The sun is out. Finally. I
decide I’m going to brave the still cold weather by wearing flip-flops (or
jandals) and ramble into what once was the city centre of Christchurch. I am
meeting Katie who is from Christchurch and Lenni, from Germany (one of the
chefs in Furneaux who left before I got to meet him – and who the boys talked a
ridiculous amount about). In twenty minutes I get to the Container Mall. Christchurch
has apparently lost a lot of infrastructure and is physically, a shell of its
former self. The town was looking for novel designs to help the city bounce
back and this mall seems to offer a bit of normalcy to the residents, and some
serious contemporary eco-style.
The shipping containers or brightly coloured boxes, house shops, cafes
and galleries and together seem to be one of the most striking features of the
cities renewal, if one of the only ones I come across. We grab a bite to eat
and have a wander. A young girl approaches us and I immediately think she is
selling something or looking for money. Instead she tells us it’s her birthday
today and hands each of us a balloon with a positive message on it. She wants
to ‘spread the cheer’, which we all agree is very sweet. It seems Cantabrians
have proved to be very resilient in the face of adversity, and I find on each
meeting with someone from here, a positive attitude abounds; it’s residents are
embracing change and looking to the future. I say goodbye to the guys and enter
‘Quake City’, a museum dedicated to informing visitors what happened during the
earthquakes. It houses some of the infrastructure from the Christchurch
Cathedral and other iconic buildings, has a documentary playing with
interesting accounts from survivors and a lot of information and pictures
illustrating all aspects of the earthquake, from why, scientifically, it
happened to how mudflow caused more havoc to the city in its aftermath. At ten
dollars, it’s definitely worth a visit.
Lenni and I with our balloons
Quake City
A building ruined
Whats left of Christchurch Cathedral
I then meet up with Lena and Adam, two good
traveling buddies and Luke, my hitchhiking buddy from yesterday also joins us.
As we wander around the city, I begin to finally realize the extent of the
devastation. There is no ‘city’ anymore. It is quiet, with an almost eerie calmness.
Many roads are blocked off and businesses closed. Massive areas of nothingness
remain where buildings have been wiped out. Other buildings are left in ruins.
Some businesses haven’t even been cleared out, and the remains of the chaos of
the day evident. We peer in the windows of what once was a bakery and see
mouldy sandwiches sitting in the smashed up fridge, fried chicken on a grill,
cakes and muffins in another fridge (looking fairly well in tact mind you, for
two years later, God knows how they were made!) The tables that haven’t been
smashed or turned over contain dirty plates and trays that have yet to be
cleared. There is glass and debris all over the floor and dust everywhere. On a
wooden chair close to the window, we see little mice paw prints in the dust, a
symbol deepening the empty feeling of the place. Yet as I mentioned before,
despite all the chaos and devastation, the people of Christchurch are looking
forward and the city will be rebuilt, eventually. We decide a cold drink is in
order, yet we can’t find a pub that’s open, or a pub at all for that matter. So
we head back to the container mall for coffee. Later that evening we have
dinner and drinks at PedalPushers in Addington, which is really busy for a
Monday and refreshing to see. Another day of the travels in the bag.
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