Day 3. Christchurch. 25.2.26

After a restless night Mark and I went for an early walk around the block.

Our unit, #100
Another block of units that looked really pretty.
The Spires sculpture, made of steel rods, floats seemingly weightlessly at tree height above the lawn. The design of the sculpture is based on the spire of Christ Church Cathedral to reflect the Gothic Revival architecture lost in the 2011 earthquakes.
The Transitional church wasn't open so we hope to go back in the next day or 2. It has a very interesting story.


Came home for a coffee and a jacket as the wind was chilly. Then the 4 of us headed out to explore the city. We used the hop on hop off tram system to get to the furtherest point, the Botanical Gardens. 
Tram terminal. 



Mark dwarfed by a very tall, but not the tallest, tree in the gardens. 
We saw many old, interesting trees ⬇️


An Alpine Ash from South Australia. 








We enjoyed the Botanical Gardens just as much this visit as we did in 2023 when we were here.
Lunch was had at the Curators House, a restaurant at the Gardens.  It was a little more expensive than the Howard pub but exceptionally good quality food and very tasty. After lunch we went off to do our  'own thing'.
We spent the next hour or 2 getting on and off the tram looking at buildings, shops, bridges etc


The foundation stones were laid on April 25, 1923.


Avon River. 

         ðŸ¤”
This reminded us of Hoi An in Vietnam but a lot less crowded.





        ↕️

Former Post Office in Cathedral Square, opened in 1879.

John Robert Godley, founder of Canterbury in 1860. This statue fell in the 2011 earthquake, leaving it with a flat head. When it was repaired and reinstated they left his head flat.
Te Pae/Convention centre.  The facility features a 1,400-seat auditorium, a large exhibition hall, and numerous meeting rooms. 

This church took about 40 yrs to build originally and barely a minute to ruin in the 2011 earthquake. It has been under repair for quite some time and it's hoped to be completed in 2027.
After walking ~9kms we went home for coffee,  blogging and a Nana nap.
Top temperature was 20°











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