Christchurch

I told the kids that it was up to them to plan our visit to Christchurch. The only thing they came up with was a visit to the botanical gardens. We walked toward town and walked along the edge of the botanical gardens, but ended up heading in towards town to see the Cathedral, which had suffered extensive damage in the earthquakes.

It was sad to see it in it’s ruined state. It’s fate is currently in the air as the funds are not available to restore it.

We spent a little time people watching in the pedestrian square.

As we walked around downtown, we saw and heard construction going on everywhere. Even this many years after the earthquakes, the city is still rebuilding.

We had sushi for lunch. It was the first time the kids had ever tried it. They did not like the sushi rolls, however, they enjoyed the sashimi. So did I!

My son decided he was done, and headed back to the house in Addington where we were staying. My daughter and I had some snacks by the river Avon.

I wanted to go on the river, and if no one was going to go with me, I was going to go for a ride in a punt and let someone else do the work while I listened to their historic commentary. At the last minute, my daughter decided to come along, so we rented a two person kayak for an hour. It was quite scenic and peaceful kayaking through the botanic Gardens.

We walked through the gardens on our way home. It was a good day overall!