Christchurch, NZ
Tuesday, February 11
We made it to Christchurch! Now what to do?
Our flight landed on New Zealand’s South Island at 9:00am and we had the whole day explore (or, more pointedly, stay awake adjusting to the new time zone). Tonight, we planned to stay at an airbnb and then tomorrow we’ll pick up a rental RV which will become home for the next 50 days.
Check-in time at the arbnb wasn’t until 3:00pm, but Andi thought we’d at least be able to drop our bags off there so we Uber’d over to the address. The airbnb owner was very nice in allowing us to change our travel clothes and leave our belongings there, but firm with timing. We have to come back later that afternoon to check-in.
So with the whole day ahead of us and no vehicle to drive, we walked a few blocks to Jellie Park. This park had a huge green space with a pond and little ducks, a recreation/fitness center and a playground. Tory and Aden played on the playground for a bit while Andi and I sat on a park bench and soaked up the sunshine. It was only 65 degrees outside, but it felt HOT. Within minutes I could feel my cheeks and knees burning. Everything’s opposite from the USA in New Zealand — including the seasons. It’s summertime in New Zealand right now; February weather is similar to Wisconsin’s August.
Tory over-heats easily, so it wasn’t long before she was sitting in the shade at the playground asking to leave. Andi and I decided to spend the rest of the afternoon walking around in Christchurch’s center city area. One of Aden’s travel bucket list to-do’s is to ride a double decker bus and Andi said there’s one in Christchurch so we thought we’d surprise him.
We took an Uber to downtown Christchurch and hopped out at the Canterbury Museum. The double decker bus departed on the hour from this location, but we were hungry and tired. Andi and I decided we’d walk to a nearby restaurant. There were several to choose from, but all too fancy for our kids. Cafes were lined with sidewalk tables and people enjoying the beautiful summer day.
Long travel days are tough on everyone. As we walked, Tory complained, “I just want to go back to our airbnb and watch my iPad.” But really, what’s there to do at the airbnb but sit around all day. The sooner we align our days and nights with the local time, the better. We continued on. Lugging the kids’ booster seats while we walked was a pain, too, but we didn’t have much of an option since we were cabbing around town.
Eventually we walked by an area called Cathedral Square with several food trucks. Andi ordered fish & chips for Tory and Aden to share and a falafel wrap for he and I. He also ordered the kids a Sprite to lift their spirits. We’re not above powering up our kids to walk further! We sat outside in the square, people watched, and listened to music playing. It was perfect.
Close to 2:00pm, we walked back to the double decker bus pick-up stop near Canterbury Museum. The look on Aden’s face when he saw the classic red double decker pull up to the curb was priceless! He was giddy with excitement.
Normally organized tours aren’t Andi and I’s thing, but in this particular instance it was nice to sit and learn about the city with little effort. We also had the entire bus to ourselves which made it feel special. Aden picked a front-row spot on top and we cruised around Christchurch for the next hour.
On the bus tour, we could still see a lot of the damage caused by the 2011 Christchurch earthquake which killed over 125 people and essentially shut down the city for a time. The city is operational now, eight years later, but there’s still quite a bit of road construction and restoration of old buildings happening throughout the city.
I’d read about a popular spot for kids in Christchurch called Margaret Mahy Playground which we passed by when we were on the bus tour. Once Tory and Aden saw the huge urban playground with tons of other kids having fun, there was no way to convince them to do anything else. So, next stop on our day in Christchurch — we took an Uber to the Margaret Mahy Playground.
Tory and Aden had a blast running around with Kiwi kids playing on the slides and zip line. This was the first time Aden wore his new glasses around other kids though, and I could tell he felt self-conscious about them. Every few minutes he’d run up to me and say, “I think I need to take these off so I don’t break my lenses when I’m playing,” and I had to remind him that his new glasses are for wearing all the time — even at the playground.
Andi and I had to peel the kids away from the playground around 5:00pm. I could feel my skin burning in the strong sun and I’m sure the kids were getting a sunburn too. We needed to go to the grocery store and buy something to eat for dinner and get a few other supplies (like wine and sunscreen)!
We took another Uber to the grocery store. I wasn’t sure how big our RV refrigerator would be tomorrow (probably not large), so we didn’t go crazy buying food. We bought yogurt, fruit and granola for breakfast tomorrow, a loaf of french bread and Nutella for the kids, hot dogs, and tortilla and shredded cheese for the kids. Andi and I always say you can tell a lot about a new place by visiting the grocery store. So far, food offerings and pricing seemed similar to the US.
Another Uber ride back to our rented airbnb. it will be so nice to have our RV homebase tomorrow!
For dinner, Andi ordered he and I take-out from a nearby restaurant called Misceo Cafe. We made Tory and Aden their usual favorites at home — a hot dog (for Aden) and a cheese burrito (for Tory). Tory also made us strawberries dipped in chocolate for dessert.
We were all exhausted by this point in the evening. I washed all our travel clothes and hung them out to dry behind our airbnb. Andi worked to set up his travel phone and internet, and the kids watched their iPads. We were all asleep by 8:00pm.
