The day  to Christchurch started off with a tender into the small port town of Arcola where we caught the bus for the one in a half hour drive to Christ Church       before the 2011 earthquake the cruise ship would come into a port about 20 minutes from the city center of Christchurch. Since the earthquake all of the cruise ships come into the port and are then bussed to for 75 kilometers into Christchurch.  The road goes along the water and then immediately heads up over the mountains on a very dramatic trip with magnificent views coming over the mountains and down into valleys and the flat plains that are extremely rich with Agriculture sheep cattle and orchards. As we started to approach Christ Church the driver started giving us more detail has to the earthquake and what transpired immediately after and then in the 7 years since.. initially the town look very normal and as we approach the downtown area we found that the epicenter of the quake was nearby and follow this straight line into the downtown Cathedral area. Then as we got downtown from started to see the buildings that have been ruined and it was very evident that the quick get some of the major buildings in the downtown area. What was done immediately was $0.02 off the entire downtown area that had been affected by the quake.  They then started a process of the evaluating the damage putting all building that were in the destroyed area into three categories yellow amber and red. Today there is a great deal of construction reconstruction repair and rehabilitation going on all over the downtown area. Much has been done in these 7 years almost to an amazing degree especially with Canterbury University buildings. The Cathedral

 

 

 

itself is there is still about 1 3 totally destroyed but they have not been able to repair the balance due to issues with the church and the city. We took the tram around the downtown area and it is a hop on hop off arrangement for about $20 a person and well worth it as it gives you a ride around the town. We had both coffee and lunch and buildings that have been hit and then repaired and are fine now.

 

After the tram ride we walked around the key Cathedral grounds and then back down to the museum and the museum was exceptional and definitely a must see. The Botanic Garden is adjacent and very beautiful and well maintained and in full-bloom today..

The photos show that destruction and the work this thing done to repair but also shows the construction on the new library as well as other downtown going areas that were hit by the earthquake

 

We met back at the bus at 3 for the 90 minutes ride back over the mountain into the port ..

and into the tenders

 

Christ Church should be a must see on any New Zealand trip and the drive is well worth it over them out as you get to see the real New Zealand farms keep cattle as well as the magnificent fields and varied agricultural programs going on in this part of the country.

 

This part of the world is unknown many but in reflecting back this is one of the most beautiful areas we have ever seen the people are very friendly they have a great outlook on life are hard working and they’re very very proud to be a newsletter

 

I think my talk on this part of New Zealand should be very practical on what you  should you do and see in the time that you have using a lot of photos.