April 25, 2019 / Christchurch

My final day in New Zealand. I had few hours in the morning before heading over to the airport for my mid-afternoon flight. Most of the shops were closed in the morning in observance of Anzac Day. A holiday in both Australia and New Zealand, Anzac day is observed on 25th April marking the Aussie-Kiwi joint effort at Gallipoli in World War I.

I walked toward the Botanic garden and found the Arts Center Open. The Arts Center was home to Canterbury College where Ernest Rutherford studied between 1890-1895. The quads and the great hall were impressive. The center also has an excellent exhibit of Rutherford’s work, his “den” where he worked while part of the Canterbury college. Considered the Father of Nuclear Physics, he received Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1908. His work on the atomic model and how he collaborated with other well known scientists like Niels Bohr, Hans Geiger and Mardsen is displayed nicely. The exhibits are highly interactive and you will get to stand in Rutherford’s den and the lecture hall where he studied while at Canterbury college. 

Across the street is the Christchurch Art Gallery. I stopped over for a brief while to see the exhibitions on display. They do vary over time, and the ones I got to see were by artists Simon Denny (The Founder’s Paradox) and Julia Morrison (Head Case). They were thought provoking and eclectic respectively. The upper level has some unique exhibits of NZ arts and crafts. 

Minutes walk from the bus interchange on Colombo street, I discovered an all vegetarian/vegan friendly Indian restaurant. While food was generally on the pricier side in Christchurch, Shree Jagannath was both palette and wallet friendly. After grabbing a quick bite, I took the metro bus to the airport (NZ$ 8.50). 

There are more things of interest in Christchurch. The Antartica International Center located close to the airport, Sumner beach & Gondola ride come to mind located in the city. A train journey by Tranz Alpine from Christchurch from east coast to Greymouth on the west coast by the Southern Alps is considered on of the best train journeys in the world.

Check-in at CHC airport was fully automated and efficient. Having reached the airport slightly early, I wondered if I could take an earlier flight to Auckland. The Air New Zealand customer service agent was extremely helpful, accommodated my request and even assigned me an exit row seat, a premium these days! 

Transferring from AKL domestic to International, passport control was a breeze with an e-passport. Security check was efficient even though it was egalitarian – no TSA-pre, no Global Entry, no paid mechanism to short cut procedures. 

With more time, visiting Queenstown, Milford Sounds and rest of the South Island should be in one’s itinerary. That said, my first visit to Aotearoa (Maori word for New Zealand) was a wonderful experience.   At several levels, NZ seemed to be very progressive and level headed, something I wish more countries would embrace and emulate.