Christchurch

Up early this morning for our flight to Christchurch.  We were checked out of the hotel for 7.45 and on our way to the airport to drop the car off.  Once we'd worked out which bits of paper to leave in the car, and put the keys in the slot, we waited for our flight.

Rotorua airport is not large and there were several flights during the day, all to either Christchurch, Auckland or Wellington.  Today's World Cup match was New Zealand vs France, and this was on show in the airport.  The woman at the check in desk could tell the score had improved by the cheers!

Our flight came in on time and we watched people disembark and then we saw our luggage being loaded.  We boarded the flight at 9am and were underway on time at 9.10am.  

The flight was on a small propeller plane, and hence there weren't the usual amenities we're used to on the big jets - no screen in the back of the seat, and no easy access to refreshments!  The pilot did give us a running commentary on the rugby score though...

Things got a bit bumpy on the way into Christchurch thanks to a strong wind, and we were glad to finally get on the ground.

After collecting the car, and driving through to the hotel we checked in, left our luggage and went for a wander around Christchurch. 

The city is slowly getting back on its feet after the earthquakes of 2010 and 2011, but huge swathes of the city centre are still either derelict buildings, or cleared areas.  There's lots of construction going on, and several completed new buildings around too.  The best word we could come up with wandering around the centre was "sobering".  Mother nature has significant power!

The main blip is of the front of the "Cardboard Cathedral", the temporary replacement for the damaged one - shown in one of the extras.  The other extras show the botanical gardens and the container based Re-START shopping centre.

After wandering around the centre, Hagley Park and the botanical gardens we walked back to the hotel before heading out to a local restaurant for dinner.