behind feels reminiscent of Aunt Fanny from “Robots”. You soon realize that your ...

Monday 22nd May This morning I woke up ridiculously early after an awful sleep and went to Melbourne airport for my flight to Christchurch, for a month in New Zealand. I had been warned that the winters in New Zealand would be particularly harsh compared to the tropics, and as we landed in Christchurch I was welcomed by drizzle and temperatures that resembled England more than Australasia! I checked into accomodation and went for a bite to eat in town. I found a nice sports bar, which was pr...

We went through Cathedral Square today (which is a main little part in Christchurch) & there was a bunch of things going on. There was a little "street fair," people chalk drawing, little food vendors & a guy preching some crazy stuff.....oh & also there was a little protest. The protest was quite funny, it was the smallest thing that you have ever seen, & nothing voilent, more funny then anything.     We also went to the botanical garden, which was really ...

Back to Christchurch today, so that I can a bit further north to Kaikoura - hopefully to go whale watching. The last time I tried to go whale watching was in Iceland, but the boat got cancelled due to bad weather. Hopefully the weather-gods are still smiling on me (Mt Cook was brilliant weather,after all).Then after that it's back to Auckland to see some of the areas I missed when I first arrived (seems like ages ago that I flew in from Fiji).After that - sadly it's time to leave this fabulou...

We have made it to new Zealand and it is freezing!! Me and Jane have already brought a woolly hats.  We were so excited to pick up our hire car.  This really does mean freedom for the next 3 weeks.  We spent the first two nights in Christchurch.  Most of the time was spent shopping for food, extra clothes and the all essential car sweets!!  We did spare a bit of time to see the Cathedral and the beaches.  Early on day three of NZ we climbed in to...

We arrived into Christchurch safe and sound apart from Sam whose flight was cancelled and then he was diverted to Auckland- not a good start. We had left James in Sydeny to see his family and we had met Sam who was going to do New Zealand with the girls. We picked up the hire car, which to our amazement wasn't the tiniest one and we could fit our backpacks in. We then had fun and games trying to negoigiate our way round Christchurch with a very small scale map. After going round in circles ...

So, the adventure is about to unravel! A bit scared/nervous this morning. I think it's because we are going to Colombia first and well Bogota is considered "extreme high risk" so this will be interesting that's for sure! Although, from what I can gather it's mellowed down considerably so I am trying not to be too nervous about it all. Once we get on the plane it will be fine, it's just saying goodbye to people which is the hardest. Funny how you can be super excited going on a 2 week holiday ...

Eigentlich wollten wir heute die etwa 14km lange Summit Road durch die Port Hills fahren - leider hat uns das Wetter einen Strich durch die Rechnung gemacht. Nachdem der Wecker um sechs Uhr geklingelt und gleichzeitig der Regen auf das Dach getrommelt hat, haben wir uns umgedreht und weitergeschlafen. Trotzdem sind wir nach acht Uhr Richtung Christchurch aufgebrochen. Heute war Sonntag und es war noch recht früh, deswegen ging die Fahrt ins Zentrum ziemlich flott - verglichen mit Vorgestern,...

We are really loving New Zealand so far! We arrived in Christchurch on Weds 26th March and the hostel we stayed at was soooo nice! It was in this big old house with a massive creaky wooden staircase and stained glass windows. It was comfy and clean and lovely! Plus it was right next to Cathedral square, which is the centre of town. As soon as we walked out of the airport we could tell a difference in the temperature in NZ. Even though it was warm the air was just so much fresher feeling and l...

9:00 am Take Christchurch Tramway for city tour to Art Center and board punts for cruise up the Avon River.  Walk back and the rest of the day is on our own until 6:30 pm for traditional dinner at NZ family home Last night, after sunset, we flew from Wellington into Christchurch over a unbelievably rough landscape of craggy mountains and deep valleys.  Then we landed at Christchurch, which is what 19th century England at its best must have been like.  Incredibly lush w...

mostly taken from my bedroom window

My final day in NZ! I woke up at 8am. Saw Helen and some roommates fast asleep. Some had gotten up and gone by 7am itself. I quickly got done with breakfast, took a few pictures around the hostel and rushed to Cathedral Square to catch the airport shuttle. Checkin @ the domestic Qantas terminal was a breeze, and I got my boarding passes for all 3 segments of my flight. I then went to the Antarctic Centre. It was a disappointing experience overall - the stupid cafe people forgot to get me my ...