A Day in Christchurch

My first full day in New Zealand I decided to spend looking around Christchurch, the largest city on the South Island. Often called the most English city in New Zealand due to its many gardens, Christchurch is actually a very pleasant place. The weather was sunny, though a little cooler than what I left in Canberra. Christchurch also has another British tradition which is "punting" on the Avon River, punting being the act of steering a boat using a long pole to touch the river's bottom and propel the boat along. This, I read, is traditionally the domain of university students.

Christchurch, I find is sort of a mix between Halifax and Calgary. Even with a population of only about 300 000, Christchurch is still the major port of the South Island. Like Halifax, goods from all over the world come to the port and local goods are shiped out. Chrischruch is also built upon the Canterbury Plain, a vast flat land created by millions of years of rivers carrying silt from the Southern Alps. The result is a broad fertile plain which is responsible for much of New Zealand's agricultural output. However, like Calgary, Christchurch is within spitting distance of the mountains and every so often, a warm wind comes off them. In Calgary, this type of dry warm wind in the winter is called a Chinook while Cantabrians (people from Canterbury) call it a Nor'wester.

The day was uneventful really and I spent it getting reacquainted with Christchruch. The last time I was here was in 2005 on a tour through the North and South Islands. I walked into the city centre and immediately made my way to Cathedral Sqaure, the beating heart of Christchurch. That day there was some kind of festival and there were all sorts of activities ranging from clothes on racks to a trampoline. I'm told that there is also a man who dresses up as a wizard who makes regular appearances but he didn't show up today. After Cathedral Square, I wandered over to the InterCity Bus office and bought the tickets that my brother and I would require for the next few days.

I met up with my brother later that day and we went for dinner at a restaurant called the Holy Grail. It is a converted movie theater which now has a massive television screen and it serves as the headquarters for supporters of the local rugby team, the Canterbury Crusaders. After dinner, my brother and I made our way back to his apartment for a good night's sleep as we would be leaving on our great southern adventure the next day.