Friday
Let's start with my train ride to the Sydney airport. Thankfully, Wynyard, the station within 5 minutes of me, goes directly to the airport. I'm told it costs $15. So I bring $15 in change (gotta get rid of that stuff) only to find out it's $16.70. So I had to break a $20, getting even MORE change. Isn't that ironic? (wait a minute. That's not ironic. That's just unfortunate...).
Funny thing to note: Once I made it through security, there were the duty free shops (which I still don't 100% understand...). They were passing out free mini shots of all types of alcohol. Vodka. Whisky. Tequila. Dang. It was 7:30am (no, I did not try any).
Cool thing about this trip? I got to fly Emirates (yes, all the stewardesses dress like that). Voted the best airline in the world. And it shows. Friendly service. Great food.
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| Yes, they hand out a menu |
And the in-flight entertainment was borderline overwhelming (although on the way back, I think it was an older plane, so not AS awesome, but still blows everything else away). I'm not kidding when I say there were 100s of movies to choose from, dozens of TV shows, any album you could think of, and games (but these were like Pong). Part of me wishes the flight was longer. I didn't get to finish Django Unchained (does he get his wife back??).
Anyway, I arrive safely in Christchurch. It's about a 3 hour flight east and is 2 hours ahead of Sydney. I immediately noticed that it's a bit cooler there. I had checked the forecast and packed accordingly. It was misty and cloudy with a high in the mid-50s and lows in the low to mid 40s. Basically, I was constantly "chilled" the whole weekend.
And drat. No Westpac ATM in the airport (which BofA partners with, so no ATM fees). I had to use BNZ to pull out $100 NZD (charged a $3.50 NZD fee. Please note that going forward, all prices will be quoted in NZD. It's about $0.80 - $0.85 USD to $1 NZD, so in a way, things were about 15% off for me). I then purchased this coffee to break a twenty (the bus was $7.50 and required exact change).
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| Nothing to see here... |
The bus ride wasn't uneventful. A train got stuck on the tracks so we had to eventually make a U-turn. That involved rubbing up against a tree and jumping a curb... But finally made it to my hostel. Seemed like a nice, clean place. I was in a room with 7 others. I dropped my backpack off and headed to the Canterbury Museum. I've seen better museums, but it was "free" (asked for donations) and gave me the info I was looking for. Basically, I knew nothing about New Zealand. I got a crash course on the Māori (seems to be pronounced "mau-dee"), the people who inhabited New Zealand before the Westerners came. The Māori are of Polynesian decent and came to NZ around 800 years ago. After being their a few hundred years, they wiped this out
This is a mao. I guess it's similar to an emu, but bigger. It was hunted to extinction. Is it bad to think it's nice to know people of European decent aren't the only ones who have wiped out species? (yes, yes it is).
Interseting Note: Māori and English are the official languages of NZ. You see both on signs and I learned they even learn a little Māori in school
Also at this museum, I saw some kiwis! Sadly, I only saw these stuffed ones while in NZ.
After the museum, I decided to head to CBD Bar and Pizzeria. I heard they brew their own beer there. I'll talk more about that in part 2. But along the way, I got to see the devastation that would mark this whole trip. The photos could go on and on.
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| The Cathedral |
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| I heard this building is leaning about 7 degrees. It's coming down... |
It's a town of about 350k people, but when you walk around, especially in the heart of the city where I stayed (right next to the Canterbury Museum), it's like you're in a post-apocalyptic world. I am Legend with Will Smith came to mine. Just everywhere are buildings that were badly damaged, being torn down, or already torn down. Not only did the earthquake damage buildings structurally, but also damaged wires, water pipes, and sewage pipes. The whole place is under construction, with the distant (or not-so-distant) sound of jackhammers constantly filling the air.
A quick history on the earthquake. In September 2010, a massive earthquake rocked the area. Then, a few months later in Feb. 2011, another big one hit (technically not as strong, but closer to the city). This is the one that essentially leveled the city. I found it interesting to ask people about it. It's clearly in the psyche of this city (understandably). The first one hit around 4am, waking people up (or, confusing drunk friends according to one Kiwi I talked to. Oh, and yes, they call themselves Kiwis). The big one hit around 1pm.
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| 185 white chairs. One for each victim of the earthquake |
Back to my timeline of events. After CBD I went to this other bar a local suggested I go to for a Friday night drink (Winnie Bagoes). After I was done there and walking home, I stopped to tie one of my shoes (agh, it started "misting" out at this point). I finished and started walking, catching up to and passing two older guys (maybe 30s-40s). They looked a little "rougher" and as I was passing, the one guy said something along the lines of he thought I was tying my shoes to make fun of the other guy. This made little sense to me (as I am sure you're just as confused) but I looked down and noticed that the other guy had no shoes on. Ah... These must be homeless people. At this point, I was kind of stuck. I couldn't just leave, so I kept a relatively safe distance, keeping my right side open for me to run off if necessary. The guy noticed I wasn't from NZ (a common theme of my trip. I open my mouth and everyone knows I'm American). I told him I'm from San Francisco and he starts telling me about the earthquake (see? everyone), killings, saving, spiders? his spiderweb tattoo...? I believe he was saying English words, but it was making zero sense in the order he was presenting them. He kept offering me a drink, but I told him I was fine. He insisted, so finally the other guy passed me a can from the box he was holding. They were about the size of a Red Bull can. It was bourbon and cola. Oh man... Not what I'm looking for at all. I finally realized my out when we came to an intersection. I said I had to go right (although I had to keep going straight, like them). I ended up having to double back and loop around to avoid them again. That was odd... I poured that drink out.
Back in my hostel, I climb into bed with all the nice, warm blankets provided. However, at about 4:30 am some guy who I'll just describe as "backpack-y" turned on the lights. I sat up and said, "Dude, it's 4:30, turn off the lights." He mumbled something about someone stealing something, but he turned them off. Oh hostels. I miiiiiight be getting too old and, um, "established" for them.
Saturday
I started the day off walking around the botanic gardens. Truth be told, I was killing time to catch this, the free bus that would take me to the International Antarctic Centre.
The botanic gardens and the park surrounding it are HUGE. Apparently, the founding fathers wrote in the town charter or whatever that this has to remain a park. These gardens would be beautiful if it was actually spring/summer, not the dead of winter.
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| Sharknado...? |
Anyway, I catch the bus to take me to the Antarctic centre. Because Christchurch isn't necessarily a tourist hotspot and it is their "January," it was just me and the bus driver. We chatted it up a bit, with him presumptuously asking me where in America I'm from. Wow, it's that obvious? I guess. It's funny because I never think of myself having an accent (although obviously I do). Of course we also talk about the earthquake and I learn a bit more.
The Antarctic place was pretty cool. While touristy and probably more for families, I still had fun. Christchurch is the gateway to Antarctica. Basically, all flights to there take off from Christchurch. Interesting, no? The first thing I did was ride a hagglund. It's a vessel they use to travel over the ice and rocks.
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| Through 3 meters of water |
The drive took us over some steep hills, an almost 2 meter wide crevasse, and around embankments. It was fun and educational (but truth be told, I felt a little silly riding it by myself. But there were other groups there, too).
Inside were all types of films (a 4D extreme ride!), exhibits, and facts about Antarctica, international treaties, bases, and studies there, etc. There was also a snow and ice experience. And they would simulate an Antarctic snow storm.
It got down to about a windchill of -2 degrees F with 25 MPH winds. As I was standing there, I thought, why the hell am I doing this? I lived in South Dakota and Montana. I know what cold blizzards feel like. But I guess they're more awesome inside a building...?
Overall, I spent about 2 hours there and it was pretty cool. The driver of the bus back to the city was Canadian. Dang, talk about jaded. He really let me know how he felt. He explained that people in Christchurch were clique-y and that the rebuilding is corrupt and taking waaaay too long. Interesting perspective.
Saturday night was the Super Rugby game. It was the championship game between the Brumbies (Aussie team) and the Chiefs (NZ team). I watched the game at a bar with another Kiwi from Auckland. Cool guy and was nice enough to explain rugby more to me. I explained to him that inevitably, whenever I'm watching rugby with Aussies/Kiwis, they always talk about how wussy American football players are for wearing pads (I gave him a look later that night when another drunk Kiwi inevitably pointed this out). The chiefs ended up coming from behind to win in dramatic fashion. Great game. But tell me, what do you think of when you see this?
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| Boris, Mother Russia is calling |
If your first thought was something along the lines of Soviet Russia or an extreme union bumper sticker, then thanks. I'm not crazy. If not, then you agree with the Kiwi who told me he's never heard anyone ever suggest that. It's a Māori chief.
Sunday
Ah. My last day. Time to walk around one last time. Stumbled upon the "cardboard" cathedral or, as I think it's officially known, the Transitional Cathedral.
Turns out today was its first service (once again, how convenient for me). I attended the 11am service. It was cool. They have a "cardboard" theme inside as you may be able to tell. I gathered that this is temporary as they rebuild the actual cathedral.
Whoa. Sorry this is so long. And for those of you who made it this far, congrats. I'll leave with two more pictures.
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| "No junk mail." Saw similar signs everywhere. Great idea |
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