I got into Christchurch after dark, and took the “Taxi!” option to get to my hotel.
As such, I didn’t recognise where I was until the morning; Right beside Cathedral Square.

I didn’t realise I’d be able to see into the square from the end of the hotel corridor; There used to be a building blocking the way.

I took a few pictures of the … remains, though I’m not sure why.
They don’t say anything that any number of news reports haven’t already covered.

So, other things.

I got one of the tourist multi-activity packs, so I … did … stuff?

Gondola up the Port Hills!

They’ve got a Time Tunnel ride going on now, which had me remembering Bill Bailey’s bit about Gwyddion & The Druid telling the history of the Celtic Peoples through the medium of balloon modelling.
This was less naff, but also not as funny, and involves riding in a little cart past animatronic displays & some projected video, while a young narrator overpronounces their way through the story. They did pack a lot of stuff into a fairly small footprint, so points for that.

Given that it’s pointing to where I’m going, it seemed worth taking a picture of.

I took no pictures on the tram as it rattled around Christchurch, though I did note that one end of the track is marked with these;

Also took no pictures on the Botanic Gardens tour, where I was the only patron.
Mostly because it was more interesting to listen to, and occasionally ask questions of, the guy driving the little 12-seat electric tour cart.

Didn’t know that Christchurch has a Wollemi Pine.
Or that people are encouraged to climb the trees, and you can spot the good ones by the polished branches.

The gardens started out as being very English indeed, with no nasty local stuff allowed. Later curators fought that approach, and it’s now got an NZ section, and a swamp garden, and desert plants, …

The Botanic Gardens were my ‘thing I wouldn’t normally do’ for the trip, and they were pretty interesting, as it turns out.

Last thing on the tourist stuff package was punting on the Avon, which happens here;

The … puntsman? … puntolier? … stick-wallah? … was a gamer, more in the console & PC space than the tabletop one, which led to the odd scene of being propelled along in a very traditional boat in a very traditional setting (through the gardens, or at least by the edge of it) by someone dressed in a very traditional manner, while talking about how League Of Legends is the only game that makes him punch-the-wall furious, and that’s mostly down to the way some people behave while playing it.

I caught up with R+C while I was here, which was entirely awesome, as they weren’t going to be at the convention in Wellington.
Found out what they’d been up to, had a very nice dinner, and found out some information which I’m keeping quiet for now for fear of jinxing things, and also because I’m not 100% on what I’m going to do with it, but which was extremely relevant to my interests.

And there was the Antarctic Centre.
They told me to look out for a bus with Penguins on the roof.

Someone at the centre wondered whether I’d been to the ice, based on knowing what the furry bit on the back of the glove was for.
Sadly, I have not, but let’s just say that there are some books which are very specific about how badly your nose runs in extreme cold, and what can be done about it.

They have a storm simulator, where you’re equipped with a parka and sent out to die ushered into a freezer.

 

 

I did experiment with “Hood Up, Hood Down” during the storm, and can report that windchill of -17°C can really make your ears sting.

Also, my theme of trying to photograph photographers taking photographs netted me … Well, here’s the thing.
A while ago I found a very descriptive phrase;

I believe that this picture, taken in selfie mode in the storm simulator, is the cover of that CD.

Overall, Christchurch was good, but a lot of my time wandering around was spent recognising places based on what wasn’t there anymore.
The building where I taught a GIS course, along with most of the rest of that block, is now the container mall – I only recognised it when I walked across a bridge in the same direction as I had when getting to that building.

You can get some pretty good coffee though.