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NZ 2015: Christchurch tales
posted : Sunday, February 21, 2016
Plan was to drop by Lake Tekapo on our way to Christchurch, which is about an hour drive from Mount Cook. Another small township built on the strength of the lake, which also has amazing night scenery and one of the places where the southern lights can be observed. But it wasn't really on our itinerary to do so - too much luck required and we don't have that much time..
With our little red car by the lake
Church of Good Shepherd, by Lake Tekapo. One of the must-see attractions at Lake Tekapo.
Off to Christchurch proper! Accommodation for this leg was AirBnB. It's kind of hard to find Airbnb places at all the locations we have visited so far, but Christchurch being the biggest city in South Island didn't pose these problems. The place was owned by a Chinese couple, both were out for work when we arrived so they left the key behind for us to check in on our own. 
Double bed in the bedroom
The third person had to sleep in the living room. Which turned out to be Sam.
The kitchen. Which had a walk-in pantry oooh
Rustic Lane.
Anyway after checking in we went out in hunt for a cafe for late lunch. And took in the various sightseeing attractions Christchurch have to offer - ruins of the original Christchurch cathedral, the cardboard cathedral, and of course Re:Start mall. And Pak n Save which we have been looking forward to since day one ahahahaha. 
Lunch/tea at a cafe
Still lots of reconstruction everywhere
Ruins of the original Christchurch Cathedral.
Chalice structure outside the cathedral. Which survived the quake i think.
Trams!
Re:Start Mall. A very interesting concept which came about after the quake, signifying the resourcefulness and resilience of NZ ppl.
Christchurch Transitional Cathedral. Also made up of recyclable materials like cardboard tubes.
Cant remember where this is. Hahaha.
Went back and cooked quick dinner. Which is basically getting a canned soup ready and toast garlic bread to go with the whole roasted chicken and seafood salad from Pak N Save. Oh and meeting our hosts for the first time, who huddled together to watch a movie in the living room while we cooked and ate. 
By some luck, we were in Christchurch during their annual Cup And Show Week ("horse and cup" "no horse!!!" lol). And the showpiece of the week, the A&P (Agriculture and Pastoral) Show happened to be have its concluding day on the second day of our time at Christchurch so activity for the day was really a no brainer.
Driving to the event reminds me of...Quidditch World Cup ahahahah. They have set aside this massive field for parking so there were marshals guiding people to fill up the parking spaces in an orderly fashion. Then walked over to the main site.
The parking site
Entrance
Lots to do and see. Kind of eye opening to see things like wood chopping competition, sheep shearing competition, and most compelling of all, animal judging. Still had no idea what the judges were looking for. At the end of the day awards were given out for the best sheep, cow, llama etc and the best overall animal which was won by the champion horse in the end I think.
Wood chopping competition
Lots of meh-mehs and moo-moos.
Carnival food like churros
Games!
Chris and I went on this.
Motorcross
The various parades and races!
Pony racing
Left at about 4 at the conclusion of the prize presentations. Headed off towards Pak n Save in Westfields again in hunt of souvenir biscuits and chocolates, but couldn't find them. Another trip to Re:Start mall to find those were also in vain since most shops there were closed for some reason. Ended up just heading to Christchurch cathedral area to get dinner from the food trucks that operate there every Friday, and called it a day.
We did go all the way out to find this though, as we missed it the day before. A memorial for victims of the Christchurch earthquake, comprising of various forms of chairs painted in white.
That's actually the end of our Christchurch adventure actually! Heading north towards Picton for a day, and we were supposed to spend one final night at Christchurch before flying back to SG so left Christchurch Casino for that. Christchurch is strangely quiet for a city that calls itself the largest in South Island, but for most part I enjoyed it. Most enjoyable part for me was the stroll in town hopping from one sightseeing spot to another. :)
To Kaikoura and Picton next!
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