Christchurch - Rising from the Rubble

At long last, after nearly 7 years of wanting to come to New Zealand, I am finally here!  After checking into my B&B and despite feeling grubby from my nearly 24 hours of traveling, I set out almost immediately to see the sights in Christchurch.

As I was starting to do a little research on where to stay and what to do for my 1.5 days in Christchurch, I was reminded that this city suffered a major quake a few years ago.  I read online about the “red zone” and about hotels or B&B’s which were now closed or no longer standing.  But it wasn’t until I arrived and took a short 1 hour tour that I started to appreciate how devastated the city center is.

This area actually went through two major quakes within 6 months of each other.  The first occurred on September 4, 2010 and was a 7.1 magnitude.  The second occurred on February 22, 2011.  Even though it was a (lower) 6.3 magnitude, this second quake was the more devastating of the two, causing buildings to collapse and 185 people to lose their lives.  Over 1/2 of those died in a single 6-story building in the central business district.  Many of the beautiful historic stone buildings were severely damaged or destroyed.  Much of the city center was fenced off as a “red zone” where no one was permitted.

Fast forward to today, just over two years later.  Despite the continuous clean up effort, the fenced off “red zone” areas of the city still exist, although those areas are ever changing and slowly shrinking.  Behind those fences uncleared rubble still litters the streets, and buildings remain destroyed but untouched with the word “clear” from the search for victims still brightly spray-painted on the window or door.  Steel shipping containers stacked several stories high against exteriors of buildings serve to both hold up the wall and to protect from further falling debris.  Several buildings which are leaning one way or another have been emptied but are still awaiting demolition.  Devastation is everywhere.  Most of the sights highlighted in the guide book I bought 6 years ago are inaccessible or simply gone.

Yet signs of the city’s beauty, resiliency and Kiwi spirit are everywhere.  The botanical gardens in the heart of Hagley Park are stunning, a stark contrast to the vacant lots only a block or two away.  A makeshift pedestrian mall called re:START has sprung up in the city center, with several dozen retailers setting up temporary space in converted shipping containers.  Restaurants and bars remain open downtown where possible, attracting tourists and locals to the rebuilding district.  It’s a city on the mend, now with an opportunity to reinvent itself and highlight the very best it has to offer.  And the local people are focused on getting it right.  It will take time, but this city will be amazing to see in 5-10 years.  I hope I get the chance to make it back someday.

Here are some pics... Christ Church Cathedral, formerly the city’s focal point:

Another church in the CBD.  Note the open safe on the second floor and the shipping containers holding up the wall on the right:

The old rugby field.  The bleachers on the right sank 300 centimeters in the back, and the field suffered severe liquefaction such that nothing will grow on it:

High Street, a popular pedestrian mall:

The back of the buildings on High Street:

Memorial - 185 white chairs, each different from the others, representing the individuality of those who died in the in the quake:

New Regent Street - pedestrian mall, re opening soon:

Peacock Fountain and the heather gardens at the botanic gardens in Hagley Park:

Re:START mall, made up of shipping containers: