Christchurch

I've only been back from New Zealand a week and already it feels like it's been months.

It's a shame but I'm trying as hard as I can to hang onto that feeling that I had when I first returned.

So I have begun the immensely time consuming task of trying to sift through all of my pictures. Going through them, I find myself grinning from ear to ear and even the ones I took on my smartphone take my breath away. Really. It would take me forever to put them all up in just one album, so I decided to upload them place by place as I sort through them. You should see my computer - split into folders and sub folders. LOL! But it's definitely the easiest way to do it because going through one folder takes hours. I'm not messing with the colours - just a bit of cropping and sharpening. I want you all to see the pictures just as I did and just as they were taken on my camera. I spent hours over there playing with my camera settings and FINALLY I feel that I have a decent understanding of how to play with them to capture different effects and colours. I know they're not perfect but I don't wanna change them. I don't even have Photoshop installed on my computer! And that's the way I like it.

The first pictures up on FB are of Christchurch so that's where I'm gonna start.

I first arrived in Christchurch on Dec. 22nd to be greeted by my ex-flatmate here in Japan and his wife. They left Tokyo about a year ago and despite my insane tiredness, I was super happy to see them. 

No rest for the wicked - it was back to their house to drop off their bags and out again. My flatmate's parents were in town as well, so all of us went for a drive in the mountains up to the Crater Rim Walkway for postcard picture views. They were stunning. Breathtaking. Although the winding roads and my friend's need for speed left me feeling worse for wear squashed in the back seat between his wife and mother. That evening we headed to a little Irish pub. OMG my tired state was not ready for what I was to endure. Awesome but extremely crude locals who called upon every ounce of wit that I had to keep up with them. It was fun, but man I was way too tired for all of that. Still, nothing a few Bacardi and cokes couldn't sort out!

More about Christchurch. Or what's left of it! The entire CBD of the city has been shut down. It's called ther Red Zone. There are abandoned buildings everywhere while look like they could fall down any minute and piles and piles of debris just THERE!  It was really shocking because the extent of the damage of the March 11th earthquake was only seen on TV. This time, I was seeing it first hand and unwelcome memories came flooding back. It was really sad to see. And shocking. Why does the city centre still look like this after 2 years?! If I hadn't of known any better, I would have thought that the earthquake had just happened. How can you just stick a fence up around a city centre and just leave it there?! It's weird. But that seems to be the NZ way - slowly, slowly.

They have a restart program. They're trying to rebuild the city centre and at the moment, it's all centred down one little street. It's a good effort, but it's located smack bang in between all the destruction around it, which is a little unsettling. I wonder when they are planning to actually clear the centre so that the proper rebuilding can start. Such a contrast to Japan. 

Christchurch Botannical Gardens are stunning. I just fell in love with the rose garden and spend AGES in there with a goofy grin on my face as I went round admiring all the different colours. I was really embarrassed because I had gotten burnt the day before on one of my walks and had the WORST sunglasses make I think I have ever had in my life. Bright white and the rest of my face was lobster red. DOH! But it was so nice to just kick back on the grass and read a book. Even though I took my Kindle with me, I ended up buying Fifty Shades of Grey in a second hand bookstore and shamelessly read it in public, ignoring the raised eyebrows that I was receiving from passers-by. 

Christmas day was a quiet affair in my friend's house. The whole day was spent watching TV which felt weird because I hadn't done that for ages. Restless before dinner. I went out for a ride on my friend's sexy Ducati. The roads out there are a dream for bikers. So wide and windy - it felt amazing to be speeding down feeling the wind in your face. Little bit strong, mind you, but exhilirating all the same. 

I'm not gonna lie - Christchurch certainly wouldn't be my place of choice to live in NZ. I don't think it has anything to offer and I feel a little sorry for my friend's wife. Just because there is nothing there - not even any decent shopping since the centre has been closed down. Props to her - I would be bored shitless. There are a lot of great places around it though. I only went o Kaikoura from there, but had I had more time, there are plenty of other day trips I would have taken.

Hope you enjoy the pics of Christchurch that I've posted on FB already and there are more to come over the weekend. Maybe. LOL!

xoxo