As in Auckland, our first week in Christchurch was spent circling the outskirts.  Yesterday we got bold and ventured downtown on  a very lovely day.  First we went to the Christchurch Botanic Gardens, which are right next door to the Central Business District (CBD).  The gardens are surrounded by a very large park.  The gardens seem to blend seamlessly into the park, with lots of open grassy areas and the most astounding collection of HUGE trees, including a sequoia.  Given the size of the trees, I just don’t understand how they’re still standing after the two earthquakes.  The shrubs, too, were enormous.  Rhododendron trees – not bushes.  Next to the garden is a large swimming pool, much like Spruce Pool in Boulder, and although it was around 60 degrees, it was filled with splashing kids.

We then wandered a block toward the CBD.  As you may know, in Sept 2010, there was a large earthquake just west of Christchurch.  It happened in the middle of the night and no one was hurt but it did topple many unstable structures.  Our landlord lost both chimneys on his house.  He said this first earthquake was probably a mixed blessing, as it may have brought down the most unstable structures.  But then it probably significantly weakened others.

The second earthquake occurred in February 2011, around lunchtime, and was very shallow and had a higher “peak ground acceleration” than even the Haiti earthquake.  Both our landlord’s home and this little apartment are slated for razing, as the foundations of both have been weakened beyond repair.

It’s very hard to imagine the level of destruction until you wander around the CBD.  It is a mix of empty or rubble filled lots, empty high rise buildings waiting to be brought down, or construction sites with huge cranes towering above.  It appears that they want to save the facades of some of the older buildings, so they have stacked up shipping containers on the sidewalks to prop up the facade, when there is nothing but rubble behind.

But amidst all of this mess, someone had the bright idea to form a new shopping area right in the CBD using shipping containers.  So imagine the Pearl Street Mall made up of brightly colored shipping containers stacked on one another.  This ReStart Mall is amazing.  It was filled with shoppers, eaters, drinkers, buskers, and tourists, all out very much enjoying the day.  They’ve moved trendy shops, bars and small eateries into these shipping containers, where they have cut out some of the sides and put in plate glass sides.  All very cheerful and fun.  I would have to say that both the gardens/park and the CBD were very vibrant and busy, in the middle of this major destruction/construction zone.  Humans sure can be resilient when pushed.

We didn’t get down to see the old church, which was partially destroyed, or the temporary cardboard cathedral which was built to replace it until a new home is found.  Be sure to google it.  And we hope to get to the Canterbury Museum on the grounds of the Botanic Gardens.  But we’ll be around here for a while longer, so these are still on the list.