To wrap up our tour of New Zealand, Christchurch was our 5th and final stop, now reaching the Eastern coast of the South Island. Known as “the garden city” due to its many parks throughout the city, it is the largest city on the South Island and the second largest city by population in all of New Zealand. Despite this, it is still a fairly small and flat city, and very walkable if you are staying in the city center. Christchurch suffered a series of earthquakes in the time between September 2010 and February 2011, with the most recent one causing significant damage to the city. The rebuilding of the city is quite impressive, and has created a mix of both historic and more modern architecture.
We only had about a day and a half here after driving from Franz Josef, so if we had a little more time I would recommend getting outside the city a bit and hiking one of the many beautiful trails in the area. There is also an international airport here, with direct flights to the US and other destinations, making it ideal for your first or last destination.
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Here is a sample itinerary based on our trip in November (spring in NZ!):
DAY 1: EXPLORING CHRISTCHURCH
We arrived in Christchurch mid-afternoon, after driving from Franz Josef in our rental car. Since we knew we wouldn’t need a car for our two days there (and because hotel parking can be a pain / expensive), we returned the car to the rental center at the airport and took an Uber the 15 minutes to our hotel. We stayed at the Mayfair Hotel, which was just on the edge of the city center and had a fantastic bar / restaurant called Majestic on the ground floor.
After getting checked in to the hotel, since there wasn’t much for food on the route between Franz Josef and Christchurch, we wandered in to the city on the hunt for some really good pasta for an early dinner. As much as I loved New Zealand, we struggled to find good Italian food or pizza….until we discovered A’mano Authentic Pasta & Cucina…everything was so delicious, I can’t recommend it enough! We were so hungry I forgot to take pictures of the food, but we had wine, a caesar salad, focaccia and lasagna.
We wandered around the city for a couple of hours after dinner, exploring the gardens, checking out the shops on New Regent Street, and then stopping to see the Cardboard Cathedral (literally a working, cathedral made of cardboard, constructed following the earthquake in 2011)…fascinating. Then we finished the night with drinks at Majestic at our hotel. It was a long day, but we covered a lot!
DAY 2: TRAM TOUR, QUAKE MUSEUM, & PUNTING ON THE AVON
On Day 2 we decided to try a nearby cafe for breakfast, and Noki (check them out on Instagram) did not disappoint! Super cute little cafe with great coffee, pastries, and scratch-made breakfast. After finishing breakfast, we headed out for the day to explore the city some more. We had fantastic spring weather in Christchurch too…it was a little warmer here than Queenstown and Franz Josef.
We started with a 50-minute tram tour. We were able to buy tickets online in advance, and then just picked the nearest station to us to hop on. It runs throughout the city all day long, and is a great way to get the layout of the city and briefly see some highlights to help you decide where you want to spend more time. There are a lot of art installations, sculptures, and murals throughout the city, and we were able to see quite a bit of this along the route.
After hopping off the tram, we made our way to the Antigua Boat Sheds for a ride on the Avon River, also known as “Punting on the Avon”. This is a unique style of boat, similar to a flat-bottomed canoe, that is propelled and steered by a guide (think gondola ride in Venice) with a large stick. This is a 30-minute ride down the very shallow river through the Christchurch Botanic Gardens, and the guides do a fantastic job of briefing you on the history and wildlife in the area along the way. This is a must-do experience when in Christchurch!
Following the Avon Punting ride, we explored the Riverside Market, which is a great spot to grab a snack and some local items to take home. We also stopped for a treat at Duck Island, which came highly recommended by our tram driver earlier in the day.
For our final activity of the day, we decided to check out the Quake City Museum, which chronicles the events of the earthquakes that took place in Christchurch 15+ years ago, including first-hand accounts of people that were affected by the earthquakes, and details about how the city rebuilt following the disaster. It takes just 1-2 hours to tour and is worth checking out, especially since these earthquakes were so significant for this city.
We finished the night with a bite to eat at Majestic at our hotel, as we had to be up early for our long journey back to the US the next morning. We spent a total of 12 days in New Zealand, and loved every minute of this trip. Be sure to check out my previous posts on Auckland, Marlborough, Queenstown and Franz Josef too!
