I cannot believe I haven’t written a blog on Christchurch yet. Rude! Christchurch has had it hard in the more recent years. By recent I mean the last 10 odd years. Given that Christchurch is also in the South Island of New Zealand, I feel sometimes it gets missed (is that just me who thinks so?). People wanting to go to the South Island will usually end up in the ‘must go’ places like Queenstown or Kaikoura but I don’t often hear people say, hey you know what I’m heading to Christchurch. Perhaps, it’s just me, or maybe it’s not.

In my very humble opinion, I feel Christchurch is a beautiful city that deserves some attention. There are a few activities that you can do, it’s great for a long weekend or it’s a good starting point for a roadie through the South Island.

If it’s a long weekend you’re going down for, then by all means, I wouldn’t suggest longer than 3-days. I often incorporate some time to rest when I give suggestions on how long you should stay in a place, so please don’t hold me to my word, but rather take it as a suggestion. Christchurch is just about an hour and 20minutes on a flight, and I would suggest perhaps taking a flight about 9am.

New Zealand as a tourist destination does rely heavily on having access to your own vehicle. So, if you are renting a car, you could get off the plane, take your car and go to your first stop the Antarctic Centre. You can leave your luggage in the car, because it would be weird if you took it into the Antarctic Centre with you. The reason I say to head to the Antarctic Centre first is because it’s in close proximity to the airport. However, if you’re not renting a car, I would of course suggest getting in an Uber and heading to your hotel/accommodation first so you can check-in and/or drop your stuff off.

If you’re a keen tourist, and want to explore everything the Antarctic Centre has to offer, which you should, you can spend a good 3-4 hours here. If you are travelling with young kids, this place is a haven, they will love it. They do a lot of research on Antarctica, and try and bring the continent to you, for you to experience what life is like over there. The hummer ride is definitely fun, but so is the 4D theatre, and spending time with the huskies. I’m unsure if they still have the huskies there.

If you’re staying in the city centre, I would suggest spending a day strolling through the city. Check out the Riverside Market, or perhaps take a stroll along the Avon River, or maybe even the Hagley North Park. If you’re in the city area, you should definitely pop by the Cathedral. It is a sad site especially for those who remember the majestic building that stood there before the 2011 earthquake. It is good to see that Christchurch is putting its efforts into restoring the building. There are a couple of museums in the city too, but I haven’t been there so couldn’t speak to my experience there. If anyone has been there, leave a comment below, would love to hear your input.

For those who are keen for a roadie, well you have a few options. If you want to do a day trip, I’ve been told of a place called Castle Hill (you could even play Ed Sheeran on the radio on your way there). This is roughly an hour’s drive from Christchurch. I’ve been told this is a nice hiking spot and has a photo op #instagrammable.

Whilst, you can drive in almost any direction from Christchurch, the one roadie I’ve been doing more recently is Christchurch to Lake Tekapo (roughly 3 hours drive). We all know there’s a decent amount of things to do here, and definitely worth a stay. If you don’t, then well, you can read my blog here. Lake Tekapo to Queenstown, again, another roughly 3 hours drive. What I like about this roadie is that there are a number of lookout points and stops along the way. More importantly, the road isn’t too windy. I get terrible motion sickness in cars especially when driving through mountains, but this journey is quite smooth.

If Christchurch is a stop on your extensive South Island roadie, you could head towards Greymouth. But given that’s fully through the mountain, I reckon the Tranz Alpine experience is much better, and you’ve got food at your disposal!

I would love to go back to Christchurch for a proper tour and hit all the tourist spots and hey maybe even paint the town like a local!

Until next time,

MiliG