A Weekend in Christchurch | New Zealand

We’ve almost made it to the end of the road! After travelling north from Dunedin, with a couple of days for my parents to experience Tekapo en route, we arrived in Christchurch. This was my final destination, not just of my three-month South Island summer trip, but of the whole of New Zealand. More on what happened next coming soon! We spent about five days here, but taking out my work hours, translated into a long weekend in Christchurch from my point of view. Most of that was spent exploring the city’s highlights, making use of the tram loop. We squeezed in a couple of activities further afield too. And, even celebrated Mum’s birthday here!

Christchurch is the largest city on the South Island, with a far bigger population than all the small towns I’d been staying in. It’s a common start and end point for South Island trips, with its international airport. The city also sits on the fault line that crosses the South Island, putting at it risk of earthquakes. I’d already learned about the fault line and the damage it can cause when I was in Kaikōura. Christchurch suffered a devastating quake in 2011, which destroyed huge parts of the city. However, aside from the cathedral which is the costliest and most time-consuming to repair, you’d never know it now! The city has recovered for the most part, now a hub of contemporary architecture with all its replacement new builds.

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Riverside Market

The first day of my long weekend in Christchurch was spent working from the hotel room, as usual for me. But after work, I headed out to meet my parents at the Riverside Market. It took about half an hour to walk there, taking me through the city centre. I got a good glimpse at some of the contemporary architecture, including the Town Hall, the Convention Centre and the Tūranga library (where I worked on our final day here). I was glad to finally be seeing the city after a couple of one-night stops here between Kaikōura, Lake Tekapo and the West Coast, where I only saw the hostel and bus station! There was also time for a browse of the shops in the streets surrounding the market, lots of independent retailers selling clothes or gifts.

Riverside Market is in the southwest of the city centre, near the banks of the River Avon. It’s a two-storey indoor market, filled with food vendors and restaurants. I loved the style of the building, with huge murals on the side that look like shop fronts. The interior is all exposed brick and these huge basket-style hanging lights. Some of the vendors sell groceries and ingredients, like bread and spices, and most of them were starting to close up for the day. But there are still plenty of evening options, whether you want street food-style dishes to take away and eat at the outdoor benches, or restaurants with their own wait staff and seating. We grabbed a drink at the upstairs bar, sitting on the balcony overlooking the ground floor. Then we opted for a Spanish tapas dinner at Castro’s, whose huge windows look towards the river.

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Christchurch Tram

The next day of our weekend in Christchurch, and a full day off work for me, was actually my mum’s birthday! This whole trip was part of her celebrations. We decided to spend the day in full sightseeing mode, using the hop-on-hop-off Christchurch Tram. While the city isn’t all that big and would be fairly walkable, the tram was a nice experience, riding in the old-fashioned vehicle. Plus, there was onboard commentary and the route took us to a couple of places we might have otherwise missed!

Starting at the beginning of the line, we rolled through the city centre and out towards the SALT district. The name is an abbreviation of the names of several streets: St Asaph, Lichfield and Tuam. We hopped off and had a wander around. Christchurch is full of street art, buildings decked in grand murals and unusual sculptures dotted around the city. It felt a bit quiet at that time of the morning, but we were due a mid-morning coffee. The old post office building here has been repurposed into C1 Espresso, with many of the old postal features still remaining in the decor. The best part is the pneumatic tubes, which now deliver food orders straight to the tables!

Christ Church Cathedral & Cardboard Cathedral

Before getting back on the tram, we took a slight detour, walking up Rauora Park and over to see the Cardboard Cathedral. The Christ Church Cathedral is one of the most famous buildings in the city, built in the latter half of the 19th century, a grand, Gothic church and a listed heritage site. Sadly, it was severely damaged in the 2011 earthquake and is currently unsafe for use. Restoration costs millions, and the project was ‘mothballed’ – put on hold indefinitely – while we were there. We’d passed the building in Cathedral Square, in the city centre, a couple of times already. You can imagine how grand it would be in its full glory!

In the meantime, the city built a ‘Transitional Cathedral‘ to hold services in. Better known as the ‘Cardboard Cathedral’, since it’s built from dozens of huge cardboard tubes (as well as timber and steel)! Construction was completed just two years after the quake, designed by a Japanese architect. I think many people assume it’s cardboard because it’s temporary, but in fact, the building is intended to stick around permanently, for use by the local parish if the Christ Church Cathedral is ever rebuilt. We went in for a look, and it’s super interesting to see how it’s constructed. It certainly felt much lighter, airier and more modern than churches I’m used to in Europe!

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The Arts Centre

Back on the tram, we cruised through the city centre, then decided to make an impromptu stop, hopping off at the Arts Centre. We didn’t know much about it besides the tram commentary, which explained that it’s full of small shops, galleries, and food trucks. The University of Canterbury and the Boys’ and Girls’ High Schools once used the complex of heritage buildings, dating from the late 19th century. Today, it’s home to over 70 retailers and eateries, and hosts many cultural events and performances throughout the year.

We grabbed lunch from one of the food trucks in the courtyard, munching Greek gyros at the picnic tables. Then we headed inside to explore some of the retailers, including many crafty gift shops and independent clothes shops, as well as several art galleries. There’s also an exhibit on the history of the buildings, showing how they have been strengthened and restored after the city’s history of earthquakes. Back outside, there were even more pop-up market stalls to explore, selling everything from jewellery to candles to decor. Considering it wasn’t a stop we’d previously planned or researched, it was a really lovely place to browse for a while!

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Christchurch Botanic Gardens

Just across the road from the Arts Centre, we headed into the Botanic Gardens next. It was a bit of a novelty to spend Mum’s birthday in summertime with flowers in bloom, since she normally has a winter birthday at home! The gardens are a pretty huge park, which we wandered through for a good hour or two. There were so many colourful flowers, from vibrant dahlias and chrysanthemums, to the elegant rose garden chock-full of different varieties. Huge native New Zealand trees towered overhead too, with sections of the gardens devoted to forest rather than flowers.

There are a few ponds and water features dotted throughout too, including the peacock fountain near the entrance. The river snakes its way through the gardens, home to many waterfowl. Boats drift along the river too – from kayaks and canoes to punting along the Avon. We came across a few sculptures throughout as well, including this interesting staircase to the sky in one of the ponds. Made even better by the birds who climb up it! Finally, after our big loop of a walk, we wound up at the visitor centre, shop and cafe. There’s an exhibit about the gardens inside, then we stopped for drinks at the cafe’s outdoor seating.

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New Regent Street

Back on the tram, we rode the last portion of its loop almost back to the beginning. We disembarked at its last stop, New Regent Street. This is one of Christchurch’s best-preserved historic streets, its colourful heritage buildings having managed to survive the earthquake. The Spanish-style street was built in the 1930s as a shopping development, and still houses plenty of retailers, though I felt it leaned more toward bars and restaurants now. The most dramatic part is that with the outdoor terraces, the street is only just wide enough to fit the tram (no other traffic allowed). So when it comes along, dinging its bell, everyone has to jump out of the way. And if you’re sitting outside – as we were – it feels like it’s passing alarmingly close to you!

We had a wander past the shops when we arrived, but our destination was Gin Gin for some birthday drinks. As the name suggests, it’s primarily a gin bar, with a huge array of gin varieties and a lengthy cocktail menu. Mum is a fan of gin, so I’d found this place as a birthday treat for her. While not the sunniest of days, the weather was warm and dry, so we sat outside the front, sipping our colourful drinks as the tram moseyed by every so often.

I’d considered a few restaurants here for Mum’s birthday dinner too, but we ended up elsewhere. Instead, I chose Gatherings, a small, independent venue which serves a seasonal sharing menu using local produce. For my foodie mum, retired farmer dad, and sustainability-focused, mainly vegetarian self, it ticked pretty much all our boxes! It also only seats about twenty people at a time, in a cosy, candelit space, so I was certainly glad to have booked in advance.

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International Antarctic Centre

The second full day of my weekend in Christchurch involved getting out of the city centre! The International Antarctic Centre seems to be very popular, and after my own adventure there, I was pretty keen. And it was a cool way for my parents to experience a taste of it, too!

It’s a huge facility with many exhibits and experiences. The first rooms looked at Antarctic exploration, including early adventurers. There’s a simulation chamber where the temperature drops, the wind howls, and you experience an Antarctic storm! Don’t worry, they provide jackets. Another exhibit focuses on the environment and ecosystem of Antarctica. A guy was giving a talk about huskies in here, with his own dogs present. He had 5 or 6 of them, a big, family pack, who were super chilled out around the people!

Also on the animal theme, the little blue penguin exhibit has a small colony of birds. While I prefer seeing animals in the wild – the colony in Ōamaru was more my thing – it was fun to see them swimming and feeding. Next to that, we watched the 4D film with moving seats, smells and splashes of water. It includes a simulation of the Drake Passage sailing, bringing back all too many seasickness memories for me!

And finally, we’d paid a little extra for the Hägglund ride, hopping inside these rover vehicles that are used to drive across icy tundras. The centre has a sort of obstacle course where they drive you around, going up and down steep hills and through water features. All while you cling on and bump around in the back seats! All in all, quite different to most of my other New Zealand sightseeing experiences, but a fun morning out and great for reliving my own Antarctic experience!

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Waipara Springs Winery

That afternoon, we headed out of the city entirely and north to the Waipara wine region. New Zealand boasts many wine regions – I’d already explored Martinborough and Waiheke Island! It was nice to have the opportunity to visit another winery while my parents were here, not that far from a major city. My mum also has a cousin who lives in Christchurch, so she and her partner came and met us for a winery lunch today. She suggested Waipara Springs, and the weather was on our side to sit outside for most of the afternoon. Although a shower later on forced us to seek shelter under the canopy!

We were also lucky enough to arrive while there was live music happening as well, which just added to the atmosphere even more. We had a few platters to share, with enough veggie options for me (though I did verge into pescatarian today too). Accompanied, of course, by plenty of glasses of wine! Since we were more focused on lunch and talking than on a proper wine tasting, we all mainly stuck to the same few white wines. I did switch up varieties, though, just to ensure I tried a few. And we even had dessert later before it was eventually time to head back to the city.

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A Long Weekend in Christchurch

On the last day of our weekend in Christchurch, I worked from the library – a lovely building! – after check-out. Then met my parents at our airport hotel before our early morning flights the next day. They were off to Brisbane and the Whitsundays, but I’d soon see them again in Western Australia. Meanwhile, I had a few days in Auckland to see an old friend and return my work laptop. Then this was the end of my whole year in New Zealand. A full wrap-up post will be coming next!

I ended up liking Christchurch more than I had expected to. For the most part, I think New Zealand’s stars are its landscapes and scenery, more so than its towns and cities. But Christchurch felt vibrant and interesting and modern, striking a balance of cosmopolitan and laidback. I imagine some people only use it as their entry & exit point for the South Island, but I’d definitely recommend sparing a few days to explore here too. While I don’t regret choosing Wellington as my main base for the year, I think I also would’ve been quite happy if I’d wound up in Christchurch instead!