An early departure from Hamner Springs enabled us to arrive into Christchurch, our home for the next 3 nights, just before 11am.

Our first stop was to refuel with a coffee and cake in a lovely cafe.

After this short interlude it was time to go and explore the charming centre of Christchurch, which instantly felt welcoming and friendly.

Post the quakes of 2010 & 2011, the city has been in recovery for a number of years, which is evident from the number of new buildings and numerous street art murals highlighting its vitality as a city that’s been reborn.

There are still reminisces of the ‘older’ Christchurch, possibly the most English city outside England. Road signs and building names all hark back to the original settlers who emanated from the South Coast of England, hence the city’s name and the region’s name of Canterbury.

Ōtautahi to give Christchurch its Maori name, sits in the heart of Aotearoa’s South Island.

This is a city seeking a perfect balance; a diverse natural playground, wide open spaces, modern architecture and heritage buildings.

After exploring the city centre streets we made our way to Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, home to one of Aotearoa/New Zealand’s most important public art collections.

Even before we entered the gallery it was full of humour, surprise and heart. Starting with the Bull on the Piano, an unusual play on the finance cities around the world.

Once inside we saw an exhibition revealing how borrowed or re-imagined bodies can help us explore what it means to be human.

Dummies & Doppelgängers combined sculpture, video, photography and more from the Gallery’s own collection and around Aotearoa.

After a walking tour of the gallery and an explanation of the numerous themed exhibits, which proved a helpful insight into the trials and tribulations that NZ is currently facing.

Once back outside we came across Captain Scott’s statue, as Christchurch was his last stop before he sailed off down to the Antarctic, to reach the South Pole only to beaten to by the Norwegians and sadly not make it back after losing their battle to the artic elements.

We then made our way to the Riverside Market for lunch. We got lucky and found a great place for fish & chips, a cellar door for wine and a craft beer bar as well as a cheese bar. It’s fair to say we were in heaven and indulged in all four places!!

Next we went for a wander to walk off the excesses of lunch and passed numerous trams which circuit the city as a tourist attraction.

As you turn a corner in the city, odds on you’ll see some form of street art which has increased since the quake with numerous properties elevations becoming exposed as adjoining buildings were demolished. It turns out that over 70% of the city centre was affected by the quake either completely destroyed or damaged beyond repair.

We moved to the botanical gardens that sit close to the river in a central area, enclosed by the larger Hagley Park, close to where England play New Zealand at the cricket starting on Thursday.

The gardens were great to walk around and reminded us of England with the occasional tree or plant that looked too tropical to exist in a UK climate.

Despite the earthquake having happened almost 14yrs ago, some parts of the city remain in a state of flux, notably the Gothic cathedral which was badly damaged and remains a work in progress. The costs of repair and restoration have increased and budgets have come and gone.

After taking in the sights and sounds of the city, we found ourselves back in the retail centre where we saw a few signs that Xmas is now only a few weeks off.

With a busy day of walking and exploring concluded, we retired to our hotel for a rest and a spot of tv relaxation watching the new reboot of the Day of the Jackal.

Tomorrow we have a walking tour of the city, followed by a meet up with Lana a Christchurch friend from our tour of SE Asia, before we move down to Mount Pleasant, close to the coast and dinner with Brent and Anne, more travel friends from our tour of Borneo back in April.