Christchurch - Earthquake City

We have moved on to Christchurch, mainly to catch up with my son Michael, and also to see what changes had been made since our last time here in 2018, when the city was still in recovery mode.  On February 2011, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake caused severe damage in Christchurch and Lyttleton, killing 185 people and injuring several thousand.  This earthquake occurred on a shallow fault line close to the city, and the shaking was particularly destructive.  The earthquake brought down many buildings damaged in the previous earthquake in September, especially older brick and mortar buildings,  and two-thirds of the buildings in the central business district were subsequently demolished.  Many residential properties were so badly damaged that they were levelled, and roads and water pipes also suffered substantial damage.   The Anglican Christchurch Cathedral in the centre of the city was another casualty, and after years of wrangling, the work has only just begun on the repairs.

Work has finally begun on the Christchurch Cathedral

We arranged to meet up with my son Michael for lunch  at the interesting café/restaurant/wedding venue, The Sign of the Takahe, which I had heard about.  It was so nice to see him again, and as you can imagine, there was plenty to chat about. He mentioned he can’t believe he will be turning 60 in another couple of years.  To be truthful, I can hardly believe I’ll be turning 80 two months after  he turns 60!

It was interesting to find out about this building, which looks just like a small castle.  Built in the Gothic Revival style by Harry Ell, it is one of four historic rest houses constructed for those walking the scenic tracks in Port Hills.  With a beautiful medieval style interior built to impress, even a set of armour standing by, and lovely gardens, no wonder this building is much in demand as a wedding venue.  The other three buildings in this chain of rest houses are The Sign of the Kiwi, The Sign of the Bellbird, and the Sign of the Packhorse.

Sign of the Takahe building

As we had been  so impressed with the beautiful Sign of the Takahe building, we decided to visit another of the Harry Ell’s rest houses the following day.  This time, The Sign of the Kiwi, high up on Summit Road, now another café.  Up and up we drove, wondering if we would ever reach the summit.  We finally arrived, and  walked up the steps into another beautiful stone building – there were plenty of customers inside.  This café advertises “The best date scones in town” and the certainly were.

“Rest a Whyle”  inside the Rest House

The views up so high on Summit Road are amazing.  There were scores of crazy cyclists around, zipping down the road by the café, and then along the cycle tracks in the hills.  Some of these cyclists stop off at The Sign of the Kiwi Rest house for a cool drink, ice-cream, and comfort stop, so the vision of Harry Ell is alive and well.  That’s two Rest houses we have tracked down, perhaps we will try and find the other two next time we stay in Christchurch.

View from the top

I’ve been working on my knitting over the last couple of evenings since I had to unravel the back of the jacket I was working on.  Now I have finished the rib band and have just started on the stocking stitch, so that makes me happy.  That’s a good start.

Starting over

Another thing which makes me happy is that cherries are still available, and so much more reasonably priced than the ones I purchased just before Christmas.  I love cherries, Robin doesn't so I get to eat them all!  They seem like such a luxury item to me, and I usually have a small helping most days, yummy.

Cherries at lunch time

On our last day in Christchurch we spent time with Michael again.  On the way out to his home we drove over the Memorial Ave flyover  which features a four-legged arch, curving gracefully 27m above ground level, with its two main beams crossing directly above the carriageway.   The design symbolises the Southern Alps and the braided rivers of the Canterbury Plains. 

Interesting arch over the bridge

I had a little gift for Michael – he  is a very keen photographer and I thought this cushion was just right for him.  Did he like it?  I hope so, he said he did.

A gift for Michael

After a very pleasant afternoon together it was time to say our goodbyes and head back to camp.  But not before another obligatory photo.

Here we are again

Our time at Christchurch has come to an end.  I’m happy that we spent some time with Michael, and visited some new to us places.  Tomorrow we pack up and get on the road again, driving south to Ashburton.