21/04/2018 - 'Quake City'

As soon as you leave behind a few kilometers in New Zealand, you may be surrounded by a completely different outside temperature. - In the 'Mount Cook National Park' we still had sub-zero temperatures. One day later and 300 kilometers further, the bright sun greeted us and gave us spring-like temperatures.

After just one night we left 'Ashburton' and joined the rush hour traffic. When we arrived in 'Christchurch', we checked in early at the new campsite. The nice weather was used for laundry and car care. The following days were also characterized by many hours of sunshine.
The longer stay in the largest city on the South Island was mainly used for the blog. Furthermore, we went to the city center again; what has happened in the past three months?

During our first stay, some streets in the center were not accessible. Today, smaller construction works have been completed, allowing us to take 'new paths'. Nevertheless, the fate-stricken city is still a huge construction site. We could see this well during our 'Street Art Tour'. Hidden art projects can be found throughout the city - whether statues in the river, paintings on high house walls or humorous artworks like 'Sheep Bollards'. The circular route led us through alleys that gave us new insights into the thinned-out cityscape.

After a day of walking, a quieter day followed. We drove up to the top of 'Port Hills' by car. Up here, we had a fantastic view of the entire city of Christchurch. It is astonishing to see where the center of a city is located and how residential areas have formed all around - in every direction.
From up here, we realized for the first time how close the city center actually is to the sea! Despite visiting the city center many times, we never felt like we were really so close to the coast. Only the seagulls gave it away - but we didn't feel a sea breeze on our faces.
We strolled around on the hill and were surrounded by several sheep. Despite the regular visits of various people, whether tourists, locals or the ranger, they were quite shy. However, a few of them still posed in front of our camera. ;)
We enjoyed the wonderful silence and the extensive view from the mountain.

Hunger struck and so we went to a slightly different restaurant. Just outside the center, the reconstruction after the earthquake in 2011 has begun. In addition to many ruins and dilapidated buildings, several snack bars have joined forces and opened a 'Food Court'. In addition to the wood-fired pizzeria, you can find a modern Asian restaurant and a burger joint, for example. That's exactly where we went. The 'Bacon Brothers' use a slightly different patty. While ground beef is used elsewhere, everything here revolves around smoked bacon. Tobi chose the vegetarian variant 'Roxy' and I chose the classic bacon burger 'Happy' - no word could describe the dish better than 'happy'. ;)
After 20 minutes, we received the homemade burgers and a portion of fries. The burgers looked great and were very tasty - but in our opinion, they don't surpass the Fergburger in Queenstown.

For dessert, we wanted something more extraordinary. Without a scale or shaker bottle, we managed to make fluffy pancakes. We had been fascinated by these small things for a while and now we dared to take on the little challenge. In addition to bananas and oranges, we also had the first kiwis. We had been waiting for a long time. Since our arrival last year, the hairy fruits had not been in season yet. Finally, the time had come and we cut the first kiwis grown in New Zealand. Wow, what an intense color - they shone in a vibrant green. We didn't hesitate long and tried a piece ... Yummy! They tasted simply amazing, it couldn't be better!

Instead of taking a digestion walk, we played a round of mini golf. We got discounted tickets (€4 per person) for an indoor mini golf facility of a different kind.
Each of the 18 tracks was individually themed, offering new and smaller surprises. The first track required the golf ball to be shot through an airplane, the next one down the stream into the valley. Every track was thought out and decorated down to the finest detail. Even motorized doors and gates had to be crossed. Good timing was required, as they closed again and again.
One track remained particularly memorable. The golf ball had to be hit into the entrance hall of a roller coaster. Shortly afterwards, the small, white ball was sitting in the carriage and was mechanically transported upwards. Once it arrived there, it rolled down the roller coaster track. Depending on the seat choice (there were three seats), the wild ride ended somewhere else. ;)
After the golf ball crossed the bus station, extinguished the burning house, and passed through the castle gate without any losses, the 18th hole was soon reached. When the ball was sunk in the last hole, which was by the way a candy vending machine, music played. A drawer opened and inside was a lollipop! Sounds like a fair trade. ;) - We had a great time!

To conclude our second visit to Christchurch, we went to the museum. 'Quake City' is an exhibition that deals with the two devastating earthquakes of 2010 and 2011. It began by focusing on the Maori legend, which tells of an outraged god who regularly shakes the earth out of anger. Then, the earthquakes of the last 200 years were listed in fast motion. The region around Christchurch is repeatedly affected by tremors due to its unfavorable location on two tectonic plates. Most of them are hardly noticeable, but a few are severe enough to cause damage to the city, humans, and animals. The most exciting part of the museum for us began with a recording of live broadcasts from back then. The reporter reported on the severe damage and the catastrophic extent. Original video recordings showed how suddenly and violently the earth vibrated. A house wall collapsed instantly. People ran around helplessly ...
After these moving images, we listened to the stories of 20 Christchurch residents about how they perceived and experienced February 22, 2011. One mother told of desperately searching for her children in the city center. The lifeguard reported how he grabbed and rescued the children one by one from the swaying swimming pool. A church employee spent the day near the Christchurch Cathedral, broke her arm, and could only be saved with difficulty from the rubble. Another man crashed his car into a deep abyss that suddenly appeared in front of him. We sat in front of the television for over an hour. Every story was touching - it is frightening how quickly life can change due to an earthquake. Nevertheless, it is admirable how much joy of life the interviewees radiated alongside their grief, which they felt while telling their stories, and how they fought their way back into life.
The remaining part of the museum was dedicated to reconstruction and how to better protect oneself from such earthquakes in the future. However, the probability of Christchurch being hit by another earthquake is unfortunately very high.

We strolled through the city one last time. Old and new, destruction and reconstruction are so closely intertwined. Christchurch emitted a special atmosphere that we will not forget so quickly.