Our travels from the west coast back to the east took us through Arthur’s Pass with beautiful landscapes and winding roads. We arrived in Christchurch to explore the surrounding areas and use the city as our home base. For those of you that remember the news in 2011 Christchurch experienced a series of earthquakes that devastated the downtown area. The city continues to rebuild and is slowly getting back on its feet. We walked the suggested route downtown to see city attractions, memorials, parks, as well as the corners that continue to show earthquake damage. The Museum has an off site exhibit called Quake City that explains the first quake in Sept 2010 and the second Feb 2011...it chronicles the devastation experienced with artifacts, survivor stories, the aid that arrived (both locally and globally), and steps that the city has taken to rebuild...even repurposing items after demolition. There are memorials for the lives lost as well as several new spaces to bring community together in the downtown area.
We spent the rest of our time exploring the beaches of Sumner, the port area in Lyttelton as well as driving out to the peninsula to check out Akaroa, a French founded community where the cruise ships often head to port.