Christchurch South Island: Earthquake tour

January 26, 2017

A major earthquake hit downtown Christchurch 6 years ago and finally the city is slowly recovering. There are many visible signs still of the damage but also progress in recovery. We walked around downtown today taking in some of both. There is the cathedral which is still a shell of its former self awaiting a government decision on its future. In the meantime they have erected a unique cardboard cathedral in its place, There are many facades being braced by sea containers with the hope of saving them as they build new buildings behind the facade. In the afternoon we went to the world Buskers festival before picking up my nice clean bike at the shop.

The old cathedral with earthquake damage.

The city trams that are now used as a tourist attraction on a short route because many of the tracks have been damaged and not repaired.

The Caffeine Laboratory a great name for a coffee shop.

Gail on the Avon river that runs through Christchurch.

Lounging about on this funky furniture made of artificial grass.

The transitional/cardboard cathedral an engineering marvel.

Sea containers holding up the facade of a damaged building.

A temporary mall was created out of sea containers in the earthquake zone, All of these are about to be taken down so real buildings can be constructed.

This artwork was created for the 150th anniversary of the city. Note some of the earthquake damage in the background.

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