Final Stop! Christchurch

  Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand
Thursday, December 11, 2008

3

Last stop, Christchuch!  I've been told that Christchuch is the most "English" city in NZ.  A quick ride on the city tram confirms this with numerous examples of 1800's architecture mixed in with the modern landscape.  There are no high rise buildings in the city which is due to Christchurch also sitting atop of a 300M deep gravel bed which while limiting construction does act as a water filter.  Christchurch tap water tastes better than any bottled water I've had.  

As any connoisseur knows, good water makes good beer and on that note, I'll mention that in addition to being the most English, Christchurch is home to several breweries including the small Dux Lux brewery.  The Dux Lux brewery is part of  a complex of Dux Lux businesses which includes two bars and a quasi-vegetarian restaurant which served a great seafood (hence the quasi) yellow curry.  They also have a vegan section of their menu.  I tried four of their beers and the Norwest Ale , Hereford Lager and the Stout were excellent while the Duck Amber was just o.k. 

c Trolley

The city once ran on trolleys all of which have been removed except one.  The trolley track runs by some historic sights, parks, the botanic gardens, the city's new art gallery

a New City Art Gallery

and the city square so it was a good place to start.  It was a hop on/hop off ticket so I incorporated visits to the city's gardens as well as the square, brewery and any building which looked interesting.  Just down the street from the above art gallery was a nice English tudor building  which housed the "Gothic Punk" art exhibition.  I had to pay this a visit.  There were some interesting paintings and some talented artists, but it also came accross like a deranged high school art class display.  This is what happens when you give a plastic baby doll to a goth-punk artist!

21 Marilyn Manson Doll

 

d Edge of the pedestrian zone

Christchurch's pedestrian mall area is bigger than most American cities offer so after my cultural excursion I spent most of my time cafe hopping and buying the requisite gift or two for people who stayed home.  I've mentioned that there are four sheep for every person in NZ, but in addition to this, the Kiwis have developed a more creative solution for dealing with some of their pest problems.  NZ has Possums, which don't look like the North American Possum, but are equally invasive.  They Possum fur turns out to be a great, lightweight insullator when weaved in with the merino wool.  I'm not certain, but I'll bet this is the only place you can get a merino/possum sweater.

In all, if you're coming here I would say Christchurch is a good place to end your trip as the retail areas have all the NZ products and crafts you'll see throughout the North & South Islands.