Travel | Travel Tips

Best Things To Do in Christchurch, New Zealand

In the Winter post-pandemic

sign outside a cafe in Christchurch June 2022 —© image taken by the author

Fortress New Zealand is opening. After being locked up for two years, Aeoteroa is getting ready to welcome visitors and it is not a moment too soon.

This café sign says it all.

But what is it like visiting Christchurch post-pandemic?

My reasons for being in New Zealand were not touristy at all.

Despite the personal sadness going on, my sister and I decided to take a few days away. It was the space we needed to unwind. This would probably be our last trip to New Zealand. And my sister had yet to set foot on the South Island.

So, let’s get on with what to do in Christchurch in a day.

We took an early morning flight to capitalize on having an extra day, basing ourselves in Christchurch for four nights.

Getting into the city

You can take the local bus service from the airport; it has regular schedules and will take you into the CBD (Central Business District).

We opted for convenience and to save time, so had booked a shuttle at NZ$15 per person each way.

The pros of this were that the driver was chatty and gave us some useful snippets.

When visiting Christchurch you will need to remember the earthquakes of 2010/11, which devasted. The city is still in the process of rebuilding.

Earthquake Memorial

The Canterbury Earthquake Memorial on the banks of the Avon River marks the 185 lives lost.

Our driver pointed out the amount of ground-floor car parking spaces. It had been a problem to find parking in the city before, now parking is plentiful, but for the wrong reasons. He explained that each ground-floor parking space, also means that this was where a building once stood.

Hagley Park

As we passed Hagley Park, he told us confidently that it is the third-largest urban space in the South Island, after Hyde Park and Central Park. If you are looking to stretch your feet, there are 160 hectares of it.

Where To Stay

There is a wide range of accommodation options within the CBD. We arrived at our choice, Canmore Hotel early at 9am and chanced to see if our room was ready. By a stroke of luck, it was. The hotel had recently re-opened, and we had found a half-price special offer on the room. If you can get this hotel at a reasonable price, it is a great find.

Whilst local life is trying to get back to normal after the devastation of the earthquake, the effects of covid are also hitting the city. The hotel had not yet opened its café due to the lack of visitors and Covid was still a present threat.

Never mind though, as the hotel was located close to the CBD, near the hub of Christchurch city, with a short 15-minute walk, there were plentiful shops and eating places.

Chalice Sculpture with the main Cathedral in the background still being rebuilt — Cathedral Square — © image was taken by the author

Eating Choices

We had breakfast in Foundation Café, which is within the city library. This is a popular venue with a wide variety of foods on offer. It is also great for people-watching with its glass-fronted sides. Only there weren’t many to watch as Christchurch was still very quiet.

Re-built library building — still very quiet June 2022 —© image taken by the author

The waitress was keen to please, they hadn’t seen many visitors from abroad for a while. The friendliness of the locals was apparent, keen for visitors once again.

For other food options, make sure to visit Riverside Market, on Oxford Terrace. It reminds me of Spitalfields Market, East London, and The Baltic Market in Liverpool. As well as a range of locally sourced food items to buy, you can also sample the cafes, restaurants, and bars. There were many interesting food choices and a huge seating area upstairs.

Don’t miss visiting New Regent Street, with a range of eating places and bars. Spot the Spanish-style deco houses built above. The tram stop also goes right through this street.

Christchurch Gondola.

Christchurch without a visit to the Gondola would be like walking around a flat city for hours, the Gondola adds the necessary depth and height. The attraction is just outside of the city, so get this done early.

We took the public bus number 28 towards Lyttleton. Don’t panic about where to alight, it takes you right into the gondola car park stop. You can’t miss it or get any closer using this local bus. This also means the return trip is just as easy. The bus trip was just NZ$2.10 each way, a snip of what it would cost on a tour.

Christchurch gondola views on the way up — © image taken by the author

The gondola ride itself is NZ$35 per person. They will try to sell you the package of two or three tourist attractions, like the Tram and also Punting. You can make a saving this way if you know that you will be doing those activities. We weren’t sure so opted to pay for each attraction as and when we did it.

Christchurch gondola — two gondolas passing each other — view from the top —© image taken by the author

The Gondola is so worth it for the views, from the top you can see Christchurch, the Banks Peninsula, and the Canterbury Plains. It was quiet when we visited, with many of the gondolas empty. It is going to take a while for the industry to pick up so support these attractions when you are visiting.

Your Gondola ride will last for 10 minutes, taking you up high above the Port Hills. Warning for those with height phobia, it is steep, but the ride is gentle and slow too if that helps.

Christchurch gondola views on the way down —© image taken by the author

The sight atop is simply breathtaking. Though I took many photos none of them truly portrayed the specular views.

Viewing platform at the top of the Christchurch gondola ride — image was taken by the author

It was windy as it was winter. A few days later, the Gondola was shut for a morning due to the winds. So tick this one off early to avoid any disappointment.

There are several walks that you can take from up top. The shortest is at 30 minutes and the longer ones for a couple of hours. It is hilly, with lots of ups and downs, but jaw-dropping scenery. We only walked for 20 minutes, the wind forcing us back in.

Walks from the top of the Christchurch gondola ride — © image taken by the author

At the top is the Red Rock Café. There was a good selection of food on offer and seating areas. It was still empty when we visited. Outdoors the viewing platforms were sparse. We were spoiled for choice but I am sure that this will change as it is popular and once up top, the cafe has a captive audience.

Viewing platform view Christchurch gondola —© image taken by the author

I am sure the number of visitors will increase, as the borders are now open. Tourists will soon start to make their way up top again and support this city.

The bus ride back into the town was 35 minutes, it is great seeing the local area and interacting with the locals. On occasions this is good and others not so great.

On our bus ride back there was a man having a conversation with his local job center officer. By the tone of the conversation, he was too busy to attend job interviews. When the conversation ended. He then turned on his phone playing a song with rather graphic vulgar lyrics, then connected it to a little speaker and started to play this loudly without a care for anyone else. Remember we are on a bus, in a confined space. Of course, he didn’t need to care, because no one said anything to him. But you could tell that everyone was really annoyed by their bodily reactions and loud stares which he ignored.

Don’t be put off by taking the local bus, he was harmless more annoying than anything.

My sister sent out a wish to the universe to let the noise end and he got off two stops later. Thank you, universe. 🙏🏽

Punting On The River

Avon River in Christchurch —© image taken by the author

Back in the town, we decided to go for a punt. Punting is one of those iconic must-do activities in Christchurch. My sister was really keen to do this, me not so much in winter, but we compromised, okay I gave in when the sun briefly came out.

We found the starting place by Antigua Boating Sheds, paid our NZ$35 each, and had to wait an hour for the next punt. The ride was going to be 30 minutes long and there would be about 10 people on it.

The punt is a boat ride that will take you down the Avon River, with the punters dressed in straw hats and stripey blazers, it will feel like you have stepped back in time.

Whilst waiting for our punt, we took a walk around the botanical gardens which are situated close by.

It seems that the punt wasn’t to be after all. We received a call telling us that the punt had been canceled.

A tree had fallen just in front of the last punt missing it narrowly and blocking the route. With apologies, they had to cancel punts for the rest of the day.

So maybe punting wasn’t to be on our menu, just when I was getting my head around it. Even, I felt disappointed, hopefully, you will get to experience punting.

Tram

The tram is a tourist sightseeing attraction, even though you could probably walk the city yourself, as it is very flat and easy enough, the tram is something you ought to try. And it is worth giving your NZ$30 to the local economy.

The original tram route had been devasted by the earthquake but has now been re-built with a circular route that will take about 50 minutes.

Three trams were running when we visited, but they have seven in total. You can hop on and off as you please.

On board the Christchurch tram — © image taken by the author

We chose to take the whole tour for the first tram ride, coming across parts of the city we had not seen yet, also it was freezing out there. On the second ride, the drivers changed over, so it felt like a whole new tour with a different commentary.

We finally braved the cold, stopping at the museum.

Canterbury Museum and Modern Art Gallery

The Canterbury Museum and the Art Gallery are both free to enter with donations requested.

Spot the positive neon lights sign on the Art Gallery front.

Modern Art Gallery sign “Everything Is Going To Be Alright” — image taken by the author

Both are well worth the visit, especially if you need something to do indoors.

Christchurch Museum buildings -© image was taken by the author

Convention Centre and Christchurch Town Hall

Te Pae Convention Centre is a new iconic building that you can’t miss.

Check out the unusual shape.

The newly rebuilt Te Pae convention centre building — © image taken by the author

Fountains by the Christchurch Town Hall — © image taken by the author

Bridge Of Remembrance

The war memorial was well worth a look but be aware of the group of vagrants who seem to have housed themselves there.

As we were taking photos, I felt them watching us. As we made our way back to the city center, they followed us for a while on electric scooters. It felt like they were waiting to pounce but must have sensed our guard was up and they thankfully dispersed.

Life has been tough all around the world, so be careful, as there are opportunists wherever you go.

Botanic Gardens

The Botanic gardens are within Hagley Park and close to the main museum. It was winter so we didn’t walk all around it, but what we saw was stunning. There is a coffee shop and outside seating area to enjoy the tranquillity, that’s for the summer, I think.

Fountain by the Botanic Gardens —© image taken by the author

Christchurch City Art Murals

I was like a child eating this ice cream, discovering the murals dotted around the city. You can take a walking tour, but you can also see them yourself on foot or from the tram.

Street art mural in Christchurch —© image taken by the author

Watch out for my piece, Eye-Catching Murals In Christchurch, New Zealand still in draft.

If you have a few more days, then there is so much else to do on the South Island with many day tours running from Christchurch. With more time you can go further afield to Queenstown or the Franz Josef Glaciers which sadly we didn’t have time to do. But we felt satisfied having taken in a small piece of the South Island.

Here’s what else we did, (articles coming soon):

Day 2 — Wine Trail in Wairarapa

Day 3 — The TransAlpine Train Journey

Day 4 — Day Trip to Akoroa

Check out my other travel articles

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