MMC2025 :: Day 14 :: Te Kaha

Mono Month Challenge 2025

Te Kaha is a Māori word that means "strength" or "fighting prowess". It was the given name for the new 30,000 seater stadium being built in the centre of Christchurch. Of course strength or fighting prowess isn't enough to build such a venue so it will be know as the One New Zealand Stadium after a phone company won the naming rights. 


My thumbnail is the now famous Cardboard Cathedral the 'temporary' home of Christchurch Anglican Church. As I mentioned before the money has run out to reconstruct the damaged Cathedral so this will be used for some time. Maybe Sparks, another phone company, could pay for the naming rights of the cathedral to get it going again...


 Your Postcard: Hello Blippers, the sun continues to shine here in Christchurch. We skipped breakfast this morning opting for an early ride out on the trams. I wanted to explore around the new stadium which now towers over the Cardboard Cathedral. We had coffee and shared a muffin in a quirky coffee house converted from a bank. After that we ventured onto the city metro buses again and head to the Air Force Museum of New Zealand. 


As we arrived I signed up for the behind the scenes tour. No one else had so I was escorted around by two tour guides! I got to see the reserve collection and workshop. We were able to discuss much more than if it was a large cruise ship group like they had over the last weekend. Well worth a visit. As we left I spotted RNZAF crew in the cafe, these would be the guys working on how to land a recently retired Hercules aircraft at the museum when the original runway now has houses on it and there is just a medium sized field to use. They think they can do it, with the right winds. It will be in the news...


Another bonus, we didn't have any diplomatic incidences on the bus journeys today. Tomorrow will be our last full day in the city for this end of the trip. Need to plan what to do.