April 24, 2019 / Christchurch
I was staying smack in the middle of the Christchurch City Center, walking distance to many attractions in the city. Breakfree on Cashel is a cool hotel – while my room was small, every inch was optimally used.
I started by visiting the 185 empty white chairs, a memorial remembering those who lost their lives in the 2011 earthquake. It was a poignant moment, to see different kinds of chairs, appropriately sized representing the age of the victim, including a baby carrier.
The city is still rebuilding from the devastating earthquake. One of the nicest things the city has done in this process is The Promenade. Running alongside river Avon, the multi-use, urban walkway stretches 2 kms long from Christchurch Hospital on one end to Margaret Mahy playground on the other. The walk is very scenic, especially with colorful trees and falling leaves in autumn.
Located close to the hospital, Oi Manawa, the other memorial lists the name of every single person who lost their lives in the earthquake.
Along the promenade are several other points of interest & activities. Punting (punt is a flat bottomed boat used for traveling in shallow waters) by the river Avon can be done at the hospital end of the promenade. The Bridge of Remembrance stands across Avon, in memory of the sacrifices of the Canterbury citizens who gave their lives in service of the nation during WW I.
At Victoria square, there is a statue of Queen Victoria and James Cook, the British explorer. The weeping willow of Christchurch, a beautiful tree, is in the vicinity.
At Cathedral Square stands the Christchurch Cathedral ruined in the earthquake, still awaiting repairs. Crisscrossing the entire city center is the tramway, a popular tourist attraction for those interested in seeing all these places and more by hopping on and off the trams.
Canterbury museum is a place worth visiting. The two level museum has a history of New Zealand before even the Maori settled here. The exhibits are impressive and realistic in the pre -Maori times some 800 years ago. The section focusing on the Antarctic expeditions is well done as is the section talking about the Pounamu stone, the jade like green stone found only in the South Island.
The museum is also home to the Egyptian mummy of Tash Pen Khonsu which the museum acquired in 1887. In addition to Pounamu stones, Paua shell is extremely popular in NZ. An old couple, Fred and Myrtle created a unique home with Paua shells that is now on display in the museum.
The botanic garden in Christchurch is very different from the one in Wellington. Set inside the huge Hagley Park on the banks of river Avon in the northern section of the park, the garden is easy to stroll by. Highlights of the park are the rose gardens, maple border – especially colorful in autumn, the dahlias and the World Peace Bell.
Hagley Park is huge and in two sections. The north section has the Botanic Garden and Canterbury museum with river Avon flowing through it. The south section has Hagley Oval, Christchurch’s test cricket venue and other playgrounds. The park was lovely to explore today with brilliant autumn colors and should be in every nature lover’s list of things to do in Christchurch.
I was able to walk along & on the cricket grounds and stop by Hadlee pavilion. Hagley oval was among the first to rise from the ashes of the 2011 earthquake. For the cricket enthusiast in me, it was a delight to walk the grounds of a test cricket venue so casually.
Situated in the southern edge of the Hagley park on Dean Ave is Al-Noor mosque. It was a truly moving experience to go to the site of the recent senseless killing of 50 Muslims by a white supremacist terrorist. I spoke to the person standing in for the Imam and another Muslim person from Malaysia who was helping out. I was there for the 4 pm prayer sung by him, who mentioned to me during our conversation that it was the will of Allah that he is alive today while his friend is no more.
Still in a state of heightened alert, there were two police people there. I struck a conversation with them and I shared my views on guns – that they do not belong in any civilized society, and they agreed with me, even though their job required them to hold assault rifles in their hands. It was so easy to talk to them without being afraid or concerned in any fashion. They even allowed me to photograph them and one of them invited me to move to New Zealand 🙂
To the extent I could see, the entire nation of New Zealand and the people of Christchurch have come together in solidarity and support for the Islamic community in the wake of the senseless tragedy. Memorials and signs of support were there aross the city, especially near the botanic garden.
As I walked back to my hotel by the lovely river Avon, I got to see some colorful mallards and a beautiful seagull. The birds were vividly colorful and struck unique poses when I waited patiently to click their photograph.
