"A City with Hidden Treasures and... " a Christchurch Travel Page by Kakapo2

Christchurch is a peaceful place - if you are not terrorised at night by car hoons and youth gangs. In most areas you would not even need traffic lights to cross the streets. Although Christchurch City has 340,000 inhabitants, relaxing on a seat in the sun on Cathedral Square feels like siesta time in a small country town.

If you are already there do not miss the Wizard who still comes to the Square in his red two-way VW Beetle on sunny weekdays and tells us that women raise their sons towards being softies... You can also meet the Towncrier in his historic costume, on weekdays between 11am and 1pm. He is not just a kind of living museum piece but cries what's on in town.

Some of my favourite places in New Zealand's most English city are touristic, others not. But they are all peaceful.

St. Michael's and All Angels
Christchurch's best kept secret or most underrated attraction - however you might see it. This spectacular wooden Gothic parish church, just a few hundred metres from Cathedral Square, is the mother church of Canterbury, already founded in 1851, long before the foundation stone of the Cathedral was laid. Another spectacular church off the beaten path is the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. Really outstanding - including a climb up in the spire.

Hagley Park
A green haven in the middle of the city. A place to relax and to be active. Sit on a bench under the huge old trees, lie in the sun, feed the ducks. Or go jogging, walking, cycling, inline-skating, play golf, rugby, netball, cricket, tennis, football. Little, North and South Hagley Park are so huge that it never feels crowded.

Botanic Gardens
They are part of Hagley Park and just beautiful, surrounded by the Avon. There are two unique spots: the sheltered rose garden where you can inhale the scents of the flowers, sit on the benches for hours, watch people or read a book - and the Natives Walk where you can learn about some of NZ's unique plants. Check the undersides of the fern leaves - if they are silvery-white it's the silver fern.

Deans Bush
A great place for picnics or coffee at Riccarton House which is situated near the entrance of the reserve. But the spectacular thing about Deans Bush is that it is a fragment of original native bush in the middle of the city.

Mona Vale
A beautiful garden with roses, big trees, superb ferns and an historic house. From Mona Vale you can look into the gardens and houses of some veeeeery rich people on the other side of the Avon... ;-)

Arts Centre
This is a great place for lunch on the weekend. Whereas the restaurants are rather pricey you get cheap food at the many international food stalls and have your meal under the old trees in the picturesque courtyard. Arts and food market on weekends as well.

Beaches
The white beaches behind huge sand dunes stretch over 25km from South Brighton to the mouth of the Waimakariri River, so they are never crowded. New Brighton is no flash living area but the beach is just fantastic. Further north are the beaches of the Bottle Lake Reserve (good MTB, walking and jogging tracks) and Spencer Park (wetlands walks).
Sumner Beach is rather crowded on summer weekends and not as clean but the big plus is that there are many nice cafés and restaurants nearby.

But do not stop in Sumner. Walk up to Scarborough (Flowers Walk) for a breathtaking view of sea, city, and Southern Alps.

The Port Hills South of the city are another world. Just a short drive from the city centre but so very far away. When you sit on the seat at the top of Bridle Path or anywhere else along the Summit Road or Crater Rim Walkway you feel a little bit like on the altiplano in South America, only that here it starts at sea level and not at 2500 to 4500 metres. With a little bit of imagination Christchurch feels like the small version of Santiago de Chile (in winter we even get the smog here...) with the Southern Alps in the background.

Best access to the Summit Road is from Colombo Street (South), always straight ahead to Cashmere, there Colombo Street becomes Dyers Pass Road after a roundabout and then winds uphill past the Sign of the Takahe. You reach the Summit Road at the Sign of the Bellbird. If you turn to the right you get to the Sign of the Bellbird and via Gebbies Pass to Banks Peninsula. To the left you get to Bridle Path, Evans Pass, Godley Head, Sumner and Lyttelton. If you cross at the Sign of the Kiwi you get straight down to Governors Bay.

The dry tussock grass landscape and the rough volcanic rocks give the Port Hills a touch of lonesome desert. You can drive along the Summit Road and enjoy the views on one side to the city and the mountains and on the other side over the turquoise blue waters of Lyttelton Harbour to the equally fantastic Banks Peninsula. In fact Lyttelton Harbour is a former crater which has been filled by the water of the sea, and the Port Hills and the hills of Banks Peninsula are the crater rims.

The Port Hills - up to 500m high - are a fantastic area for long and short walks. According to your fitness level you will always find a walk, from 30 minutes to three days. As the Summit Road and the Crater Rim Walkway meet every some kilometers you can drive up the hill and walk as long as you please in either direction and then walk back to the car. But you can also make loop walks from several Christchurch suburbs.

The greatest view of Christchurch is from Mt. Cavendish, the top of the Gondola. The most perfect view of Lyttelton Harbour is from the Sign of the Bellbird in the afternoon; it is also the perfect spot for a magic sunset.

Other activities are paragliding, rock climbing and mountainbiking. There is a big number of MTB tracks for all skill levels, some are difficult and rocky.

When you are at the top station of the Gondola do not miss to watch the film about the history of Maori and European settlement and how the landscape was created by massive volcanic eruptions. They show it for free on a monitor in the souvenir shop. The Time Tunnel is another option - but not free anymore.

See some of my favourite walks under tips "What to do". In fact most walks are my favourites because the views are soooo spectacular... ;-) I have made all walks several times but do them again and again!

Once New Zealand really was paradise - before the humans arrived. The animals lived such a relaxed life that there was no need for the birds to fly, and some of them - like the national symbol, the kiwi - even lost their wings. You know how the story continues: The first immigrants arrived, and before the Europeans set foot here the Maori had already driven the huge moa to extinction. Cats, dogs, pigs, deer, ferrets, stoats, weasels, possums... and farmers... killed many other unique birds.

Many are extinct like the moa but thanks to the efforts of the Department of Conservation (DOC) , other organisations and a lot of volunteers some populations of very rare birds and other animals have recovered. Many of them only survive on predator-free islands and in very rare areas, like the black robin and the kakapo, the only flightless parrot of the world. Others are abundant and you can enjoy their presence on your trip in New Zealand.

The Willowbank in Christchurch (see special chapter in "What to do") is a perfect place for an introduction to NZ wildlife (and Maori culture). Orana Wildlife Park also has a great range of endangered birds in its aviaries, they are also very engaged in kiwi breeding programmes and have tuataras, NZ's living fossil, geckos and wild animals from other continents.

Nearly a must for birdwatchers is a visit to the Canterbury Museum (right of the entrance to the Botanic Garden). There are nearly all NZ birds on display - flightless in a certain way... They are all stuffed - I'm afraid some are from times when birds did not only die of old age...

A lot of water and wading birds are residents of the estuary in Heathcote and along the shallow waters along the road to Sumner, also in the wetlands in Bexley and Spencer Park. Apart from all kinds of seagulls you will see a lot of oystercatchers (black birds with red legs and long red beaks) running around on the beach, as well on "The Spit" - that is the south end of the New Brighton peninsula.

Since September 2006 the Antarctic Centre has real little blue penguins swimming around in their basin. Absolutely cute!

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A Day in Christchurch
If you have only a day in Christchurch you will not be able to visit all the fabulous places I have listed in my tips. (It has taken me several years LOL)

Let's say you are lucky enough to be here on a sunny and long summer day... My top tips:

1. Gondola - there is no better way to get a feeling for the the layout of the city and region. The views are breathtaking. A 360° view includes the Pacific Ocean, the endless coastline up to Kaikoura, the Southern Alps, the Canterbury Plains, Lyttelton Harbour, and Banks Peninsula.

2. An inner city walk (see: Things to Do) - do not miss the Provincial Chambers. If you have never seen a kiwi (bird) and have no chance to go to the Willowbank visit the Southern Encounter right on Cathedral Square.

3. Arts Centre

4. Botanic Garden / Hagley Park

5. Have a coffee or dinner in the seaside suburb of Sumner.

If you have a car combine points 1 and 5 and make a tour of the Summit Road, take a walk up to the Gondola (10 min from Summit Road carpark), get down to Lyttelton and Sumner.

An additional day in Christchurch
Trip to Banks Peninsula/Akaroa

Or: Willowbank in the morning (highest chance of seeing kiwi), drive to Akaroa at about lunchtime.

Alternatives: New Brighton beach - Int. Antarctic Centre - Canterbury Museum.