Christchurch

Christchurch, our last day in NZ.

The World busker competition and giant chess. Some wag stole a chess piece so they improvised with a traffic cone.They play in front of the Cathedral behind, slice in two by the earthquake still awaits a decision on it's fate. 
This picture seems to show the spirit of New Zealand. They have started to rebuild without fuss. The shopping mall complete with banks and cafes made from shipping containers, the tourist trams walked through the rebuilding sites by workers to allow both to continue working, the website that you can visit to find out what is being repaired and when.
The lack of apparent bureaucratic red tape and the forward thinking, means this a progressive and exciting city. I would love to come back and see what it does with the rebuilding and momentum that is pushing it forward.
Well done Christchurch and I'm sure it will be.

We had a ball on the trams. Apparently one driver went the wrong way and we (Our tram) was directly in front of another. Good humoured animosity was a new experience for us and somewhat amusing.
We saw the PWC multi storey car park remains which still has crushed cars beneath the water of it's flooded basement, the cardboard cathedral.... the temporary replacement made of Steel, cardboard and glass which was built 2 years after the earthquake as a place of community worship, the murals and graffiti art and the people getting on with life accompanied by the constant sound of construction.
Lunch was at the tram station in a cafe squeezed between the tracks. 
All too soon we had to leave for the airport. We dropped off Juicy, the 8 seater car and said a quick goodbye to Alasdair and Margie and headed off on our next flight to Sydney.
New Zealand I will be back, someday,(I hope).

The Travel lodge just off Hyde park was a bit of a come down. By the time we dragged our bags from the central station we needed a coffee. Unfortunately the open carton of milk in the room fridge, the mould in the shower and the dust next  to the head of the bed prompted me to actually complain. They even sent a "review us", email when we got home.
We haven't composed it yet, but you may imagine it's content.

Despite this we headed out to see Sydney at night and were not disappointed. It is wonderful.

As aye

XS.